Vowelizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of articulating sounds that denote language meaning involves creating vocal expressions that correspond to letters or symbols used in communication
2. The act of producing vowel sounds when speaking or representing those sounds in writing
3. The process of adding or emphasizing vowel sounds either in spoken language or in the notation of words

Etymology: "Vowelizing" is the present participle of "vowelize," which is formed from "vowel" plus the suffix "-ize." The base word "vowel" came into English from Old French "vouel," itself from Latin "vocalis," meaning "vocal" or "relating to the voice," since a vowel is the sound produced by the voice without obstruction from the lips, teeth, or tongue. The suffix "-ize" comes from Greek "-izein," which turned nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat in the manner of." Put together, "vowelize" means to make something vowel-like, or to add vowel sounds to a written or spoken form. The practice is most familiar from writing systems such as Hebrew and Arabic, where consonant-only scripts are supplemented with vowel markings, which is why the verb is most often heard in discussions of those alphabets.

Synonyms: voicing, articulating, pronouncing

Antonyms: mumbling, muttering, muffling