In connected speech, a feature where a sound is modified by a neighboring sound is called what?

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

Answer: (A)

Assimilation is when a sound changes to become more like a neighboring sound in connected speech. This helps the flow of speech and makes pronunciation easier when sounds occur close together. A clear example is the nasal n before a following bilabial consonant like p or b; in fast speech, n can shift to m to match the place of articulation, so words like input can be heard as imput. This shows the sound is modified to become more like the adjacent sound.

Elision would be the omission of a sound, insertion would add a sound, and dissimilation would make neighboring sounds more different from each other. None of those describe a sound becoming more like its neighbor, which is why assimilation is the correct concept.