frontings

Noun

fronting (countable and uncountable, plural frontings)

1. A process whereby a vowel or a consonant is pronounced farther to the front of the vocal tract than some reference point.
2. A phonological relationship where a front vowel is found in place of a relative back vowel in an inflected form of a word.
3. An analogous relationship between the vowel sounds in a dialect of a language relative to the language standard or an earlier form of the language.
4. The movement of a word of phrase to nearer the beginning of a sentence or clause than it would usually appear, often for emphasis. May also occur as part of the standard syntax of particular constructions (e.g. wh-fronting).
5. (slang) An act of putting on a false façade to impress or intimidate people.