Sounds in actual speech are seldom pronounced by themselves. They are usually pronounced together with other sounds within single words and the junction of words and phrases and sentences.

Assimilation

Sounds in actual speech are seldom pronounced by themselves. They are usually pronounced together with other sounds within single words and the junction of words and phrases and sentences.

Every speech sound pronounced in isolation has 3 stages of articulation. They are:

· excursion/on-glide, or the beginning of a sound, is the stage during which the organs of speech move away from a neutral position to take up the position necessary for the pronunciation of a sound.

· the retention is the stage during which the organs of speech are kept for some time either in the position necessary to pronounce the sound or move from one position into another (diphthongs, diphthongoids).

· the off-glide/recursion, or the final stage of most sounds is not audible.

retention

on-glide off-glide

If we pronounce a sequence of sounds one after another separately, i.e. if we pronounce each of them with all 3 stages of articulation, the sounds do not form a word, because the organs of speech move away to a neutral position at the end of each sound.

The same sequence of sounds will make a word only if all the 3 sounds are joined together in the proper way, forming a kind of a chain.

But in the process of speech the end of the first sound and the beginning of the second are articulated almost simultaneously.

In this case the quality of the sound changes, the process of assimilation takes place.

Assimilation – a general term in phonetics which refers to the influence exercised by one sound segment upon the articulation of another, so that the sounds become more alike, or identical.

Several types of assimilation can be recognized. It may be:

· total (complete), when the articulation of the assimilated consonant fully coincides with that of the assimilating one.

In the word “horse-shoe” which is a compound of the [‘ho:∫∫u:] words “horse” [‘ho:s] and “shoe” [∫u:]. [s] in the word [‘ho:s] was changed to [∫] under the influence of [∫] in the word [∫u:].

· partial, when assimilated consonant becomes only partly similar in some feature of its articulation to the assimilating sound; “twice, please, try” – the fully voiced variants of the phonemes [w], [l], [r] are replaced by their partly devoiced variants, while their main phonetic features are retained.

Different types of assimilation

1. affecting the direction;

2. affecting the place of obstruction;

3. affecting the position of the lips;

4. affecting the work of vocal cords;

5. affecting the manner of noise production.

1) is divided into progressive, regressive and reciprocal (double).

2) [t], [d], [n], [l] + [θ], [ð] = apical-alveolar sounds [t], [d], [n], [l] become dental under the influence of interdental [θ], [ð] which follow:

e.g. [in___ ðə], [ðæt___θi:m]

3) [t], [d], [k], [g], [s] + sonant [w] = [t], [d], [k], [g], [s] become labialized:

e.g. [kwait], [dwel], [gwen], [swon], [twelv]

4) voiced + voiceless consonants;

voiceless consonants + sonant + vowel = sonants [m], [n], [l], [r], [j], [w] become partly voiceless:

e.g. [plei], [trai], [twelve] – partial progressive assimilation affecting the work of the vocal cords while pronouncing sonants [l], [r], [w].

5) the phenomenon may be described with the aid of the terms:

· nasal plosion – while pronouncing [pm], [tn]: [b tn], [peid__m ni].

· lateral plosion – [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g] + [l]: [plæn], [gυd__lυks].

· fricative plosion - [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g] + [s], [z]: [stops]

Loss of plosion or incomplete plosion may be observed in clusters of 2 plosive consonants of the same or different articulation: [pp], [pb], [tt], [td], [kk], [kg], [kt], [dg], [db], [tb] or clusters of a plosive and an affricate [t∫], [dg]:

[stop___po:riŋ], [dig___graund], [‘ækt∫uəli].

Mixed types of assimilation:

1) [tri:], [put___rait] – assimilation affecting the place of obstruction + assimilation affecting the work of the vocal + assimilation affecting the manner of noise production.

2) [mi:t___w ns] – assimilation affecting the position of the lips + assimilation affecting the work of vocal cords.

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