Speech sounds that are produced with an open vocal tract, like the 'a' in 'cat' or 'o' in 'note'; the letters a, e, i, o, and u represent these sounds in English.
From Old French 'vowel,' derived from Latin 'vocalis' meaning 'of the voice' or 'sounding,' from 'vox' meaning 'voice.' The term evolved to describe sounds produced by voice alone without blocking the airflow.
Amazingly, vowels are what make your voice actually resonate—consonants are just the traffic directors! Every language has vowels, but the exact sounds vary wildly: English has around 14-20 vowel sounds depending on accent, while Hawaiian has just 5.
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