Definition & Bedeutung von "crasis"

What is "crasis"?

Crasis is a phonological phenomenon that involves the merging of two adjacent vowels into a single vowel sound, typically occurring at word boundaries. This process often happens to facilitate smoother pronunciation or to conform to specific phonetic patterns. For example, in Portuguese, the combination of the preposition "a" (to) and the article "a" (the) can result in "à," where the two vowels blend into one. Crasis is significant in linguistics because it illustrates how languages adapt their pronunciation for ease of speech, providing insights into sound patterns and the evolution of language.