- 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] /ˌlɑn tsi kɛˈnɛk kɔ/ for German Landsknecht [lahnts-knekht]. /ˈlɑntsˌknɛxt/.