# Synalepha

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{{Short description|Merging of two syllables into one}}
{{Sound change}}
A '''synalepha''' or '''synaloepha''' {{IPAc-en|ˌ|s|ɪ|n|ə|ˈ|l|iː|f|ə}}<ref>[Greek](/source/Greek_language) συναλοιφή (or {{LSJ|sunalifh/|συναλιφή}}), from {{LSJ|sunalei/fw|συναλείφω}}: συν- "together" and {{LSJ|a)lei/fw|ἀλείφω}} "I anoint", "smear". {{ablaut|οι|ει|ι|verb root|greek}}</ref> is the [merging](/source/coalescence_(linguistics)) of two syllables into one, especially when it causes two words to be pronounced as one.

The original meaning in [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) is more general than modern usage and includes coalescence of vowels within a word. Similarly, synalepha most often refers to [elision](/source/elision) (as in English [contraction](/source/contraction_(grammar))), but it can also refer to coalescence by other [metaplasm](/source/metaplasm)s: [synizesis](/source/synizesis), [synaeresis](/source/synaeresis) or [crasis](/source/crasis).<ref>[W. Sidney Allen](/source/W._Sidney_Allen), ''Vox Graeca'', chart of "Types of vowel-junction", p. 98.</ref>

==Examples==
{{Original research|date=January 2022|section}}
Spanish, Portuguese and Italian use synalepha, which is important in counting syllables in poetry. An example is in this [hendecasyllable](/source/hendecasyllable) (11-syllable line) by [Garcilaso de la Vega](/source/Garcilaso_de_la_Vega_(poet)):

: ''Los cabellos qu'''e a'''l or'''o o'''scurecían.''
:: The hair that endarkened the gold.

The words ''que'' and ''al'' form one syllable in counting them because of synalepha. The same thing happens with ''-ro'' and ''os-'' and so the line has eleven syllables (syllable boundaries are shown by a [dot](/source/interpunct)):

: ''Los·ca·be·llos·qu'''eal'''·o·r'''oo'''s·cu·re·cí·an.''

== See also ==
* [Metaplasm](/source/Metaplasm)
** [Elision](/source/Elision)—[Contraction (grammar)](/source/Contraction_(grammar))
*** [Apheresis](/source/Apheresis_(linguistics)) (initial)
*** [Syncope](/source/Syncope_(phonetics)) (medial)
*** [Apocope](/source/Apocope) (final)
** [Crasis](/source/Crasis)
** [Synizesis](/source/Synizesis) (merge into one syllable without change in writing)
** [Synaeresis](/source/Synaeresis)—opposite [Diaeresis](/source/Diaeresis_(prosody))
* [Correption](/source/Correption)

==Notes==
<references />

Category:Figures of speech
Category:Phonology

{{phonology-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Synalepha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synalepha) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synalepha?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.