![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Esling_vowel_chart.png/640px-Esling_vowel_chart.png&w=640&q=50)
Raised vowel
Type of vowel sound / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A raised vowel is a vowel sound in which the body of the tongue is raised upward and backward toward the dorsum (soft palate). The most raised cardinal vowels are [u ɯ]; also quite raised are [ʊ], [o ɤ] and [ʉ ɨ].
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Esling_vowel_chart.png/640px-Esling_vowel_chart.png)
Raised vowels and retracted vowels constitute the traditional but articulatorily-inaccurate category of back vowels, but they also cover most of the central vowels.