3.5: Articulatory Processes- Assimilation
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When we speak, we don’t articulate individual segments separate from each other. Our articulators are always moving from the sound they just made to the sound that’s coming up. This means that each speech segment is influenced by the sounds that are near it. When a sound changes some of its properties to be more similar to the nearby sounds, this is known as
assimilation
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Check Yourself
1. What articulatory process is at work when the word
bank
is pronounced as [bæŋk]?
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Assimilation (Anticipatory / Regressive).
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Assimilation (Perseveratory / Progressive).
2. What articulatory process is at work when a child pronounces the word
yellow
as [lɛloʊ]?
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Assimilation (Anticipatory / Regressive).
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Assimilation (Perseveratory / Progressive).
3. What articulatory process is at work when the word
cream
is pronounced as [k
h
ɹ̥ijm]?
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Assimilation (Anticipatory / Regressive).
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Assimilation (Perseveratory / Progressive).
Answers