voice synthesizer n
see speech synthesis
VO language n
a language in which the verb usually precedes the object, in contrast to an
OV language, where it usually follows the object. English is a VO language
whereas Japanese is an OV language.
vowel n
a speech sound produced without significant constriction of the air flowing
through the mouth.
Vowel sounds can be divided into sets in a number of different ways:
1 in terms of voicing. In English, all vowels are voiced (except when
whispering), but some languages, such as Japanese, have voiceless
vowels as well.
2 in terms of which part of the tongue is raised, distinguishing between
front vowels(as in eat), in which the tongue is positioned forward in the
mouth, central vowels(as in cup), and back vowels(as in coop), in which
the tongue is positioned towards the back of the mouth.
3 in terms of how high the tongue is raised, distinguishing between high
vowels(or close vowels) as in beat, mid vowels(or half-close vowels) as
in bait, and low vowels(or open vowels) as in bat.
4 in terms of whether or not the vowel is tenseor lax(see tense/lax).
5 in terms of whether or not the lips are rounded(as in shoe) or unrounded
(as in she). In English, rounding is allophonic (back vowels are rounded;
front vowels are not), but some languages (such as French) contain front
rounded vowels and some others (such as Turkish) contain back
unrounded vowels.
6 in terms of length, distinguishing between long vowels such as in knee
and short vowels as in knit. In English, length is allophonic (tense vowels
are long; lax vowels are short), but some languages distinguish between
vowels that are the same in quality and only different in length.
see also cardinal vowel, vowel length, vowel quality
vowel harmony n
a modification (assimilation) of the pronunciation of vowels in a word so
that one agrees or “harmonizes” with another one.
For example, in Turkish the word for the number 1 is bir and for the
number 10 ison. When suffixes are added to them, the vowel of the suffix
must be either a front vowel or a back vowel, depending on the vowel that
precedes it, e.g.:
voice synthesizer