Editing Vowel harmony (section)

====Finnic languages====
Vowel harmony is found in most of the [[Finnic languages]]. It has been lost in [[Livonian language|Livonian]] and in Standard [[Estonian language|Estonian]], where the front vowels ''ü'' ''ä'' ''ö'' occur only in the first (stressed) syllable. [[South Estonian language|South Estonian]] [[Võro language|Võro]] (and [[Seto language|Seto]]) language as well as some [North] Estonian dialects, however, retain vowel harmony.

=====Finnish=====
[[File:Finnish vowel harmony Venn diagram.svg|thumb|A diagram illustrating vowel harmony in Finnish.]]
[[File:Finnish vowel harmony.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Finnish vowel harmony and case agreement exemplified by {{lang|fi|mahdollisissa yllättävissä tilanteissa}} ("in possible unexpected situations"): {{lang|fi|mahdollinen}} takes {{lang|fi|-ssa}}, {{lang|fi|yllättävä}} takes {{lang|fi|-ssä}} and {{lang|fi|tilanne}}, with a neutral vowel first but a back vowel second, takes {{lang|fi|-ssa}}.]]

In the [[Finnish language]], there are three classes of vowels{{spaced ndash}}''front'', ''back'', and ''neutral'', where each front vowel has a back vowel pairing. Grammatical endings such as case and derivational endings{{spaced ndash}}but not [[enclitic]]s{{spaced ndash}}have only archiphonemic vowels U, O, A, which are realized as either back {{IPA|[u, o, ɑ]}} or front {{IPA|[y, ø, æ]}} inside a single word. From vowel harmony it follows that the initial syllable of each single (non-compound) word controls the frontness or backness of the entire word. Non-initially, the neutral vowels are transparent to and unaffected by vowel harmony. In the initial syllable:
# a back vowel causes all non-initial syllables to be realized with back (or neutral) vowels, e.g. {{lang|fi|pos+ahta+(t)a}} → {{lang|fi|posahtaa}}
# a front vowel causes all non-initial syllables to be realized with front (or neutral) vowels, e.g. {{lang|fi|räj+ahta+(t)a}} → {{lang|fi|räjähtää}}.
# a neutral vowel acts like a front vowel, but does not control the frontness or backness of the word: if there are back vowels in non-initial syllables, the word acts like it began with back vowels, even if they come from derivational endings, e.g. {{lang|fi|sih+ahta+(t)a}} → {{lang|fi|sihahtaa}} cf. {{lang|fi|sih+ise+(t)a}} → {{lang|fi|sihistä}}.

For example:
* {{lang|fi|kaura}} begins with back vowel → {{lang|fi|kauralla}}
* {{lang|fi|kuori}} begins with back vowel → {{lang|fi|kuorella}}
* {{lang|fi|sieni}} begins without back vowels → {{lang|fi|sienellä}} (not {{lang|fi|*sienella}})
* {{lang|fi|käyrä}} begins without back vowels → {{lang|fi|käyrällä}}
* {{lang|fi|tuote}} begins with back vowels → {{lang|fi|tuotteessa}}
* {{lang|fi|kerä}} begins with a neutral vowel → {{lang|fi|kerällä}}
* {{lang|fi|kera}} begins with a neutral vowel, but has a noninitial back vowel → {{lang|fi|keralla}}

Some dialects that have a sound change opening diphthong codas also permit archiphonemic vowels in the initial syllable. For example, standard 'ie' is reflected as 'ia' or 'iä', controlled by noninitial syllables, in the Tampere dialect, e.g. {{lang|fi|tiä}} ← {{lang|fi|tie}} but {{lang|fi|miakka}} ← {{lang|fi|miekka}}

... as evidenced by {{lang|fi|tuotteessa}} (not {{lang|fi|*tuotteessä}}). Even if [[phonology|phonologically]] front vowels precede the suffix {{lang|fi|-nsa}}, grammatically it is preceded by a word controlled by a back vowel. As shown in the examples, neutral vowels make the system unsymmetrical, as they are front vowels phonologically, but leave the front/back control to any grammatical front or back vowels. There is little or no change in the actual vowel quality of the neutral vowels.

As a consequence, Finnish speakers often have problems with pronouncing foreign words which do not obey vowel harmony. For example, {{lang|fi|olympia}} is often pronounced {{lang|fi|olumpia}}. The position of some loans is unstandardized (e.g. {{lang|fi|chattailla/chättäillä}}) or ill-standardized (e.g. {{lang|fi|polymeeri}}, sometimes pronounced {{lang|fi|polumeeri}}, and {{lang|fi|autoritäärinen}}, which violate vowel harmony). Where a foreign word violates vowel harmony by not using front vowels because it begins with a neutral vowel, then last syllable generally counts, although this rule is irregularly followed.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ringen | first1 = Catherine O. | last2 = Heinämäki | first2 = Orvokki | title = Variation in Finnish Vowel Harmony: An OT Account | journal = Natural Language & Linguistic Theory | volume = 17 | issue = 2| year = 1999 | pages = 303–337 | doi = 10.1023/A:1006158818498 | s2cid = 169988008 }}</ref> Experiments indicate that e.g. {{lang|fi|miljonääri}} always becomes (front) {{lang|fi|miljonääriä}}, but {{lang|fi|marttyyri}} becomes equally frequently both {{lang|fi|marttyyria}} (back) and {{lang|fi|marttyyriä}} (front), even by the same speaker.

With respect to vowel harmony, compound words can be considered separate words. For example, {{lang|fi|syyskuu}} ("autumn month" i.e. September) has both ''u'' and ''y'', but it consists of two words {{lang|fi|syys}} and {{lang|fi|kuu}}, and declines {{lang|fi|syys·kuu·ta}} (not {{lang|fi|*syyskuutä}}). The same goes for enclitics, e.g. {{lang|fi|taaksepäin}} "backwards" consists of the word {{lang|fi|taakse}} "to back" and {{lang|fi|-päin}} "-wards", which gives e.g. {{lang|fi|taaksepäinkään}} (not {{lang|fi|*taaksepäinkaan}} or {{lang|fi|*taaksepainkaan}}). If fusion takes place, the vowel is harmonized by some speakers, e.g. {{lang|fi|tälläinen}} pro {{lang|fi|tällainen}} ← {{lang|fi|tämän lainen}}.

Some Finnish words whose stems contain only neutral vowels exhibit an alternating pattern in terms of vowel harmony when inflected or forming new words through derivation. Examples include {{lang|fi|meri}} "sea", {{lang|fi|meressä}} "in the sea" ([[inessive]]), but {{lang|fi|merta}} ([[partitive]]), not {{lang|fi|*mertä}}; {{lang|fi|veri}} "blood", {{lang|fi|verestä}} "from the blood" ([[elative case|elative]]), but {{lang|fi|verta}} (partitive), not {{lang|fi|*vertä}}; {{lang|fi|pelätä}} "to be afraid", but {{lang|fi|pelko}} "fear", not {{lang|fi|*pelkö}}; {{lang|fi|kipu}} "pain", but {{lang|fi|kipeä}} "sore", not {{lang|fi|*kipea}}.

[[Helsinki slang]] has slang words that have roots violating vowel harmony, e.g. {{lang|fi|Sörkka}}. This can be interpreted as Swedish influence.

=====Veps=====

The [[Veps language]] has partially lost vowel harmony.