Regular sound correspondences between Hungarian and other Uralic languages

There are numerous regular sound correspondences between Hungarian and the other Uralic languages. For example, Hungarian á corresponds to Khanty o in certain positions, and Hungarian h corresponds to Khanty x, while Hungarian final z corresponds to Khanty final t. These can be seen in Hungarian ház ("house") and Khanty xot ("house"), or Hungarian száz ("hundred") and Khanty sot ("hundred").

Hungarian and Khanty are closely connected, either genealogically or as part of a language area. The distance between Hungarian and the Finnic languages is greater, but the correspondences are also regular. The relationship is most obvious when comparing all Uralic languages together, for then individual idiosyncrasies are averaged out, but here we will just compare Hungarian with Finnish and Estonian (two Finnic languages).

Stop consonants

Word-initially

One important innovation of Hungarian is the lenition of the stop consonants *p *k in initial position.

Hungarian /f/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /p/ (compare English fish to Italian pesce):

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*puxe	fa	puu	puu	tree
*pala	falat	pala	pala	bit, bite
*pele-	fél	pelätä	pelgama	to fear
*pesä	fészek	pesä	pesa	nest
*pilwe	felhő	pilvi	pilv	cloud
*puna-	fon	punoa	punuma	to plait
*päŋe	fő	pää	peä	head

Before front vowels (e é i í y ä ö ő ü ű), Hungarian /k/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /k/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*küńele	könny	kyynel	küünistama	tear
*käte	kéz	käsi	käsi	hand, arm
*kiwe	kő	kivi	kivi	stone

Before back vowels (a á o ó u ú), Hungarian /h/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /k/ (as English /h/ in hound corresponds to Latin /k/ in canis)

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*kala	hal	kala	kala	fish
*kota	ház	kota	koda	house (Hung.), hut (Finn. and Est.)
*kuńśe	húgy	kusi	kusi	urine

The third stop inherited from Proto-Uralic, *t, did not undergo such a change.

Hungarian initial /t/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /t/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*tälwä	tél	talvi	talv	winter
*tumte-	tud	tuntea	tundma	to know
*towke	tavasz	touko		spring

Word-medially

In the middle of words (note that due to the loss of the word final vocals in the Old Hungarian period these are now at the end of the words), Hungarian has also lenited original stops, but in a different fashion.

Hungarian /p k/ correspond to Finnish and Estonian geminate stops /pp kk/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*ëppe	após	appi		father-in-law
*säppä	epe	sappi	sapp	gall
*lappɜ	lapos	lappea	lapp	flat
*lükkä-	lök	lykätä : lykkää-	lükkama	to push

Hungarian /t/ corresponds to the Finnish and Estonian two-stop cluster /tk/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*kütke-.	köt	kytkeä	kütke	to bind, to join (Estonian: "halter", a derivative)
*	tat (dialectal)		tõtkes	tench

(No examples where a word with original *tt would have survived in both Hungarian and Finnic are known, but cases testifying for the development of *tt to /tt/ in Finnic and /t/ in Hungarian can be set up with the help of the other Uralic languages.)

Hungarian /d/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /nt/ (which may alternate with /nn/):

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*ëmta-	ad	antaa	andma	to give
*jänte	ideg	jänne : jäntee-		nerve (Hung.; a derivative), string, sinew (Fi.)
*omte	odú	ontelo	õõnes	hollow
*tumte-	tud	tuntea	tundma	to know

(Again, with the help of the other Uralic languages, the analogous developments *mp *ŋk → Hungarian /b g/, Finnic /mp ŋk/ could be supported.)

Hungarian /v/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /p/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*kepä	kevés	kepeä	kebja	few (Hung.), light (Finnic)
*čupa	sovány	hupe-ne-	huba	thin (Hung.)

Hungarian /z/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /t/ (which can alternate with /d/ or zero, and becomes /s/ before /i/):

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*kota	ház	kota	koda	house (Hung.), hut (Finnic)
*käte	kéz	käsi : käden : käte-	käsi : käe : käte-	hand, arm
*pata	fazék	pata	pada	pot
*mete	méz	mesi : meden : mete-	mesi: mee : mete-	honey

Hungarian zero, here always preceding a long vowel, corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /k/ by itself (which may alternate with zero or /h/) and as the first member of a consonant cluster:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*ikene	íny	ien : ikene-	ige	palate (Es.), gums (Hung. & Fi.)
*joke	jó	joki	jõgi	river (only in placenames in Hung.)
*mëksa	máj	maksa	maks	liver
*näke-	néz	nähdä : näke-	nägema	to see
*sükśe	ősz	syksy	sügis	autumn

Sibilant consonants

Two different regular correspondences can be found in Hungarian for Finnish and Estonian /s/. The first is Hungarian /s/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*śata	száz	sata	sata	hundred
*śüδäme	szív	sydän	süda	heart
*śilmä	szem	silmä	silm	eye
*śuwe	száj	suu	suu	mouth
*pesä	fészek	pesä	pesa	nest

The second is Hungarian zero:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*sewe-	eszik : ev-	syödä	sööma	to eat
*säppä	epe	sappi	sapp	gall
*sëne	ín	suoni	soon	sinew, (Finnic also) vein
*süle	öl	syli	süli	bosom

These two correspondences represent two different original consonants. /s/ : /s/ is reconstructed as originating in Proto-Uralic *ś, while ∅ : /s/ is reconstructed as Proto-Uralic *s. Both correspondences can be seen simultaneously in the word for "autumn" (see above under *-k-), from Proto-Uralic *sükśi.

Sonorant consonants

Hungarian liquid consonants /l r/ correspond to Finnish and Estonian /l r/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*ora	ár	ora	ora	awl (Hung., Es.), thorn (Fi.)
*alla	alatt	alla	all	under
*elä-	él	elää	elama	to live
*kala-	hal	kuolla	koolema	to die
*läme	lé : lev-	liemi	leem	liquid (Hung.), broth (Finnic)
*ńale-	nyal	nuolla	noolima	to lick
*ńële	nyíl	nuoli	nool	arrow
*wolka	váll	olka	õlg	shoulder

Examples also include 'bit', 'to fear', 'cloud', 'fish', 'winter', 'flat', 'to push', 'bosom' listed above.

Hungarian nasal consonants /m n ɲ/ correspond to Finnish and Estonian /m n n/:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*mi	mi	mikä : mi-	mis	what
*mene-	megy : men-	mennä	minema	to go
*mińä	meny	miniä	minia	daughter-in-law
*muna	mony (dialectal)	muna	muna	egg, testicle
*neljä	négy	neljä	neli	four
*nime	név	nimi	nimi	name

Further examples include (/m/:) 'honey', 'liver', 'eye', (/n/:) 'to plait', 'to see', 'sinew', (/ɲ/:) 'tear', 'palate', 'arrow', 'to lick' listed above. Word-internally a correspondence Hungarian /v/ : Finnic /m/ is also found, as seen in 'broth', 'name', and 'heart'.

A correspondence can also be set up between Hungarian /g/ and Finnish and Estonian long vowels. With the help of the other Uralic languages, this can be reconstructed as *ŋ:

Proto-Uralic	Hungarian	Finnish	Estonian	meaning
*jäŋe	jég	jää	jää	ice
*piŋe	fog	pii	pii	tooth
*püŋe	fogoly	pyy	püü	hazelhen
*śäŋe	ég	sää		sky (Hung.), weather (Fi.)
*šiŋere	egér	hiiri	hiir	mouse
*wiŋe-	vég	viimeinen	viimane	end (Hung.), last (Finnic)

External links

Finnish-Hungarian etymologies

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