Abesabesi distinguishes seven oral vowels. Table 2.1
contains minimal pairs distinguishing the seven oral vowels as phonemes.
Table 2.1: Minimal sets - oral vowels
| /i/ | /e/ | /ɛ/ | /a/ | /ɔ/ | /o/ | /u/ |
| tì 'push' | té 'exist' | ta 'build' | tɔ 'roast' | to 'pound' | tu 'be' | |
| je 'see' | jɛ̀ 'slice' | ja 'be short' | jo 'dance' | jù 'bury' | ||
| imũ 'hunger' | ɛmũ 'money' | ɔmũ 'bee' |
The oral mid vowels feature an ATR distinction
([+ATR] vs. [-ATR]), which is also essential to the vowel harmony system
(see Section 2.4.4). Table 2.2
contains minimal pairs exemplifying this distinction. For simplicity
reasons, the [+ATR] vowels are transcribed as /e/ and /o/, while the
[-ATR] vowels are transcribed as /ɛ/ and
/ɔ/
Table 2.2: Minimal pairs - ATR-distinction
| /e/ | /ɛ/ | /o/ | /ɔ/ |
| tèn 'follow' | tɛ̀n 'join' | ton 'meet' | tɔ̀n 'be caused by' |
Abesabesi also distinguishes oral from nasal vowels, which can be seen in the
five near minimal pairs of Table 2.3.
Table 2.3: Near minimal pairs - oral vs. nasal vowels
| Vowel | Oral | Nasal |
| /a/ | had 'shine' | hãs 'peel' |
| /ɛ/ | awɛ̀g 'power' | àwɛ̃̀ 'life' |
| /ɔ/ | hɔ 'too much' | hɔ̃ 'cultivate' |
| /i/ | ehi 'word' | ehĩs 'empty' |
| /u/ | hu 'die' | hũsò 'scare' |
The five nasal vowels do not include phonemic nasalized versions of the
[+ATR] vowels /e/ and /o/. Their phonetic realization, however,
occurs frequently, as deleted vowels retain their nasality, which is then
realized on the remaining vowel (Example 2.1).
Summing up, Abesabesi has twelve phonemic vowels that differ in height,
backness, roundness, nasalization, and tongue root position. Tables 2.4 and 2.5 show all oral and nasal
vowels respectively.
Table 2.4: Oral vowels
| front | central | back | |
| high | i | u | |
| mid | e ɛ | o ɔ | |
| low | a |
Table 2.5: Nasal vowels
| front | central | back | |
| high | ĩ | ũ | |
| mid | ɛ̃ | ɔ̃ | |
| low | ã |
The high vowels /i/ and /u/ appear to have had an ATR distinction in
the past (/i/ vs. /ɪ/ and /u/ vs. /ʊ/). Evidence for this claim can be taken from
their behavior in respect to vowel harmony, which will be discussed in
section 2.4.4.