Euphony . From a linguistic point of view, euphony refers to the pleasant sound that a word , or combination of words, produces . It opposes cacophony and explains certain phonetic changes due to the influence of contiguous phonemes . The Spanish retains many of the eufonizaciones of the Latin . There are three basic rules to achieve euphony.
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 Definition
- 2 Special features
- 3 Rules of Euphony
- 1 Before feminine nouns
- 2 Before a word that begins with i, hi
- 3 Before a word that begins with o, ho
- 4 Euphony in literature
- 5 Bibliography
Definition
Euphonia: from the Greek eú (good, good) and phoné (sound, voice) and the suffix ía: quality. Euphony is the quality of sounds that are pleasant to hear ; it can come into play already as an assimilation factor, to avoid phonetic contrasts that feel like discordant (such is the case, especially with vowel harmony phenomena), or, on the contrary, as a dissimilation factor to avoid some annoying repetitions. According to the Royal Spanish Academy, euphony is the pleasant Sonority that results from the successful combination of the acoustic elements of the words.
Special features
The euphony in each language is appreciated differently, it exerts a great influence on the formation of all of them and gives rise to many of the irregularities and grammatical anomalies . Euphony leads to, for example, in Spanish saying a soul, water, instead of: a soul, water. Euphony is based on the principle of good sound (sound good), but it does not follow subjective criteria, but rather specific rules.
Euphony rules
Euphony rules are applied in order to make words sound better even if they do not strictly follow grammar rules, they help avoid cacophony and facilitate the pronunciation of some pairs of words. There are three fundamental rules:
Before feminine nouns
The substantive female beginning with “a” or “has” tonic, in the singular must be preceded by an article masculine. This rule is only for the singular because in the plural the “ese” (s) of the article prevents cacophony. The noun will always retain its feminine characteristics. Examples:
- the eagle / the eagles
- the classroom / the classrooms
- the soul / souls
- the fairy godmother / the fairy godmothers
- the ax / the axes
- a soul / some souls
- the area / areas
This rule does not apply to those nouns that have a feminine and masculine form and whose ending does not allow to distinguish them: Eg: Arabic, Arabic. Nor does it apply to women’s names or to the two letters that begin with a tonic, it is said: the a, the ax or one a, an ax. The same happens with acronyms that begin with “a”, the correct thing is: the AFA (Argentine Football Association) and not “the AFA”. Nor does it apply when the article precedes an adjective, as in “the high tower”, “the skillful secretary.”
Before a word that begins with i, hi
Before a word that begins with i, hi the preposition y is replaced by e, this serves to avoid vowel clash and not to pronounce as if they were compound names. Examples:
- Maria and Isabel / Isabel and Maria
- beautiful and smart / smart and beautiful
- father and son / son and father
- Spanish and English
Words that begin with hia, hie, hio, Examples: Copper, gold and iron are metals are excepted from this rule. Cat, rabbit and hyena are animals. This rule also does not apply at the beginning of questions or exclamations. Example: And Inés, when does she arrive?
Before a word that begins with o, ho
The preposition o is replaced by u, this serves to avoid vowel clash and not pronounce as if they were compound names.
Examples:
- Gabriel or Omar
- Belgian or Dutch
- seven or eight
- suicide or homicide
Euphony in literature
In artistic language, euphony refers to elements capable of producing groupings of phonemes that can have an aesthetic effect. The selection can be negative or positive. It is negative when the author only takes care to avoid groupings of phonic elements that feel unpleasant, or cacophonic (such an effect is produced, for example, by groupings of the same phonemes or syllables: “I don’t know why Tomás is so stupid”); in certain cases, however, even cacophony can have an aesthetic function, for example, when the author, according to the communicated content, accumulates “rough” phonemes. Much more important is the positive organization of phonic elements, that is, the regular distribution or repetition of phonemes, groups of phonemes, syllables (in rhyme), words, phrases or whole verses.
Euphony is based on the fact that each language has its own repertoire of sounds, and in addition to its typical combinations of sounds. There is thus an ideal “phonic” model for each language. Euphony occurs when the linguistic enunciation respects, and not only respects, but reinforces, the tendencies of that ideal phonic model; when enunciation radically departs from it, cacophony occurs.
