Theories of vowel harmony

Vowel harmony is a linguistic pattern where vowels within a word influence each other to create a harmonious sound. Think of it like a rule ensuring vowels are consistent or compatible in their features, such as front or back positioning. Different theories explain this phenomenon: some suggest it's due to natural tendencies of speech production; others propose it's governed by specific grammatical rules. Essentially, vowel harmony helps maintain phonetic consistency within words, making pronunciation more fluid and patterns easier to predict across related words in a language.