chain shift
Noun
Meaning
chain shift (plural chain shifts)
(linguistics, phonology) A phonological modification of a vowel system in which a change in a particular vowel causes other adjacent vowels to also change in order to avoid vowel mergers.
Noun
chain shift (plural chain shifts)
(linguistics, phonology) A phonological modification of a vowel system in which a change in a particular vowel causes other adjacent vowels to also change in order to avoid vowel mergers.