Kypchak rounding harmony

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In Kazakh and Kyrgyz, there's an asymmetry in the system of vowel-rounding harmony.

In Kazakh, the roundness feature was lost on non-first syllables (except for with so-called long vowels), but rounding harmony makes up for this:

  • *bügün > /bügin/ (modern orthographic/underlying form)
  • /bügin/ > [bügün] (rounding harmony creates modern spoken form)
  • /büginge/ > [bügüngö]

Examples of rounding harmony working:

  • /jüremin/ [jürömün]
  • /köremin/ [körömün]
  • /soramın/ ??[soromun]

Examples of rounding harmony not working:

  • /turamın/ [turamın]