Paragoge

Paragoge (/ˌpærəˈɡoʊdʒi/; from Greek: παραγωγή; adj. paragogic /ˌpærəˈɡɒdʒɪk/), is the addition of a sound to the end of a word. Often, this is due to nativization. It is a type of epenthesis, most commonly vocalic epenthesis.

Diachronic paragoge

Some languages have undergone paragoge as a sound change, so that modern forms are longer than the historical forms they are derived from. Italian sono 'I am' from Latin sum is an example. Sometimes, as here, the paragogic vowel is an echo vowel.

Paragoge in loanwords

Some languages add a sound to the end of a loanword when it would otherwise end in a forbidden sound. Similarly, some languages add a sound to the end of a loanword in order to make it declinable.

Examples

• English computer → Latvian kompjūters;
• English rack → Finnish räkki;
• English gal → Japanese ギャル (gyaru);
• Ottoman Turkish راقى (rakı) > South Slavic rakia.

Notes

References

• Crowley, Terry. (1997) An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.