Front vowels | Back vowels | Neutral |
е/э и/ы | о/ё у/ю | а/я |
A syllable containing a front vowel is followed by a syllable
(1) containing a front vowel, or
(2) a neutral vowel
A syllable containing a back vowel is followed by a syllable
(3) containing a back vowel, or
(4) a neutral vowel
Examples:
(1) веле = village
(1) велесэ = in a village
(1) пире = garden
(2) пирева = through the garden
(3) кудо = house
(3) кудоcо = in a house
(4) мода = land
(4) модава = across the land
There are several exceptions, though. If a back vowel is followed by (1) a palatal glide or (2) a palatal consonant, the next vowel may be a front vowel:
(1) ойсе = with butter
(2) узере* = axe
* The reason why -з- is palatalized is that it is followed by the letter -e-.
for comparison