Paragoge Explained

Paragoge is the addition of a sound to the end of a word. It is a type of vowel epenthesis.

Paragoge is most often linked with the nativization of loanwords. It is particularly common in Brazilian Portuguese, not only in loanwords but also in word derivation. It is also present in the accents of many Brazilians while speaking foreign languages such as English.[1]

Some languages have undergone paragoge as a sound change, and modern forms are longer than the historical forms they are derived from. Italian sono 'I am', from Latin sum, is an example. Sometimes, as above, the paragogic vowel is an echo vowel, such as Proto-Oceanic *saqat "bad" > Uneapa zaɣata.

Etymology

The word paragoge is taken from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[:wikt:παραγωγή#Ancient_Greek|παραγωγή]] 'deviation; language alteration': from παρα- prefix para- 'beside' and ἀγωγή agogē 'bringing in'.

In loanwords

Some languages add a sound to the end of a loanword when it would otherwise end in a forbidden sound. Some languages add a grammatical ending to the end of a loanword to make it declinable.

Examples

Grammatical endings

In inherited words

Paragoge can occur in the inherited words of a language as well. This is the case with many words in Romance languages and Austronesian languages.

Examples

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Major . Roy C. . Paragoge and degree of foreign accent in Brazilian English . Second Language Research . June 1986 . 2 . 1 . 53–71 . 10.1177/026765838600200104. 143765687 .