Difference between revisions of "Assimilation"

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(New page: '''Assimilation''' is a sound change process, when one sound causes another sound to become phonetically more similar to it in some way. Assimilatory changes can be classified according t...)
 
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'''Assimilation''' is a sound change process, when one sound causes another sound to become phonetically more similar to it in some way.
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'''Assimilation''' is a [[sound change]] process by which one sound causes another sound to become phonetically more similar to it in some way.
  
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Assimilatory changes can be classified according to the following dichotomies: partial versus total, progressive versus regressive, contact versus distant.
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===Term properties===
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The relational adjective is ''assimilatory''.
  
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An assimilation is '''total''' assimilation if the assimilated sound adopts all the phonetic features of another sound and becomes identical to it: Latin ''se'''p'''tem'' 'seven' > Italian ''se'''t'''te''. An assimilation is '''partial''' if the assimilated sound retains at least one of its original phonetic features and adopts only some of the phonetic features of another sound. Thus, Old English ''e'''f'''n'' 'even' > West-Saxon ''e'''m'''n''.
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===Subtypes===
  
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'''Regressive''' (also called anticipatory or right-to-left) assimilation is one in which the sound that undergoes the change (the target) comes earlier in the word than the trigger of assimilation, in other words the change operates backwards: Latin ''se'''p'''tem'' 'seven' > Italian ''se'''t'''te''. In case of '''progressive''' (also known as perseveratory or preservative or lag or left-to-right assimilation) assimilation the trigger comes before the target so that the assimilation operates forwards: Proto-Germantic ''*wul'''n'''o'' 'wool' > Old English ''wul'''l'''''. In rare cases of ''reciprocal assimilation'' there is a mutual influence between the two sounds.
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Assimilatory changes can be classified according to the following dichotomies:  
  
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In case of '''contact''' assimilation (also called immediate assimilation) the sound undergoing assimilation and the one causing it are immediately adjacent: Old English ''e'''f'''n'' 'even' > West-Saxon ''e'''m'''n''. In case of '''distant''' assimilation the two sounds are not adjacent: Proto-Indo-European ''*'''p'''enkʷe'' > Latin '''''kʷ'''inkʷe'' (spelled quinque). When distant assimilation applies over an entire word it is called [[harmony]] (e.g. [[vowel harmony]], [[nasal harmony]]).
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* [[partial assimilation vs. total assimilation]]
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* [[progressive assimilation vs. regressive assimilation]]  
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* [[contact assimilation vs. distant assimilation]]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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* Kiparsky, Paul. 2003. The phonological basis of sound change. In ''Handbook of historical linguistics'', ed. by Brian D. Joseph and Richard D. Janda, 313–342. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
 
* Kiparsky, Paul. 2003. The phonological basis of sound change. In ''Handbook of historical linguistics'', ed. by Brian D. Joseph and Richard D. Janda, 313–342. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
 
* McMahon, April M.S. 1994. Understanding language Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 
* McMahon, April M.S. 1994. Understanding language Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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===Other languages===
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German [[Assimilation (de)]]
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{{dc}}
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[[Category: Diachrony]]
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[[Category: Phonetics and phonology]]

Revision as of 16:35, 6 September 2008

Assimilation is a sound change process by which one sound causes another sound to become phonetically more similar to it in some way.

Term properties

The relational adjective is assimilatory.

Subtypes

Assimilatory changes can be classified according to the following dichotomies:

References

  • Campbell, Lyle & Mauricio J. Mixco. 2007. A Glossary of Historical Linguistics. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
  • Crowley, Terry. 1997. An introduction to historical linguistics 3rd ed. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
  • Kiparsky, Paul. 2003. The phonological basis of sound change. In Handbook of historical linguistics, ed. by Brian D. Joseph and Richard D. Janda, 313–342. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
  • McMahon, April M.S. 1994. Understanding language Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Other languages

German Assimilation (de)

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