noun
- A sound change in which a vowel is influenced by a vowel in a following syllable, especially in historical linguistics.
Usage: linguistics; also called umlaut or vowel harmony in some contexts
Examples
- Metaphony is a key concept in studying the evolution of Germanic languages.
- The shift from Latin 'pater' to Old High German 'fater' demonstrates metaphony in action.
- Linguists use metaphony to explain vowel changes across historical language periods.
- In Italian dialects, metaphony affects the pronunciation of stressed vowels before high vowels.