Language/Halh-mongolian/Grammar/Vowel-Harmony

Halh Mongolian → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Introduction to the Halh Mongolian Alphabet → Vowel Harmony

Introduction

Welcome to the lesson on vowel harmony in Halh Mongolian! This lesson is part of the Complete 0 to A1 Halh Mongolian Course, designed to take you from a complete beginner to an A1 level. In this lesson, we will explore the concept of vowel harmony in Halh Mongolian and how it affects word formation and pronunciation.

Vowel harmony is a key feature of Halh Mongolian grammar, which distinguishes it from other languages. It is an essential component of the language, and understanding its rules and patterns is vital for developing basic communication skills in Halh Mongolian. This lesson will cover the basic principles of vowel harmony and provide examples of how it works in practice.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Negation & Imperative Verbs.

What is Vowel Harmony?

Vowel harmony is a grammatical phenomenon in which the vowels in words follow certain patterns based on their position in the word. In Halh Mongolian, each vowel is categorized according to the position of the tongue in the mouth when pronouncing it, and these categories are called "front" and "back."

Front vowels are pronounced with the tongue positioned in the front of the mouth, nearer to the teeth. The front vowels in Halh Mongolian are [i] and [e].

Back vowels, on the other hand, are pronounced with the tongue positioned in the back of the mouth, near the soft palate. The back vowels in Halh Mongolian are [u] and [o].

In words that follow the rules of vowel harmony, all vowels within the word must belong to either the front or back vowel group. Mixing front and back vowels in the same word is considered incorrect and will result in mispronunciation.

Vowel Harmony Rules

The basic rules of vowel harmony in Halh Mongolian are as follows:

1. If a word contains a front vowel, all vowels in the word must be front vowels. 2. If a word contains a back vowel, all vowels in the word must be back vowels. 3. Words with front vowels end in front vowels, while words with back vowels end in back vowels. 4. Suffixes must follow the vowel harmony rules of the word they are added to.

Let's examine each of these rules in more detail.

Rule 1: All Vowels Must Be Front or Back

The first rule of vowel harmony in Halh Mongolian is that all the vowels in a word must belong to the same category. If a word contains a front vowel, all other vowels in the word must be front vowels. If it contains a back vowel, all other vowels must be back vowels as well.

For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
бие	bie	"rainbow" (all vowels are front)
богино	bogino	"small" (all vowels are back)
эргүүл	ergüül	"work" (all vowels are front)
хонин	honin	"swan" (all vowels are back)

The vowels in each word belong to the same vowel category.

Rule 2: Vowel Harmony in Word Endings

The second rule of vowel harmony in Halh Mongolian concerns the final vowel in a word. Words with front vowels must end in a front vowel, while words with back vowels must end in a back vowel.

For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
мэргэн	mergen	"boy" (the final vowel is front)
мөргөлдөөн	möröldöön	"forest" (the final vowel is back)
явдаг	yavdag	"goes" (the final vowel is back)
навч	navch	"education" (the final vowel is front)

In each of these words, the final vowel follows the vowel harmony rules of the word.

Rule 3: Suffixes Must Follow Vowel Harmony

The third rule of vowel harmony in Halh Mongolian concerns suffixes. Suffixes must follow the vowel harmony rules of the word they are added to. That is, a suffix containing a back vowel can only be added to a word that contains back vowels. Similarly, a suffix containing a front vowel can only be added to a word that contains front vowels.

For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
шар	shar	"month" (front vowel)
шард	shard	"of the month" (front suffix added to a front word)
амьсгал	amüsgal	"hope" (back vowel)
амьсгалын	amüsgalyn	"of hope" (back suffix added to a back word)

In these examples, the suffixes follow the vowel harmony rules of the words they are added to. This ensures that the word remains grammatically correct and is pronounced correctly.

Conclusion

Vowel harmony is an essential component of Halh Mongolian grammar. Understanding the rules of vowel harmony is important for forming words correctly and pronouncing them accurately. As a beginner in Halh Mongolian, mastering vowel harmony is an important step towards acquiring basic communication skills in the language. In the next lesson, we will discuss basic greetings and expressions in Halh Mongolian.

Excellent job on conquering this lesson! Consider delving into these related pages: Conjunctions & Passive Verbs.

Table of Contents - Halh Mongolian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to the Halh Mongolian Alphabet

• Cyrillic Script
• Vowel Harmony

  ---

Basic Greetings and Expressions

• Greetings
• Polite Expressions

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Noun Cases
• Personal Pronouns

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Cardinal Numbers
• Ordinal Numbers
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives
• Adverbs

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Dining Phrases

  ---

Prepositions and Conjunctions

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Mongolian Customs and Traditions

• Traditional Holidays
• Mongolian Etiquette

  ---

Weather and Seasons

• Weather Vocabulary
• Seasons

  ---

Mongolian Music and Arts

• Traditional Music
• Visual Arts

Other Lessons

• Past Tense
• How to Use Have
• Personal pronouns
• Past Tense Verbs
• Cyrillic Script
• Negation
• Gender
• Adverbs
• How to Use Be
• Give your Opinion