Talk:Back vowel

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Darker vowels

Will an editor explain how a sound can be 'dark'. It is describing a sound in terms of light. Admittedly they are both types of radiation; so is it something to do with wavelength or frequency? It is true that in English, people can also talk of 'loud' colours. But neither metaphor seems particular scientific or academic. Ackees (talk) 10:25, 11 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Just as you said, it's a metaphor. Just like a clarinet might sound "woody," or a poem might sound "violent," euphonic interpretation often takes terms from other fields to describe the subject. It is not a statement of scientific quality; it is a statement of personal interpretation. In this case, a culture might collectively determine that back vowels might sound "dark," just like Americans believe that an accent from the South sounds "twangy." Don't take it too seriously. Collisteru (talk) 19:12, 16 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]