English Pronunciation Tip of the Day
Tip 97
Category:
Connected speech features
Author: JAM
Assimilation (1)
The sounds /t d n/ are very unstable in English and are often affected by their environment. Look at the examples below:
| hot potato | /"hQt p@"teIt@U/ | OR | /"hQp p@"teIt@U/ |
| good morning | /"gUd "mO:nIN/ | OR | /"gUb "mO:nIN/ |
| ten pounds | /"ten "paUndz/ | OR | /"tem "paUndz/ |
The usual alveolar consonant at the end of the first word may be replaced by the equivalent bilabial consonant. So:
t > p
d > b
n > m
Why? It is because of the bilabial consonant at the beginning of the next word. The alveolar "borrows" its place of articulation. This phenomenon is called assimilation. It isn't obligatory, but English speakers do it quite often. It can also take place in the middle of a word: entertainment /%ent@"teInm@nt/ OR /%ent@"teImm@nt/. There are other forms of assimilation which we'll look at in future tips.