What is the most accurate definition of assimilation?

What is the most accurate definition of assimilation?

• A. Articulatory changes that occur when one phone becomes similar to an adjacent phone.
• B. Articulators are moving to produce two different but overlapping sounds.
• C. Different articulatory gestures are used to achieve the same acoustic effects.
• D. Articulatory gestures are adjusted to require the least effort while maintaining intelligibility.

Answer: (B)

Assimilation is when a sound changes its articulatory properties to become more like a neighboring sound. The best definition captures this idea: articulatory changes that occur when one phone becomes similar to an adjacent phone. This explains why sounds influence each other in everyday speech, such as a nasal taking on the place of articulation of a following consonant (for example, the n before a bilabial p becoming m) or a vowel becoming nasalized before a nasal. It’s about the target sound adapting to resemble its neighbor, not about two different sounds being produced at once or about working to achieve the same acoustic effect with entirely different gestures. The idea is that sounds influence each other to share features, rather than simply coarticulating or aiming for minimal effort without regard to neighboring sounds.

Assimilation is when a sound changes its articulatory properties to become more like a neighboring sound. The best definition captures this idea: articulatory changes that occur when one phone becomes similar to an adjacent phone. This explains why sounds influence each other in everyday speech, such as a nasal taking on the place of articulation of a following consonant (for example, the n before a bilabial p becoming m) or a vowel becoming nasalized before a nasal. It’s about the target sound adapting to resemble its neighbor, not about two different sounds being produced at once or about working to achieve the same acoustic effect with entirely different gestures. The idea is that sounds influence each other to share features, rather than simply coarticulating or aiming for minimal effort without regard to neighboring sounds.