Background for epenthesis
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epenthesis

/ɪˈpɛn.θə.sɪs/

Meanings
noun
The insertion of a phoneme, letter, or syllable into a word, usually to satisfy the phonological constraints of a language or poetic context.

Examples :

"The poet added an extra "a" in the middle of the word "summer," an example of epenthesis, to create a more pleasing rhythm in the poem. "
language linguistics phonetics grammar word

Related Words

Illustration satisfy

satisfy verb

/ˈsætɪsfaɪ/

To do enough for; to meet the needs of; to fulfill the wishes or requirements of.

"The teacher's explanation satisfied the students' curiosity about the history of the Roman Empire. "

Illustration language

language noun

[ˈleɪŋɡwɪd͡ʒ]

A body of words, and set of methods of combining them (called a grammar), understood by a community and used as a form of communication.

"Deaf and mute people communicate using languages like ASL."

Illustration phonological

phonological adjective

/ˌfɒnəlˈɒdʒɪkəl/ /ˌfoʊnəlˈɑdʒɪkəl/

Of or relating to phonology.

"The student struggled with the phonological rules of English, often mixing up similar sounds like "b" and "p." "

Illustration usually

usually adverb

/ˈjuːʒju(ə)li/ /ˈjuːʒ(ʊə)li/

Most of the time; less than always, but more than occasionally.

"Except for one or two days a year, he usually walks to work."

Illustration syllable

syllable noun

/ˈsɪləbəl/

A unit of human speech that is interpreted by the listener as a single sound, although syllables usually consist of one or more vowel sounds, either alone or combined with the sound of one or more consonants; a word consists of one or more syllables.

"The word "happy" has two syllables: "hap" and "py." "

Illustration phoneme

phoneme noun

/ˈfəʊniːm/ /ˈfoʊnim/

An indivisible unit of sound in a given language. A phoneme is an abstraction of the physical speech sounds (phones) and may encompass several different phones.

"The word "cat" has three phonemes: /k/, /æ/, and /t/. "

Illustration pleasing

pleasing verb

/ˈpliːzɪŋ/ /ˈplizɪŋ/

To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to.

"Her presentation pleased the executives."

Illustration letter

letter noun

/-ɾə(ɹ)/ /ˈlɛtə(ɹ)/ /-ɾɚ/

A symbol in an alphabet.

"There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet."

Illustration constraints

constraints noun

/kənˈstɹeɪnts/

Something that constrains; a restriction.

"Due to time constraints, I couldn't finish all the questions on the test. "

Illustration insertion

insertion noun

/ɪnˈsɝʃən/

The act of inserting, or something inserted.

"The insertion of a new paragraph improved the flow of the essay. "

Illustration example

example noun

/əɡˈzæmpl̩/ /ɘɡˈzɐːmpɯ/ /ɪɡˈzɑːmpl̩/

Something that is representative of all such things in a group.

"The teacher gave a good example of a sentence using the past tense. "

Illustration context

context noun

/ˈkɒntɛkst/ /ˈkɑːntɛkst/

The surroundings, circumstances, environment, background or settings that determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of an event or other occurrence.

"In what context did your attack on him happen? - We had a pretty tense relationship at the time, and when he insulted me I snapped."