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Assimilation Across Word Boundaries: A. Assimilation of Place

Assimilation is when a consonant changes its place or manner of articulation to match a neighboring consonant. There are two types of assimilation: regressive assimilation, where the first consonant changes to match the second (Cf → Ci), and progressive assimilation, where the second consonant changes to match the first (Ci → Cf). Assimilation can occur across word boundaries or within words/morphemes. Elision is when sounds disappear entirely in certain contexts, such as the loss of weak vowels after initial consonants in words like "potato".

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Omar Fouad Ghafor
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185 views

Assimilation Across Word Boundaries: A. Assimilation of Place

Assimilation is when a consonant changes its place or manner of articulation to match a neighboring consonant. There are two types of assimilation: regressive assimilation, where the first consonant changes to match the second (Cf → Ci), and progressive assimilation, where the second consonant changes to match the first (Ci → Cf). Assimilation can occur across word boundaries or within words/morphemes. Elision is when sounds disappear entirely in certain contexts, such as the loss of weak vowels after initial consonants in words like "potato".

Uploaded by

Omar Fouad Ghafor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is assimilation?

In what ways can a consonant change?

Assimilation

Regressive Progressive
Cf → Ci Ci → Cf

Assimilation Across word boundaries:

a. Assimilation of place:

Cf (alveolar) + Ci (not alveolar)\

1. (t → p) when it is followed by a bilabial consonant\ that person, light blue, meat pie

2. (t → dental plosive (ṱ)) when it is followed by dental consonant\ that thing, get those, cut through

3. (t → k ) when it is followed by a velar consonant\ that case, bright color, quite good.

4. d → b, ḓ and g

5. n → m, ṋ and η

Note\ the same is not true of the other alveolar consonants: s and z behave differently\ s → ʃ and z → Ʒ
when followed by ʃ or j\ this shoe, those years.

-It is only regressive

b. Assimilation of manner:

It is most likely to be towards an easier consonant ( the one which makes less obstruction to the airflow)

1. Cf (plosive) → fricative or nasal\ that side, good night. Regressive

2. Cf (plosive or nasal) + Ci (ð)\ Ci becomes identical in manner to Cf with dental place of articulation\ in
the, get them, read these. Progressive

c. Assimilation of voice:

Cf (lenis) (voiced) + Ci (fortis) (voiceless) → Cf has no voicing

Cf (fortis) (voiceless) + Ci (lenis) (voiced) → Cf becomes voiced (assimilation does not occur)\

I like that black dog.

many foreign learners allow regressive assimilation of voice to change the final k of like to g, the final t of
that to d and the final k of black to g. this should be avoided.

It is only regressive
Across morpheme boundaries and within the morpheme:

1. in final consonant cluster\ nasal + plosive or fricative in the same morpheme\ the place of articulation of
the nasal consonant is determined by the place of articulation of the other consonant.\ bump, tenth, hunt,
bank. It is fixed as part of phonological structure of English syllable, because there are no exceptions to
this.

2. progressive assimilation of voice with the suffixes s and z: third person singular s on verbs, plural s and
possessive s on nouns is pronounced as s if the preceding consonant is fortis (voiceless) and as z if the
preceding consonant is lenis (voiced)\ cats, jumps, pat’s, dogs, runs, Pam’s.

So\ Fortis consonant + s → s

Lenis consonant + s → z

Assimilation creates something of a problem for phoneme theory; when d in good → g in good girl or b in
good boy (should we say that one phoneme is substituted for another?) if we do this, how do we describe
the assimilation in good thing, where d becomes dental before the Ө of thing or in good food, where d
becomes a labiodental plosive before the f of food? English has no dental or labiodental plosive
phonemes. So, although there is assimilation, but could not be said to be substitution of one phoneme for
another. The alternative is to say that assimilation causes a phoneme to be realized by a different
allophone. This could mean, in the case of good girl and good boy, the phoneme d of good has a velar and
bilabial allophones.

Good girl

Good boy

Good thing (d becomes dental plosive)

Good food (d becomes labiodental plosive)

Elision

Under certain circumstances sounds disappear. They have zero realization. They are deleted.

1. Loss of weak vowel after p, t, k

Potato, tomato, canary, perhaps, today: the vowel in the first syllable disappears and aspiration appears.

2. Weak vowel + n, l, r → syllabic consonant: tonight, police, correct.

3. Avoidance of complex consonant clusters: Sixth’s throne. In clusters of three plosives or two plosives +
a fricative → the middle plosive may disappear. Acts, looked(t) back, scripts.

4. Loss of final v in (of) before consonants: lots of them, waste of money.

It is difficult to regard contractions as examples of elision because they are represented by special
spelling forms that are different from the examples of elision.

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