Assimilation

 Assimilation is a process by which two or

more sounds become more similar to each
other.This similarity is achieved by one of
the sounds taking characteristics from the
other one. Assimilations can be classified
according to the direction in which the
borrowing of characteristics is effected.
 Regressive Assimilation
 If a sound takes features from the sound
FOLLOWING it we can talk about
regressive or anticipatory assimilation
since the features “move” backwards or
are anticipated, as it were: A B.
 Progressive Assimilation
 When a sound takes features from the
sound preceding it, we talk about
progressive or perseverative
assimilation since the features move
forward A B, they persevere into the
following sound.
 Coalescence
 This is one type of assimilation. In
coalescence, two sounds merge into one
sound which shares characteristics from
the two original ones. In this sense it is a
kind of bidirectional assimilation.
 Assimilations may also be classified according to
the type of feature which is borrowed. In English
most connected speech assimilations involve
place of articulation features, although here are
a few cases of voice assimilations.
 Place assimilations in English involve alveolar
stops /t d n/ which change their place of
articulation to bilabial or velar depending on the
surrounding sounds, or alveolar fricatives /s z/
which may change their place of articulation to
post-alveolar when followed by a palato-alveolar
/S tS Z dZ/ or palatal consonant /j/

* stops= plosives + affricates + nasals

 Alveolar stop regressive place
assimilation:
 The alveolar stops /t d n/ may become
bilabial when followed by bilabial
consonants /p b m/ or they may become
velar stops when followed by velars /k g/
without altering their voicing. Thus:
– /t/ may become /p/ or /k/
– /d/ may become /b/ or /g/
– /n/ may become /m/ or /N/
 Examples: /t/ into /p/ or /k/

 That man /D{t m{n/ [D{p m{n]

 That car /D{t kA:/ [D{k kA:]
 Examples: /d/ into /b/ or /g/

 Bad boy /b{d bOI/ [b{b bOI]

 Bad girl /b{d g3:l/ [b{g g3:l]
 Example: /n/ into /m/ or /N/

 Ten pens /ten penz/ [tem penz]

 Ten keys /ten ki:z/ [teN ki:z]
 This process can also affect an entire
sequence of two or three alveolar stops,
so that /nt/, for example, can becone
/mp/ or /Nk/. It is extremely unlikely that
only the last of a sequence of alveolar
stops will be assimilated. If one is
affected, they all will be affected.

– Front garden /frVnt gA:dn/

[frVNk gA:dn]
– Couldn’t be /kUdnt bi/
[kUbmp bi]
 Notice that since the alveolar plossives
/t d/ may often be deleted, there will be
quite a lot of instances in which an
alveolar plossive may either be deleted or
it may assimilate to the following sound,
for example:
– Couldn’t be /kUdnt bi/ [kUbm bi]
[kUbmp bi]
– Cold cream /k@Uld kri:m/
[k@Ul kri:m]
[k@Ulg kri:m]
 Alveolar Fricative Regressive Place
Assimilation
 The alveolar fricatives /s z/ may become
palato-alveolar fricative without altering
their voicing when followed by a palatal
approximant /j/ or a palato-alveolar
fricative /S Z/ Thus /s/ may become
/S/and /z/ may become /Z/
 Is she? /Iz Si/ /IZ Si/
 Dress shop /dres SQp/ /dreS SQp/
Alveolar syllabic nasal progressive
place assimilation
 The alveolar syllabic nasal [n=] may
become bilabial /m/ or velar /N/ when
PRECEDED by a bilabial or velar plosive in
the same word and followed by a
consonant in the same or next word or by
a pause.
– Open /@Up@n/ [@Upn=] [@Upm]
– Bacon /beIk@n/ [beIkn=] [beIkN=]
 Coalescence
 The alveolar plossives /t/ and /d/ may merge
with a following palatal approximant /j/ to
become post-alveolar affricates /tS//dZ/
respectively. This type of coalescence, although
historically found within a word, is only comon in
current RP English when the plossive and the
approximant are in different words and the
approximant is in a gramatical word.
– Don’t you? /d@Unt ju/ /d@UntSu/
– Would you? /wUd ju/ /wUdZu/
 Voice assimilation
 In current English, voice assimilation is not very common
as a connected speech process and is restricted to some
close-knit structures, such as HAVE TO or OF COURSE.
In these cases assimilation is regressive and the feature
which is borrowed is voicelessness. Thus /v/ becomes /f/
because the following sound, /t/ or /k/, is voiceless. This
sort of voicing assimilation only affects /v/ and /z/.
Assimilation of voiceless to voiced sounds DOES NOT
OCCUR in present day RP English.
– Have to /h{v tu/ /h{f tu/
– Of course /@v kO:s/ /@f kO:s/
– Newspaper /nju:zpeIp@/ /nju:speIp@/
 Exercise: Transcribe the following passage.
Include as many assimilations as you can plus all
the other processes we have seen so far.
There was once a spider called Kell who
lived by a river in the woods. He had built
quite a cosy little nest at the top of a tree.
The spider was well known by his
extraordinary weaving. There was just
nobody who could make better or stronger
webs in the whole forest. Kell felt proud of
his craft and devoted most of his time to
it. All day long he worked, weaving and
weaving, hardly stopping to eat or drink.