vokalische

Vokalische is a term found in phonology and linguistic descriptions, primarily in German-language sources, used to describe sounds that are vowel-like in their behavior or function. In English-language usage the cognate term is vocalic. The word refers not only to plain vowels but also to segments that can serve as the nucleus of a syllable or behave with vowel-like sonority in a given language.

In practice, vokalische describes segments that function as vowel equivalents in a syllable. This includes traditional vowels and, in some languages, syllabic consonants or certain sonorants that occupy the syllabic nucleus. The designation emphasizes function and perceptual quality (vowel-like openness and centrality in syllables) rather than a fixed place or manner of articulation.

Cross-linguistically, vokalische analyses arise in discussions of syllable structure, vowel inventories, and prosody. Some languages use syllabic liquids or nasals (for example, a syllabic n or l) as nuclei, which can be described as vokalische within a broader vowel-like category. Glides and vowel-like phonemes may also be treated as vocalic in certain phonological analyses.

Relation to related concepts is important: vokalische contrasts with consonantal or obstruent classifications and interacts with notions of sonority, vowel harmony, and phonotactics. The term is primarily a descriptive tool in linguistic analysis, helping to capture the range of nucleus-like sounds across languages.

See also: Vowel, Vocalic, Syllabic consonant, Sonority, Phonology.