[∅]→[ʌ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Empty sound / Zero to Open-mid back unrounded vowel

The insertion of the open-mid back unrounded vowel [ʌ] (or a similar schwa-like central vowel) is a form of epenthesis known as anaptyxis. It is frequently used in dialectal speech to break up difficult consonant clusters, making words easier to pronounce.

Phonetic Effects

Epenthesis, Anaptyxis, Svarabhakti

Language Examples

English (Dialectal) Germanic

athlete [θl]→[ˈæθ.ʌ.liːt]— Epenthesis breaks the interdental-lateral cluster.

film [lm]→filum [ˈfɪl.ʌm]— Common in Scottish and Irish English to break liquid-nasal codas.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Germanic Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [æ] → [ɛ] — Vowel Raising

Sources & References

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