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Inlinguistics,synaeresis (/sɪˈnɛrəsɪs/; also spelledsyneresis) is a phonological process of sound change in which two adjacent vowels within a word arecombined into a single syllable.^[1]

The opposite process, in which two adjacent vowels are pronounced separately, is known as "diaeresis".

For any given word, speakers generally hold a traditional view about thestandard pronunciation of that word. When realized in a careful reading style, each particular word is associated with this single,standard phonetic form.^[2] However, each word also possesses multiple non-standard or reduced phonetic forms which are produced in a greater range of contexts.^[3] These multiple variations in the pronunciation of a single word are referred to as allophonic variants. To classify one of these other forms as an allophonic variant of a word means that pronouncing the word in this way will not change the intended meaning of the word.^[4]

Synaeresis is one of various phonological processes in which segments of words or phrases are lost. The general term for a loss of sound segments in the field of linguistics is known as "elision".^[5] Other types of elision include the processes ofapheresis,syncope,apocope,synizesis, andsynaloepha.^[6]

Synaeresis comes fromGreekσυναίρεσις (synaíresis), a "contraction", a "takingor drawing together",^[7] fromσυναιρέω (synairéō), "(I) contract", "(I) graspor seize together",^[8] derived fromσύν, "with",^[9] andαἱρέω, "(I) grasp, seize".^[10] Semantically, it is easy to understand how this term evolved historically. The term eventually becamer applied to a process in which vowels are taken or drawn together.

Synaeresis often occurs withreduced vowels inEnglish, as inAsia (/ˈeɪziə/ →/ˈeɪʒə/) andSebastian (/sɪˈbæstiən/ →/sɪˈbæstʃən/).

Synaeresis is a common process inFrench. For example, the French wordlouer, which means ‘to praise,’ is typically pronounced as [lwe] according to transcriptions using theInternational Phonetic Alphabet.^[11] That pronunciation reduces the [u] vowel to a [w], or aglide sound, when pronounced in conjunction with the [e] vowel sound. In this example, the standard pronunciation uses the process of synaeresis to compress both of the original vowel sounds into one syllable. However, when speakers are asked to produce this word in a more controlled situation, in a careful reading style, French speakers often produce extended forms or different allophonic variants for the word.^[12] These forms of the word include [lue] according to IPA transcriptions, in which the two vowels are pronounced separately using the process of diaeresis.^[13]

InAncient Greek, synaeresis^{[n 1]} is the merging and pronunciation of two separate vowels as adiphthong (e.g. α + ι → αι/ai̮/) or along vowel (e.g. ο + ο → ου/ο:/); a characteristic example of this is theconjugation class or classes ofcontracted verbs (Ancient Greek:συνῃρημένα – orπερισπώμενα – ῥήματα).Diaeresis, on the other hand, is the separation of a diphthong into two vowels (αϊ/a.i/).

Certain words in Proto-Indo-European had two vowels separated by the consonants ory (esu "good"). In Greek, this consonant changed toh (ehu), and was lost between vowels (eu). InHomer, the two vowels were sometimes pronounced separately (diaeresis:ἐΰ) and sometimes together (synaeresis:εὖ). Later inAttic Greek, they were always pronounced together.

In Greek synaeresis, two vowels merge to form a long version of one of the two vowels (e.g.e +a →ā), a diphthong with a different main vowel (e.g.a +ei →āi), or a new vowel intermediate between the originals (e.g.a +o →ō). Contraction ofe +o oro +e leads toou, ande +e toei, which are in this casespurious diphthongs.

In general, the accent after contraction copies the accent before contraction. Often this means circumflex accent. But for nouns, the accent follows the nominative singular. Sometimes this means a different accent from the uncontracted form — i.e., whenever the ending has a long vowel.

Contraction in Greek occurs throughout the present and imperfect of contracted verbs and in the future of other verbs. There are three categories based on the vowel of contraction:a,e, oro.

Contraction also occurs in nouns, including thecontracted second declension.

S-stem nouns undergo contraction with vowel endings.

Somecompound nouns show contraction:

• λειτο-εργίᾱ →λειτουργίᾱ "liturgy"

In Modern Greek, where original diphthongs are pronounced as monophthongs, synaeresis is the pronunciation of two vowel sounds as amonophthong, and diaeresis is the pronunciation of the two vowels as a diphthong (αϊ/ai̮/).^{[citation needed]}

• Diaeresis
• Metaplasm
  • Synalepha
    • Crasis
    • Elision
      • Contraction
    • Synizesis
• Smoothing (phonetics)

• Figures of speech
• Phonetics
• Poetic devices
• Poetic rhythm

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