Phonemic assimilation overview In phonemic assimilation the new, transformed speech sounds are not allophones of the original sound but, rather, they are substituting phonemes. For example, in connected speech, the phrase that person /ðæt pɜsən/ may sound more like [ðæp̚ pɜsə̃n], with the final /t/ of that being…
Allophonic assimilation – disapplication Velarization We have seen how /l/ is velarized if it occurs in word-final position, e.g. kill /kɪl/ → [k̟ʰɪɫ] However, in connected speech, a word-final /l/ will not be velarized if it is followed across a word boundary by a word that has…
Allophonic assimilation – de-voicing of liquids We know that the liquids /r, l/ are prone to being de-voiced in single words when they occur after voiceless consonants. This process can also function across a word boundary in connected speech. So, if a word-final voiceless consonant precedes a word-initial liquid…
Allophonic assimilation – labialization Within words, we have seen elsewhere that whenever the bilabial nasal /m/ or the alveolar nasal /n/ appears before a labiodental fricative /f, v/ they are likely to assimilate the labiodental place of articulation, e.g. comfort /kʌmfət/ → [k̠ʰʌ̃ɱfətʰ] A similar process of…
Allophonic assimilation – dentalization To reiterate, assimilation occurs when one sound is altered owing to the influence of a neighboring segment. In the previous example we saw how alveolars may be dentalized across a word boundary when followed immediately by a dental sound. A further example should…
Allophonic assimilation overview Consider the following phrase. bad thought /bæd θɔt/ There is a word boundary between the word bad and the word thought. The sound at the end of the word bad is the alveolar /d/ and the sound at the beginning of the word thought is…
As we have seen, connected speech is more than a series of target articulations strung together by simple movements. In reality, we find that individual target articulations are nearly always affected by the articulation of adjacent segments. There is often, therefore, a considerable overlap of articulatory activities in…
The inherent delay in the biomechanical system and the compensatory mechanism of early initiation of neuromuscular commands influence the pronunciation of words (Hardcastle & Hewlett, 1999; Tatham & Morton, 2006) such that various features of articulation interact and overlap. These so-called coarticulations are especially present in…
