In linguistics, open syllable lengthening is the process by which short vowels become long when in an open syllable. It occurs in many languages at a phonetic or allophonic level, where no meaningful distinction in length is made. However, as it became phonemic in many Germanic languages, it is especially significant there, both historically and in the modern languages.
Read more about Open Syllable Lengthening: Germanic Languages
Famous quotes containing the words open, syllable and/or lengthening:
“The role of the writer is not simply to arrange Being according to his own lights; he must also serve as a medium to Being and remain open to its often unfathomable dictates. This is the only way the work can transcend its creator and radiate its meaning further than the author himself can see or perceive.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)
“Seyton. The Queen, my lord, is dead.
Macbeth. She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.—
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“We mothers are learning to mark our mothering success by our daughters’ lengthening flight. When they need us, we are fiercely there. But we do not need them to need us—or to become us.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)