Irodákba

Irodákba is a term used in Hungarian linguistics and phonetics to describe a sound shift or assimilation process that affects the pronunciation of certain consonant clusters.

In Hungarian, the sound /z/ is often replaced by /j/ or /i/ when it appears between two vowels, particularly at the end of a word. This phenomenon is known as irodákba. For instance, the word "ezek" (these) might be pronounced more like "ijek" or even "iiiek" in some dialects. Similarly, the word "vezérl" (to lead) is sometimes articulated as "viezl" due to irodákba.

The term irodákba is said to originate from the Hungarian word "iroda," meaning "office" or "stationery." In an older sense, the phrase "irodákba" referred to placing papers into a letter file folder. A related hypothesis suggests that the term is derived from the way sounds are physically "stored" in the articulatory organ during speech.

As a feature of Hungarian phonology, irodákba is often observed when the /z/ occurs after a front vowel (like "e" or "i") and immediately precedes another vowel sound. This tendency is observed among native speakers, although its occurrence and magnitude can vary across regional dialects and individual speech patterns. Irodákba may be considered a case of assimilation or lenition in Hungarian, although its phonetic and phonological implications require further investigation.