Definition & Bedeutung von "vowel harmony"

What is "vowel harmony"?

Vowel harmony is a phonological phenomenon where vowels within a word harmonize to share certain features, such as frontness or backness, roundness, or height. In languages with vowel harmony, vowels that are similar in these features tend to occur together, while vowels that differ may be restricted from appearing in the same word. For example, in Turkish, if a word begins with a front vowel, the subsequent vowels in the word will also typically be front vowels, as in "kedi" (cat), while a back vowel would lead to a different pattern. Vowel harmony is important in linguistics because it helps to organize vowel usage within languages and contributes to understanding phonological rules and sound patterns.