2. Assimilation
a phonological process in which a
speech sound changes and becomes
more like or identical to another sound
that precedes or follows it. For
example, in English the negative
PREFIX appears as im- before words
beginning with a bilabial stop
(e.g. possible:impossible)
but as in- before words beginning with an
alveolar stop
(e.g. tolerant:intolerant).
3. Kinds of assimilation
Regressive assimilation
Assimilation in which a following sound brings about a
change in a preceding one
For example, the rounding of the lips during /s/ in swim
is due to the anticipation of the lip action required for
/w/.
Progressive assimilation
Assimilation in which a preceding sound brings about a
change in a following one
For example, the difference between the /s/ in words
like cats and the /z/ in dogs and the difference between
the final /t/ in dropped and the final /d/ in praised are
examples of progressive assimilation because the final
sound (/s/ or /z/, /t/ or /d/) depends on whether the
preceding consonant is voiced or not.
4. Dissimilation
The opposite of assimilation, result in
two sounds becoming less alike in
articulatory or acoustic terms. The
resulting sequence of sounds is easier
to articulate and distinguish.
For example:
fifth /fifθs/ – (fts)
sixth - sixt
surprise - supprise
5. Deletion
A process that removes a segment from
certain phonetic contexts.
deletion occurs in everyday rapid speech in
many languages.
in English, a schwa (ə) is often deleted when
the next vowel in the word is stressed.
e.g.
deletion of (ə) in English
Slow Speech Rapid Speech
[pəréɪd] [pŗéɪd] parade
[səpəˊʊz] [spəˊʊz] suppose
6. Epenthesis
A process that inserts a syllabic or
non-syllabic segment within an
existing string of segment.
for example:
word Non-Epenthesis Pr Epenthesis Pron
Something [sʌmθɪŋ] [sʌmpθɪŋ]
Warmth [wɔ:mθ] [wɔ:mpθ]
Tenth [tenθ] [tentθ]
7. Metathesis
A process that recorders a sequence
of segment. Metathesis often results in
a sequence of phones that is easier to
articulate.
for example:
prescribe – perscribe.
spaghetti – pesghetti.
