Assimilation to Velar Place
Phonemic assimilation – velar place
The above rules have examined how the alveolars /t, d, n/, and combinations of these, become bilabial before bilabial consonants. If, however, they appear before velar plosives they become velar:
Examples of this assimilation of velar place of articulation include the following.
| that cat | /ðæt kæt/ | → | [ðæk̚ k̟ʰætʰ] |
| that girl | /ðæt ɡɜl/ | → | [ðæk̚ ɡɜːɫ] |
| good cat | /ɡʊd kæt/ | → | [ɡ̠ʊɡ̚ k̟ʰætʰ] |
| good girl | /ɡʊd ɡɜl/ | → | [ɡ̠ʊɡ̚ ɡɜːɫ] |
| ten cats | /tɛn kæts/ | → | [tɛ̃ŋ k̟ʰætʰs] |
| ten girls | /tɛn ɡɜlz/ | → | [tɛ̃ŋ ɡɜːɫz̥] |
This rule may be stated as:
Word-final /t, d, n/ become velar before velar plosives.
Clusters of these alveolar consonants in word-final position will similarly become velar before velar plosives, with both members of the cluster assimilating:
Examples include:
| I can’t cry | /aɪ kɑnt kraɪ/ | → | [æ k̠ʰɑ̃ːŋk̚ kɹ̥aɪː] |
| I can’t go | /aɪ kɑnt ɡəʊ/ | → | [æ k̠ʰɑ̃ːŋk̚ ɡəʊː] |
| a kind call | /ə kaɪnd kɔl/ | → | [ə kʰaɪ̃ːŋɡ̚ k̠ʰɔːɫ] |
| a kind girl | /ə kaɪnd ɡɜl/ | → | [ə kʰaɪ̃ːŋɡ̚ ɡɜːɫ] |
This can also be stated as:
Word-final /nt, nd/ become velar before velar plosives.
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