frontvowelharmonizáció

Front vowel harmony is a phonological process found in some languages where front vowels within a word must be of the same frontness. This means that if a word contains a front vowel like /i/ or /e/, then other vowels in that word, particularly suffixes, must also be front vowels. Conversely, if a word contains a back vowel like /u/ or /o/, then other vowels in the word must be back vowels.

The specific front vowels involved can vary between languages. Some languages distinguish between high front vowels (/i/) and mid front vowels (/e/), while others group them together. Similarly, back vowels can be high (/u/), mid (/o/), or even low (/ɑ/ in some systems, though this is less common in typical front/back harmony).

Languages that exhibit front vowel harmony often have systems where vowels are categorized based on their place of articulation in the mouth. The presence of a front vowel in the root of a word triggers a change in the vowels of affixes or grammatical endings to match. This creates a consistent vocalic quality throughout the word.

Examples of languages with front vowel harmony include Hungarian and Finnish, where the phenomenon is a prominent feature of their phonology and morphology. The harmony often affects the choice of which vowel to use in suffixes, leading to predictable alternations based on the vowel in the main part of the word. This process is a key characteristic that helps define the sound system and grammatical structure of these languages.