Regular patterns of ‘vowel harmony’ in Turkish
Examples are given of words with and without a genitive case ending (GEN). In the second and fourth columns, the syllable before the ending has a ‘rounded’ vowel: ü or ö, u or o. That of the ending (-ün or - un) is also rounded. In the first and third columns the corresponding vowel is ‘unrounded’: i, e, i, or a. The ‘GEN’ ending (- in or - in) is similarly unrounded.
In the first two columns, the vowel before the ending is described as ‘front’: front rounded ü or ö; front unrounded i and e. The ending too is also front: rounded -ün or unrounded -in. In the last two columns the vowels in question are instead ‘back’: back rounded u and o; back unrounded i and a.