Which term describes the phonological process where a sound becomes more like an adjacent sound?

• A. Assimilation
• B. Insertion
• C. Dissimilation
• D. Deletion

Answer: (A)

Assimilation describes a phonological change in which a sound becomes more like a neighboring sound in one or more features, such as voicing, place, or manner of articulation. This happens because sounds influence each other during speech, so articulators adjust to the surrounding sounds. A common example is the English plural ending: when the stem ends with a voiced consonant, the ending is pronounced with a voiced sound, so dogs is pronounced [dɔɡz] rather than [dɔɡs]. In other words, the final sound takes on the voicing of the preceding consonant to become more like it. Insertion, deletion, and dissimilation describe adding, removing, or making sounds less alike, which is why they don’t fit this description.