Retracted vowel

A retracted vowel is a vowel sound in which the body or root of the tongue is pulled backward and downward into the pharynx. The most retracted cardinal vowels are, which are so far back that the epiglottis may press against the back pharyngeal wall, and. Raised or front vowels may be partially retracted, for example by an adjacent uvular consonant or by vowel harmony based on retracted tongue root. In both cases,, for example, may be retracted to.

Retracted vowels and raised vowels constitute the traditional, but articulatorily inaccurate, category of back vowels.