Sound Assimilation in English and Arabic: a Contrastive Study

Abstract

      This piece of research deals with assimilation as one of the phonological processes in the language. It is a trial to give more attention to this important process in English language with deep explanation to its counterpart in Arabic. in addition, this study sheds light on the points of similarities and differences concerning this process in the two languages. Assimilation in English means two sounds are involved, and one becomes more like the other.

     The assimilating phoneme picks up one or more of the features of another nearby phoneme. The English phoneme /n/ has the features alveolar, nasal, voiced. The phoneme /g/ has the features velar, plosive, voiced. The word language is pronounced ['laŋgwɪdʒ]. In this word, /n/ has assimilated to /g/ - it comes to have the features velar, nasal, voiced instead of alveolar, nasal, voiced. (/n/ - [ŋ] before /g/).