magánhangzóra

Magánhangzóra is a Hungarian grammatical phenomenon referring to the ending of a word or word part with a vowel. This is a common occurrence in Hungarian due to its agglutinative nature, where suffixes are added to root words. When a suffix is added, and the root word ends in a vowel, the resulting form is a magánhangzóra. For example, if a word ending in a vowel takes a case ending that also starts with a vowel, the two vowels might merge or one might be elided according to specific phonetic rules. This can lead to various vowel harmony effects or simple vowel combinations. Understanding magánhangzóra is important for comprehending Hungarian morphology and word formation. It is not a standalone word but a descriptive term for a specific structural characteristic of Hungarian words. The term itself is formed from "magánhangzó" (vowel) and the suffix "-ra", which is a directional case ending. Therefore, "magánhangzóra" literally translates to something like "onto a vowel" or "with a vowel ending". Its usage in linguistics focuses on the phonetic and morphological interactions at the end of words.