Open vowel

When pronouncing a vowel, you must pay particular attention to three parameters to pronounce the sound correctly:

• The shape of the lips: spread or rounded,
• The position of the tip of the tongue: it touches the teeth or not,
• The aperture or opening of the mouth: closed, half-closed, half-open and open.

To say that a vowel is open or half-open, we will focus on the last point. A vowel is said to be “open” if the mouth is open to pronounce the vowel. The lips may or may not be stretched. The width of the lips varies depending on the vowel pronounced.

Pronunciation

The mouth is very open, and the tongue is in the position farthest from the palate.

Mid-open vowels

The mouth is a little more open than in the case of half-closed vowels, and the tongue moves further away from the palate. Half-open vowels are:

• [ɛ] as in elle [ɛl], père [pɛʁ]
• [œ] (eu ouvert) as in soeur [sœʁ], jeune [ʒœn]
• [ɔ] (open o) as in homme [ɔm], alors [alɔʁ]
• [ɔ̃] as in on [ɔ̃], donc [dɔ̃k]

Open vowels

The mouth is very open, and the tongue is in the lowest position. Open vowels are:

• [a] as in ma [ma]
• [ã] as in blanc [blã]