In phonetics, vowel roundedness refers to the amount of rounding in the lips during the articulation of a vowel. That's, it's vocalic labialization. When pronouncing a rounded vowel, the lips form a circular opening, while unrounded vowels (also called spread vowels) are pronounced with the lips relaxed. In most languages, front vowels tend to be unrounded, while back vowels tend to be rounded. But some languages, such as French and German, distinguish rounded and unrounded front vowels of the… (More on Roundedness)