Vowel harmony

Common card · No. 222748

In phonology, vowel harmony is a phonological process in which vowels assimilate ("harmonize") to share certain distinctive features. Vowel harmony is often confined to the domain of a phonological word, but may extend across word boundaries in certain languages. Generally, one vowel will trigger a shift in other vowels within the domain, such that the affected vowels match the relevant feature of the trigger vowel. Intervening segments are common between affected vowels, meaning that the vowels do not need to be next to each other for this change to apply. This is classified as a "long-distance" type of assimilation. Common phonological features that define the natural classes of vowels involved in vowel harmony include vowel backness, vowel height, nasalization, roundedness, and advanced and retracted tongue root. Certain authors and articles use the term vowel harmony to refer to progressive (beginning-to-end) vowel assimilation, and use umlaut to refer to regressive assimilation. The...

Read on Wikipedia