backvoweltartalmú

Backvoweltartalmú is a linguistic descriptor used to classify words or morphemes by their vowel inventory, indicating that the item contains at least one back vowel. The term is a portmanteau that combines "back vowel" with the Hungarian suffix -tartalmú, literally meaning “having back-vowel content.” It is not a uniformly standardized label but appears in descriptive or typological discussions of languages with vowel contrasts.

In analyses that employ back and front vowel distinctions, back vowels are articulated with a more retracted tongue position. In Hungarian phonology these typically include a, á, o, ó, u, ú, though the exact set can vary by language. A word is described as backvoweltartalmú if any of its vowel segments belong to this set. The term allows further subdivision: words that contain only back vowels are fully backvoweltartalmú, while those with both back and front vowels are partially backvoweltartalmú. Words composed exclusively of front vowels would have a corresponding frontvoweltartalmú designation in analogous usage.

Examples help illustrate the concept. The Hungarian word "alma" contains only the back vowel a, making it backvoweltartalmú. The word "autó" includes a, u, and ó—all back vowels, hence fully backvoweltartalmú. A word like "körte" contains front vowels (ö) and would not be categorized as backvoweltartalmú.

In linguistic research, noting a word’s backvoweltartalmú status can interact with discussions of vowel harmony, suffix alternation, and phonotactics, especially in languages with strong back/front contrasts. See also back vowels, vowel harmony, Hungarian phonology.