{{Short description|Paragogic vowel that repeats the final vowel in a word}} {{redirect|Synharmony|the process affecting Proto-Slavic syllables|History of Proto-Slavic#Syllable synharmony}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2022}} {{Special characters}} An '''echo vowel''', also known as a '''synharmonic vowel''', is a paragogic vowel that repeats the final vowel in a word in speech. For example, in Chumash, when a word ends with a glottal stop and comes at the end of an intonation unit, the final vowel is repeated after the glottal stop but is whispered and faint, as in {{IPA|sal|jaʔḁ|}} for {{IPA|/jaʔ/}} "arrow" (written ''ya).''
==Languages== In modern Sanskrit, echo vowels are often added in pronunciation to the visarga.
In Rukai, an Austronesian language, vowels are pronounced as full vowels but are predictable and disappear when they are under reduplication or when a suffix beginning with /a/ is added to the word:
{|class=wikitable |+Rukai echo vowels and phonemic vowels ! !! Agent focus !! suffix !! reduplication |- ! echo vowel | wa-uŋulu || uŋul-a || ara uŋul-uŋulu |- | || ''drinks'' || ''drink!'' || ''don't drink'' |- ! phonemic vowel | wa-kanə || kanə-a || ara kanə-kanə |- | || ''eats'' || ''eat!'' || ''don't eat'' |}
Similarly, in the related Uneapa, echo vowels are added after a Proto-Oceanic final consonant, such as ''*Rumaq'' "house" > ''rumaka''.
The Makassaric languages also occurs the echo vowels with stems ending in final /r/, /l/ or /s/. E.g. /botol/ "bottle" is realized as ''bótolo'' in Selayar and Coastal Konjo, and as ''bótoloʔ'' in Makassarese (the latter regularly adds a glottal stop to the echo vowel). This echo vowel is dropped if a suffix is added, but retained if followed by an enclitic.<ref>{{cite book |year=2012 |first1=Hasan |last1=Basri |first2=Ellen |last2=Broselow |first3=Daniel |last3=Finer |chapter=The end of the word in Makassar languages |editor1-first=Toni |editor1-last=Borowsky |editor2-first=Shigeto |editor2-last=Kawahara |editor3-first=Mariko |editor3-last=Sugahara |editor4-first=Takahito |editor4-last=Shinya |title=Prosody Matters: Essays in Honor of Elisabeth Selkirk |series=Advances in Optimality Theory |location=Sheffield & Bristol, Conn. |publisher=Equinox |chapter-url=https://linguistics.stonybrook.edu/people/_bios/_linguistics-faculty/_faculty-files/broselow/konjo-1-1.pdf }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Language !stem !base !with suffix !with enclitic |- | rowspan="3" |Makassar |/lammor-/ |'''''lámmor'''oʔ''<br />'cheap' |/lammor-/ + /-i/<br />'''''lammór'''i''<br />'cheapen' |/lammoroʔ/ + /=i/<br />'''''lámmorok'''i''<br />'it's cheap' |- | rowspan="2" |/lambus-/ | rowspan="2" |'''''lámbus'''uʔ''<br />'straight' | rowspan="2" |/lambus-/ + /-i/<br />'''''lambús'''i''<br />'straighten up' |/lambusuʔ/ + /=i/<br />'''''lámbusuk'''i''<br />'it's straight' |- |/lambusuʔ/ + /=aʔ/<br />'''lámbusuk'''aʔ<br />'i am straight' |- | rowspan="2" |Selayar | rowspan="2" |/lambus-/ | rowspan="2" |'''''lámbus'''u''<br />'straight' | rowspan="2" |/lambus-/ + /-i/<br />'''''lambús'''i''<br />'straighten up' |/lambusu/ + /=i/<br />'''''lámbusu'''i''<br />'it's straight' |- |/lambusu/ + /=a/<br />'''''lámbusu'''a''<br />'i am straight' |} Echo vowels have also been reconstructed for Proto-Macro-Jê.<ref name="Nikulin-Macro-Je">Nikulin, Andrey. 2020. ''[http://etnolinguistica.org/local--files/tese%3Anikulin-2020/Nikulin_2020_Proto-Macro-Je.pdf Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo]''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Brasília.</ref>
==Syllabaries== Echo vowels are also found in writing, especially with syllabaries. For example, a word ''kab'' may be written as if it were ''kaba'', and ''keb'' would be written as if it were ''kebe''. Such a system is found in Maya, with complications depending on the quality of the preceding vowel. In Linear B, such final consonants were simply not written. However, consonant clusters were separated with echo vowels: the city of Knossos is written as if it were ''Konoso'' (Linear B: {{lang|gmy|𐀒𐀜𐀰}}, ''ko-no-so'').
In Ainu, some writers write final /r/ with a subscript kana for ''ra'', ''re'', ''ri'', ''ro'' or ''ru'', depending on the preceding vowel, but others use a subscript ''ru'' in all cases.
==See also== *Paragoge (paragogic vowel)
==References== {{Reflist}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070203101013/http://www.chumashlanguage.com/glossary/gloss-fr-00.html Chumash Glossary]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Echo Vowel}} Category:Orthography Category:Phonetics