Metaphony
Encyclopedia
In historical linguistics
, metaphony is a general term for a class of sound change
in which one vowel in a word is influenced by another in a process of assimilation
.
Progressive metaphony, in which a vowel early in the word influences a subsequent vowel, can be distinguished from regressive metaphony, in which a vowel towards the end of the word influences a preceding vowel. (Progressive metaphony is sometimes called "left-to-right" metaphony, and regressive metaphony may be called "right-to-left" metaphony.)
Progressive metaphony is also called vowel harmony
, and is discussed fully in the article under that heading. However, some linguists use the term "vowel harmony" for regressive metaphony too.
Examples of regressive metaphony are i-mutation
and a-mutation
. (On i-mutation in Germanic languages
see also Germanic umlaut
.)
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
, metaphony is a general term for a class of sound change
Sound change
Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...
in which one vowel in a word is influenced by another in a process of assimilation
Assimilation (linguistics)
Assimilation is a common phonological process by which the sound of the ending of one word blends into the sound of the beginning of the following word. This occurs when the parts of the mouth and vocal cords start to form the beginning sounds of the next word before the last sound has been...
.
Progressive metaphony, in which a vowel early in the word influences a subsequent vowel, can be distinguished from regressive metaphony, in which a vowel towards the end of the word influences a preceding vowel. (Progressive metaphony is sometimes called "left-to-right" metaphony, and regressive metaphony may be called "right-to-left" metaphony.)
Progressive metaphony is also called vowel harmony
Vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels that occurs in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on which vowels may be found near each other....
, and is discussed fully in the article under that heading. However, some linguists use the term "vowel harmony" for regressive metaphony too.
Examples of regressive metaphony are i-mutation
I-mutation
I-mutation is an important type of sound change, more precisely a category of regressive metaphony, in which a back vowel is fronted, and/or a front vowel is raised, if the following syllable contains /i/, /ī/ or /j/ I-mutation (also known as umlaut, front mutation, i-umlaut, i/j-mutation or...
and a-mutation
A-mutation
A-mutation is a metaphonic process supposed to have taken place in late Proto-Germanic .-General description:In a-mutation, a short high vowel was lowered when the following syllable contained a non-high vowel . Thus, since the change was produced by other vowels besides */a/, the term a-mutation...
. (On i-mutation in Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
see also Germanic umlaut
Germanic umlaut
In linguistics, umlaut is a process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vowel or semivowel. The term umlaut was originally coined and is used principally in connection with the study of the Germanic languages...
.)