Definition and Examples of Epenthesis

Definition and Examples of Epenthesis In phonology and phonetics, epenthesis is the insertion of an extra sound into a word. Adjective: epenthetic. Verb: epenthesize. Also known as intrusion or  anaptyxis. According to some linguists, vowel epenthesis is often motivated by the need to make consonant contrasts more distinct (The Handbook of Speech Perception, 2005). Etymology: From the Greek, putting in Pronunciation: eh-PEN-the-sis Examples and Observations In certain varieties [of English], a vowel breaks up the cluster (epenthesis): film becomes [filÉ™m] in Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa.(Elly van Gelderen, A History of the English Language. John Benjamins, 2006)The history of English provides examples [of epenthesis] like the development of aemtig into empty, with epenthetic p, and of à ¾unor into thunder, with epenthetic d. Non-standard pronunciations include athalete for athlete and fillum for film, with epenthetic vowels.(R.L. Trask, A Dictionary of Phonetics and Phonology. Routledge, 1996)Fambily for FamilyShe were gentle an sweet, an the mos beautiful creetur in allinin the place where we lived. An her fambily was that proud an aristocratic thet no one could tech em with a ten-foot pole.(L. Frank Baum, Aunt Janes Nieces at Millville, 1908)Athalete for AthleteThats the thing, said McCloud plaintively. A athalete has to keep up appearances. Sure, people think a athalete makes plenty, and he do on paper. But people never s top to think hes allus gotta keep up a expensive front.(Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano, 1952) Mischeeveous for MischievousThe pronunciation (mis-chÄ“vÄ“-ɘs) is considered nonstandard  and is an example of intrusion, a phonological process that involves the addition or insertion of an extra sound. Mischievous is properly pronounced with three syllables, with the accent on the first syllable. The word is often misspelled with the suffix -ious, which matches the mispronunciation.(American Heritage Dictionaries, 100 Words Almost Everyone Confuses and Misuses. Houghton MIfflin Harcourt, 2004)  Ã‚  Vowels and Consonants-  Epenthetic sounds are not always vowels. For example, consider the two indefinite articles a and an. We know that a is used before consonant sounds and an is used before vowel sounds . . .. We may view this [n] as an epenthetic sound that breaks up a sequence of two vowels: a apple - an apple.(Anita K. Berry, Linguistic Perspectives on Language and Education. Greenwood, 2002)The Effects of Epenthesis on SpellingEpenthesis occurs frequently, both in legal and in lay language. The addition of an i before the t in speciality is an example. The pronunciation of jewelry as jewelery is a result of epenthesis, as is the pronunciation contentuous for contentious. Other examples of epenthesis: the ubiquitous relitor for realtor and that favorite of sports announcers, athalete for athlete.(Gertrude Block, Legal Writing Advice: Questions and Answers. William S. Hein, 2004)