Some gradient dimensions of marginal vowels: The example of Romani in contact with Hungarian

Baló, Márton A. (2026) Some gradient dimensions of marginal vowels: The example of Romani in contact with Hungarian. ACTA LINGUISTICA ACADEMICA, 73 (2). pp. 406-421. ISSN 2559-8201

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Abstract

This paper aims to make a contribution to the theoretical evaluation of marginal vowels, that is, vowels whose phonemic status may be called into question due to, among other things, their low functional load and hence weak contrastivity, their borrowed origin or their unpredictable appearance. The example taken is Romani, a New Indo-Aryan language which has been widely spoken in Europe and, throughout its history, has come into contact with various languages, including Hungarian. The paper introduces new dimensions and attempts to expand existing ones along which the gradient nature of the sounds of a language can be interpreted, providing clues about the varying degrees to which different sounds may play a role within the sound system.

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