Aramaic

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
| ({{IPA link|ɔ}})
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|a}}
| ({{IPA link|ɑ}})
|}

As with most Semitic languages, Aramaic can be thought of as having three basic sets of vowels:
* Open ''a''-vowels
* Close front ''i''-vowels
* Close back ''u''-vowels
These vowel groups are relatively stable, but the exact articulation of any individual is most dependent on its consonantal setting.

The open vowel is an open near-front unrounded vowel ("short" ''a'', somewhat like the first vowel in the English "batter", {{IPAblink|a}}). It usually has a back counterpart ("long" ''a'', like the ''a'' in "father", {{IPAblink|ɑ}}, or even tending to the vowel in "caught", {{IPAblink|ɔ}}), and a front counterpart ("short" ''e'', like the vowel in "head", {{IPAblink|ɛ}}). There is much correspondence between these vowels between dialects. There is some evidence that Middle Babylonian dialects did not distinguish between the short ''a'' and short ''e''. In West Syriac dialects, and possibly Middle Galilean, the long ''a'' became the ''o'' sound. The open ''e'' and back ''a'' are often indicated in writing by the use of the letters א "alaph" (a [[glottal stop]]) or ה "he" (like the English ''h'').

The close front vowel is the "long" ''i'' (like the vowel in "need", {{IPA|[i]}}). It has a slightly more open counterpart, the "long" ''e'', as in the final vowel of "café" ({{IPA|[e]}}). Both of these have shorter counterparts, which tend to be pronounced slightly more open. Thus, the short close ''e'' corresponds with the open ''e'' in some dialects. The close front vowels usually use the consonant י ''y'' as a [[mater lectionis]].

The close back vowel is the "long" ''u'' (like the vowel in "school", {{IPA|[u]}}). It has a more open counterpart, the "long" ''o'', like the vowel in "show" ({{IPA|[o]}}). There are shorter, and thus more open, counterparts to each of these, with the short close ''o'' sometimes corresponding with the long open ''a''. The close back vowels often use the consonant ו ''w'' to indicate their quality.

Two basic [[diphthong]]s exist: an open vowel followed by י ''y'' (''ay''), and an open vowel followed by ו ''w'' (''aw''). These were originally full diphthongs, but many dialects have converted them to ''e'' and ''o'' respectively.

The so-called "emphatic" consonants (see the next section) cause all vowels to become mid-centralised.