Regular sound correspondences between Hungarian and other Uralic languages

There are numerous regular sound correspondences between Hungarian language, Hungarian and the other Uralic languages. For example, Hungarian ''á'' corresponds to Khanty language, Khanty ''o'' in certain positions, and Hungarian ''h'' corresponds to Khanty ''x'', while Hungarian final ''z'' corresponds to Khanty final ''t''. These can be seen in Hungarian ''ház'' ("house") and Khanty ''xot'' ("house"), or Hungarian ''száz'' ("hundred") and Khanty ''sot'' ("hundred").

Hungarian and Khanty language, Khanty are closely connected, either genealogically or as part of a sprachbund, language area. The distance between Hungarian and the Finnic languages is greater, but the correspondences are also regular. The relationship is most apparent when comparing all Uralic languages together, for then individual idiosyncrasy, idiosyncrasies are averaged out, but in this article Hungarian is only compared with Finnish language, Finnish and Estonian language, Estonian (two Finnic languages).

Stop consonants

Word-initially

One important innovation of Hungarian is the lenition of the stop consonants *p *k in initial position.

*Hungarian corresponds to Finnish and Estonian (compare English ''fish'' to Italian ''pesce''):

*Before front vowels (''e é i í y ä ö ő ü ű''), Hungarian corresponds to Finnish and Estonian :

*Before back vowels (''a á o ó u ú''), Hungarian corresponds to Finnish and Estonian (as English in ''hound'' corresponds to Latin in ''canis'')

The third stop inherited from Proto-Uralic, *t, did not undergo such a change.
*Hungarian initial corresponds to Finnish and Estonian :

Word-medially

In the middle of words (note that due to the loss of the word final vocals in the Old Hungarian period these are now at the end of the words), Hungarian has also lenited original stops, but in a different fashion.

* Hungarian correspond to Finnish and Estonian geminate stops :

* Hungarian corresponds to the Finnish and Estonian two-stop cluster :

(No examples where a word with original *tt would have survived in both Hungarian and Finnic are known, but cases testifying for the development of *tt to /tt/ in Finnic and /t/ in Hungarian can be set up with the help of the other Uralic languages.)

* Hungarian corresponds to Finnish and Estonian (which may alternate with ):

(Again, with the help of the other Uralic languages, the analogous developments *mp *ŋk → Hungarian /b g/, Finnic /mp ŋk/ could be supported.)

* Hungarian corresponds to Finnish and Estonian :

* Hungarian corresponds to Finnish and Estonian (which can alternate with or zero, and becomes before ):

* Hungarian zero, here always preceding a long vowel, corresponds to Finnish and Estonian by itself (which may alternate with zero or /h/) and as the first member of a consonant cluster:

Sibilant consonants

Two different regular correspondences can be found in Hungarian for Finnish and Estonian . The first is Hungarian :

The second is Hungarian zero:

These two correspondences represent two different original consonants. : is reconstructed as originating in Proto-Uralic *ś, while ∅ : is reconstructed as Proto-Uralic *s. Both correspondences can be seen simultaneously in the word for "autumn" (see above under *-k-), from Proto-Uralic *sükśi.

Sonorant consonants

* Hungarian liquid consonants correspond to Finnish and Estonian :

Examples also include 'bit', 'to fear', 'cloud', 'fish', 'winter', 'flat', 'to push', 'bosom' listed above.

* Hungarian nasal consonants correspond to Finnish and Estonian :

Further examples include (:) 'honey', 'liver', 'eye', (:) 'to plait', 'to see', 'sinew', (:) 'tear', 'palate', 'arrow', 'to lick' listed above. Word-internally a correspondence Hungarian : Finnic is also found, as seen in 'broth', 'name', and 'heart'.

* A correspondence can also be set up between Hungarian and Finnish and Estonian long vowels. With the help of the other Uralic languages, this can be reconstructed as *ŋ:
{, class="wikitable"
, -
!Proto-Uralic
!Hungarian
!Finnish
!Estonian
!meaning
, -
, ''*jäŋe''
, ''jég''
, ''jää''
, ''jää''
, ice
, -
, ''*piŋe''
, ''fog''
, ''pii''
, ''pii''
, tooth
, -
, ''*püŋe''
, ''fogoly''
, ''pyy''
, ''püü''
, hazelhen
, -
, ''*śäŋe''
, ''ég''
, ''sää''
,
, sky (Hung.), weather (Fi.)
, -
, ''*šiŋere''
, ''egér''
, ''hiiri''
, ''hiir''
, mouse
, -
, ''*wiŋe-''
, ''vég''
, ''viimeinen''
, ''viimane''
, end (Hung.), last (Finnic)

See also

*Uralic languages#Selected cognates, Selected cognates in the Uralic languages
*Finno-Ugric languages#Common vocabulary, Common vocabulary among Finno-Ugric languages
*The living fish swims in water

External links

Finnish–Hungarian etymologies

Hungarian language
Language comparison