In phonology and phonetics, epenthesis is the insertion of an extra sound into a word. ... According to some linguists, "vowel epenthesis is often motivated by the need to make consonant contrasts more distinct" (The Handbook of Speech Perception, 2005).

What is epenthesis example?

Epenthesis most often occurs within unfamiliar or complex consonant clusters. For example, in English, the name Dwight is commonly pronounced with an epenthetic schwa between the /d/ and the /w/ ([dəˈwaɪt]), and many speakers insert a schwa between the /l/ and /t/ of realtor.

What is epenthesis rule?

Epenthesis Vowel epenthesis is a low-level phonetic rule which is used to break up clusters of consonants which are unacceptable in a certain language or variety. ... It most commonly occurs with a vowel and /r/ and is attested widely across many languages.