svarabhakti

[ sfahr-ah-bahk-tee; Sanskrit svuh-ruh-buhk-ti ]

noun

, Linguistics.

1. the process of inserting vowel sounds into a consonant cluster, as in a loanword to make it conform to the pattern of the speaker's language and, hence, more easily pronounceable, as in the Italian pronunciation [lahn-tsee-ke-, nek, -kaw] for German Landsknecht [lahnts, -kne, kh, t].

Word History and Origins

Origin of svarabhakti¹

1875–80; < Sanskrit: vowel segment (inserted in particular environments)