umlaut

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Umlaut

Wikipedia

Etymology

From German Umlaut in the 19^th century, from um- or um (“around, re-, trans-”) + Laut (“sound”), from Old High German hlūt. More at umb, loud.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʊm.laʊt/, /ˈʌm.laʊt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʊm.laʊt/, /ˈum.laʊt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊt

Noun

umlaut (plural umlauts or umlaute)

1. (linguistics) An assimilatory process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vocoid that is separated by one or more consonants.
2. (linguistics) The umlaut process (as above) that occurred historically in Germanic languages whereby back vowels became front vowels when followed by syllable containing a front vocoid (e.g. Germanic lūsiz > Old English lȳs(i) > Modern English lice).
3. (linguistics) A vowel so assimilated.
4. (orthography) The diacritical mark ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel when it indicates a (rounded) front vowel
5. (informal, orthography) A diaeresis.

   "Naïve" takes an umlaut because it is pronounced as two syllables.

Usage notes

• Although this symbol has the same form as the diaeresis/dieresis, it has a different function and so in standard and technical usage these two terms are not interchangeable. The term for the diacritic mark, as opposed to its function, is trema.
• When spelling a German word out loud, one can say “(vowel) umlaut” or “umlauted (vowel)”. e.g. “o umlaut” or “umlauted o” (ö). (German practice is to say “o Umlaut”, or more commonly to pronounce the letters, so the name of "Ö" is , just as "A" is and "B" is .) In the North of Germany, "ä" and "e" are pronounced identically; therefore, one would tend to say "a Umlaut" to avoid confusion.
• In alphabetic orders, "ä, ö, ü" are treated as "a, o, u" or "ae, oe, ue" in German (so the word lügen comes directly after or before the word lugen). In other languages, such as Swedish, the umlaut letters may have their own position in the alphabet.
• The usual English plural is umlauts, but the form umlaute (after the German) has seen some use. It is quite rare, however.

Synonyms

• (orthography): trema
• (linguistics): vowel mutation

Derived terms

• heavy metal umlaut

Related terms

• vowel harmony

Translations

Verb

umlaut (third-person singular simple present umlauts, present participle umlauting, simple past and past participle umlauted)

1. (transitive) To place an umlaut over (a vowel).
2. (linguistics, transitive) To modify (a word) so that an umlaut is required in it.

   an umlauting vowel

See also

• diaeresis, dieresis

Anagrams

• mutual

Dutch

Etymology

From German Umlaut.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈum.lɑu̯t/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: um‧laut

Noun

umlaut m (plural umlauten)

1. (Germanic grammar) umlaut

Derived terms

• umlautsfactor

Finnish

Etymology

From German Umlaut.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈumlɑut/,
• Rhymes: -umlɑut
• Syllabification^(key): um‧la‧ut

Noun

umlaut

1. umlaut (the diacritical mark ( ¨ ) placed over various vowels: a > ä, o > ö or u > ü in German and some closely related languages)

Declension

Hypernyms

• vokaalinmukaus

Anagrams

• muulta

Manx

Etymology

From German Umlaut.

Noun

umlaut m (genitive singular umlaut, plural umlautyn)

1. (linguistics, orthography) umlaut

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

umlaut

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from German Umlaut.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈum.lawt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -umlawt
• Syllabification: um‧laut

Noun

umlaut m inan

1. (phonology) umlaut (the partial assimilation of vowels in some Germanic languages)
2. umlaut (diacritical mark)

Declension

Further reading

• umlaut in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Noun

umlaut m (plural umlauts)

1. (linguistics) umlaut (the partial assimilation of a vowel in Germanic languages)
2. (orthography) umlaut (the diacritical mark ¨ used to indicate such assimilation)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Umlaut.

Noun

umlaut n (uncountable)

1. umlaut

Declension