hiatos

Hiatos is the Spanish plural of hiato and a term used in linguistics to describe the occurrence of a hiatus: a break between two vowel sounds that belong to different syllables, producing two syllables where a single syllable with a diphthong could have been expected. In phonology, a hiatus contrasts with a diphthong or an elided sequence, where the vowels fuse into one syllable.

A hiatus can occur within a word or across word boundaries. It affects syllable count, prosody, and sometimes orthography. In languages that frequently form diphthongs, a hiatus marks where two vowels must be pronounced separately rather than as a single vowel sound.

Spanish provides clear and systematic patterns for hiatus. It occurs between two vowels that belong to different syllables, most notably when two strong vowels (a, e, o) are adjacent, as in país (pa-ís) and poeta (po-e-ta). It also arises when a weak vowel (i, u) bearing an accent meets a strong vowel, for example río (rí-o). Across word boundaries, hiatus can also appear when two vowels come together without forming a diphthong.

Across languages, the treatment of hiatus varies with phonotactics and orthography. In poetry and metrics, the presence or absence of hiatus can change syllable counts and rhythm. In English, hiatus is often reported at word boundaries or in careful speech, whereas several Romance languages mark hiatus more explicitly in pronunciation and writing.

The term hiatus comes from Latin, meaning "opening" or "gap." The plural hiatos is the Spanish/Portuguese form, while English typically uses hiatus or hiati for the Latin plural.