Turkish vowels
In their alphabetical order, the eight vowels of Turkish are a, e, ı, i, o, ö, u, ü. Each is distinguished from the others by one or more of three binary qualities; so the vowels can be arranged at the vertices of a cube, as below.
In the diagram, the back vowels are larger, and so they are on what
one might call the front
of the cube. They are so indicated, to
suggest that they are closer to the back of one's own throat.
unround | round | ||||
close | i | ü | |||
ı | u | ||||
open | e | ö | front | ||
a | o | ||||
back |
Here is how the diagram was laid out:
unround | round | ||||
close | i | ü | |||
ı | u | ||||
open | e | ö | front | ||
a | o | ||||
back |