Hiatus

In phonology, hiatus (/haɪˈeɪtəs/; from Latin hiatus, meaning 'gaping'[1]) or diaeresis (/daɪˈɛrɪsɪs/ or /daɪˈɪərɪsɪs/; from Ancient Greek διαίρεσις [diaíresis] "division" ) refers to two vowel sounds occurring in adjacent syllables, with no intervening consonant. When two adjacent vowel sounds occur in the same syllable, the result is instead described as a synaeresis.

The English words hiatus and diaeresis themselves each contain a hiatus between the first and second syllables.

Preference

Some languages do not have diphthongs, except optionally in rapid speech, or have a limited number of diphthongs but also numerous vowel sequences which cannot form diphthongs and thus appear in hiatus.

Avoidance

Many languages disallow or restrict hiatus, avoiding it either by deleting or assimilating the vowel, or by adding an extra consonant.
Epenthesis
See also: Linking and intrusive R

A glottal stop or a glide may be added between vowels (epenthesis) to prevent hiatus.

Some non-rhotic dialects of English insert /r/ to avoid hiatus after non-high word-final (or occasionally morpheme-final) vowels, although prescriptive guides for Received Pronunciation discourage this.[4]
Contraction

In Greek and Latin poetry, hiatus is generally avoided, though it does occur in many authors under certain rules with varying degrees of poetic licence. Hiatus may be avoided by elision of a final vowel, occasionally prodelision (elision of initial vowel) and synizesis (pronunciation of two vowels as one without change in writing).
Correption

Correption is the shortening of a long vowel before a short vowel in hiatus.
See also

Diphthong
Synaeresis
Elision
Vowel cluster
Words without consonants – extreme examples of hiatus
Movable nu

References

hiātus. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. A Latin Dictionary on Perseus Project.
"diaeresis". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
διαίρεσις. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
"Voice and Speech in the Theatre"
diaeresis: December 9, 1998. The Mavens' Word of the Day. Random House.
Umlauts in English?. General Questions. Straight Dope Message Board.

Modern Greek Literature

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