Vokalischen

Vokalischen is the inflected form of the German adjective vokalisch, meaning "vocalic" or "vowel-related." In linguistic usage, vokalisch describes features associated with vowels or vowel-like qualities of sounds. In modern German, adjectives are declined to reflect gender, case, and number, so vokalisch appears in various inflected forms. The form vokalischen occurs in contexts such as mit vokalischen Lauten (with vowel sounds) in the dative plural, or die vokalischen Merkmale (the vowel-related features) in the nominative plural with a definite article. Other forms include vokalische (feminine/neuter plural) and vokalischer (masculine nominative singular), depending on case and article.

In linguistic writing, vokalisch differentiates vowels from consonants and other sound classes. It is used when describing phonological inventories, vowel qualities (height, backness, rounding), and processes affecting vowels. The term may appear in cross-linguistic studies that compare German materials with languages having vowel systems.

Etymology: vokalisch comes from German vokalisch, from Late Latin vocalis via Germanic development.

See also: vocalic, vowel, phonology, phonetics, German grammar.

Notes: As a grammatical form, vokalischen is not a standalone word but an inflected form that agrees with a noun. The base adjective is vokalisch.