This feature is found with Scottish pronunciation of words containing 'rm' e.g. 'warm'  and 'arm' pronounced with an extra vowel, giving 'warum' and 'arum'.  It is very common in Gaelic - so common that it is difficult to map the feature since there is almost universal use of svarabhakti in certain words e.g. 'gorm' (blue), pronounced like 'gorum'. (There can, however, be variation in the exact detail, as the survey shows, e.g. different vowels used to different extents).

In the SGDS, words containing the following letters are found with svarabhakti:

rm e.g. 'arm' (weapon)

rb e.g. 'carbad' (wagon)

rg e.g. 'airgead' (money)

rch e.g. 'dorcha' (dark)

mch e.g. 'iomchar' (carry)

ml e.g. 'imlich' (lick)(see section on Metathesis)

rbh e.g. 'marbh' (dead)

In all of these cases there are very few exceptions, apart for 'mbh' where in many cases, the 'bh' is lost (see section on medial 'bh').

There are, however, three examples were the almost universal application of svarabhakti does not apply.

1) Words with 'rn' e.g. 'dòrn' (fist) generally do not have svarabhakti, although the accompanying map shows that there are exceptions. In some of these cases, the superscript symbol used in the Survey means, "schwa with r-colouring" (SGDS, Vol1, para 7.2.4). This applies particularly  to the west and north coasts of Sutherland.

In many cases, the letter 'r' is eliminated but  where the letter is heard, it has varying degrees of emphasis and pronunciation.

2) 'Morair' (lord) shows a definite pattern for the extra vowel after the first 'r', in an area including Skye, Uist, Harris and western Inverness-shire, this area being surrounded by an outer non-svarabhakti crescent from Lewis to Arran.

3) Svarabhakti can also occur at the beginning of a word e.g. in words starting with 'dl' e.g. 'dlùth' (near) or with 'dr' e.g. 'drochaid' (bridge).  In both types, however, it is not frequent, as the 'drochaid' map shows, with perhaps a tendency to be found in Wester Ross.