Hosszújel

Hosszújel is a Hungarian term that translates to "long vowel" in English. It refers to a vowel sound that is articulated with a longer duration than its short counterpart. In Hungarian phonology, the length of a vowel is a distinctive feature, meaning that changing the vowel length can change the meaning of a word. For example, the word "ház" (house) has a long 'á', while "haz" is not a Hungarian word and would be nonsensical. This phonemic length distinction is crucial for understanding and speaking Hungarian correctly.

The distinction between long and short vowels exists for all five Hungarian vowels: a/á, e/é, i/í, o/ó, ö/ő, u/ú, ü/ű. The visual representation of this length distinction in writing is through the use of an acute accent (´) placed over the vowel. Thus, 'a' is short, while 'á' is long; 'e' is short, and 'é' is long, and so on. This orthographic convention is consistently applied throughout the Hungarian language.

The phonetic realization of these long vowels involves prolonging the articulation of the vowel sound. This is not merely a passive extension but an active lengthening of the vocal tract's resonance. The precise acoustic duration can vary based on factors like speech rate and surrounding sounds, but the phonemic distinction remains. Understanding and producing these vowel length differences is a fundamental aspect of learning Hungarian pronunciation.