Metaphony

Level 6

In many words, the ending changes the stressed vowel: the o of novo (new, masculine) is closed, but the o of nova (new, feminine) is open.

How It Works

What happens

Galician has open and closed e and o. In many adjectives and nouns, the vowel of the ending affects the stressed vowel:

  • Masculine in -o: closed vowel. novo, porco, sogro, fermoso.
  • Feminine in -a: open vowel. nova, porca, sogra, fermosa.

The same happens with este (closed e) and esta (open e). It is not a rule for every word: mesa and boca end in -a but keep a closed vowel.

Regional differences

Metaphony is strongest in the western area and weaker or missing in some eastern speech. So you may hear the same word with slightly different vowels in different places. See the dialect areas.

Spelling

Galician writes novo and nova with the same letters. Accents show stress, and a few diacritic accents tell particular words apart, such as óso (bone) and oso (bear), but pairs like novo and nova are never marked. To learn the vowel of a word, listen to native speakers or check the pronunciation in the dictionary.

Examples (5)

  1. O coche é novo e a casa tamén é nova.

    The car is new, and the house is new too.

    Novo has a closed o and nova an open o, although both are spelled with o.

  2. Criaban un porco e unha porca.

    They were raising a pig and a sow.

    Closed o in porco, open o in porca.

  3. O meu sogro e a miña sogra viven en Vigo.

    My father-in-law and my mother-in-law live in Vigo.

    Closed o in sogro, open o in sogra.

  4. É un día fermoso e unha tarde fermosa.

    It is a beautiful day and a beautiful afternoon.

    The stressed o of fermoso is closed and that of fermosa is open.

  5. Este libro e esta revista son meus.

    This book and this magazine are mine.

    Este has a closed e, while esta has an open e.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding an accent to show the open vowel.

    A casa é nóva.
    A casa é nova.

    Galician spelling does not mark the open o of nova: it is heard, not written. Only a few set words, such as óso (bone), carry an accent to tell them apart from another word.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

MetaphonyLevel 6

Learn This First

Metaphony relates vowel quality to particular endings and regional pronunciation patterns.