Vowels?

My 8-year-old daughter has gotten the conlang bug.  She's also caught
chicken pox...meaning that she has a lot of time at home to work on
her language...

Anyway, she would like to use "b" and other consonants as vowels.  My
wife and I explained that she can't do that, technically, unless she
changes the sound of the letter...so she asked, "Okay, what *is* a
vowel, anyway?"

Can anyone provide the textbook definition?

--
Steve Kramer   -=oOo=-   scooter at buser dot net
Quote for the indeterminate time period:
  "Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the how's-yer-father!
   Hairy blighter, dicky-birded, feathered back on his sammy,
   took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harpers, and caught
   his can in the Bertie!"
    = RAF Squadron Leader, from Monty Python's Flying Circus

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