Phonological processes relate to phonology science that is attached to linguistics science. Phonology is a study that observes how the sounds of a particular language change. As an example, in English, we know that there are 5 vowels and 21 consonants letters.
However, the articulation sound of those letters when they are placed in a syllable, words, or even a sentence can change into various forms. This could be happening because when a word is followed by another word as we read them, we didn’t read it one by one with a pause, we read it continuously and when there is contiguity between the last sound of the first word + first sound in the last words as we read it, that might result in the sound change. On top of that, our pace of speech like when we speak very fast, slowly, or in normal tempo can also affect the sounds of our pronunciation.
What are Phonological Processes?
With the revolution that we’ve experienced until now, our communication medium also keeps changing and developing. The sounds that our articulator organs produce to interact with others have also changed, whether it’s changed partially or even entirely. This feature of sounds in the phonological system of a language that is affected due to the processes are also known as phonological processes.
But, there is another example of phonological processes case that comes from the aspect of an individual human progress. That happens to us when we were young. As a child, our brains could recognize and begin to understand the language that is commonly used in our province, we also learn to speak and pronounce words, but the child’s brain that is still developing isn’t ready to divide such a complex and various sound that we could spell. Because of that, the child’s brain works and give an alternative way and simplify the speech sounds so that the words are easier to say.
There are total 8 Types of phonological processes.
1. Assimilation
Assimilation is the most common phonological process in several languages. The assimilation itself is a process that makes a similar sound by another sound that sounds similar in one or more features.
Example:
- The phrase : / ðæt ple?s/ becomes / ðæp ple?s/
- Hand bag : / hænd bag/ becomes / hæm bag/
- Planter : becomes planner
There are two major categories of assimilation, which is:
- Regressive assimilation: means that the phoneme that comes first is affected by the one that comes after it.
Example:
- Bad boy : / bæd boi/ becomes / bæbboi/
- Five pence : / faiv pens/ becomes / faif pens/
- Want to : / w?nt tu:/ becomes / w?n n?/
- Progressive assimilation: means that the phonemes that follows is affected by another phonemes that precede it.
Example:
- Stand there : / stænd ðear/ becomes / stæner/
- Washed : / w??id/ becomes / w??t/
Assimilation may occur between two adjacent sounds (contiguous) or at a distance (non-contiguous). The direction of assimilation may be forward (progressive) or backward (regressive). The assimilation may also be partial or even total (entirely). And, assimilation may occur within the same word or in between two words.
2. Dissimilation
In dissimilation, a segment that contains two close or adjacent that make the segment become less similar to another segment.
Example:
- The /ø/ as a fricative sounds can converts to dissimilar from the preceding fricative by having a stop, such as:
- fifth : [fif?]
- sixth : [siks?]
Both of them end with a voiceless fricative followed by a voiceless interdental fricative. However, some English native speakers pronounce them by replacing the / ?/ with t so it becomes ‘fift’ and ‘siskt’.
- English adopted the French word ‘coronnel’ which arose out as ‘colonel’ and in doing so, the segment dissimilated the /r/ to an /l/
3. Nasalization
Nasalization is the part of the assimilation phonological processes rule that occurs when the sound as we articulated a word is impacted by the upcoming nasal, and it usually comes just before we say the vowel of the syllable. In English, we anticipate nasal for the vowels.
Example:
- Be /bi/
- Lay /le/
- Bead /bæ/
- Lace /les/
- Bad /bæd/
- Bean /bin/
- Lame /lem/
- Bang /bæ?/
- Boot /but/
- But /b?t/
- Boat /bot/
- Bought /b?t/
4. Deletion
Deletion is a rule of phonological progress that works to remove the sound segment from a certain word.
Example:
- Some English speakers delete the final / ?/ on words when they pronounce them, like:
- Rather
- Far
- Dinner
- Unfair
- Our
- Some English speakers also ignores the medial / ?/ in the words, such as:
- Camera
- Family
- Pencil
- Police
- The final /b/ in a word can also be deleted if it preceded by an /m/
- Lamb
- Comb
- Numb
- Limb
- Thumb
- Climb
- Coulomb
- Another rule of deletion also happens to /g/ when it occurs before a the final nasal word
- Design
- Resign
- Assign
- Diaphragm
- Apothegm
5. Insertion
Insertion that also known as epenthesis is the rule of the phonological process where a sound segment is appended into the word pronunciation.
Example:
- Please : /p? liz/ instead of /pliz/
- Film : /fil?m/ instead of /film/
- Hamster : /hæmpster/ instead of /hæmster/
- Strength : /str??k?/ instead of /str???/
- Ankle : /??k?l/ instead of /?nkl/
6. Vowel reduction
We’ve learned about the deletion rule of phonological processes before. But sometimes, we can also find a word that has a sound that isn’t really ignored, or that they don’t disappear completely, so technically, the sounds are reduced. To articulate this phonetic characteristic, our tongue needs to be more centralized than the average, to reduce the vowel segment sounds.
Example:
- In unstressed syllables, the vowel is often reduced
- About
- Implication
- Explanation
- Emphasis
- Allegation
- Invocation
- Confrontation
- Umbrella
- Circular
- Confirmation
- Recitation
- Demonstration
- Another information is that most of the vowels also reduced to /?/ or /?/
7. Metathesis
The phonological processes can metathesize the pronunciation of a word by its rule called metathesis. The metathesis rule is simply changing the sound of a syllable by swapping the position of a segment as we pronounce the word.
Example:
- Ask is commonly pronounced as /æsk/. But in the metathesis case, the sounds become /æks/.
- I asked Marry about her dog.
The same form as ask, the asked that is usually addressed by /æskt/ can be metathesize to /ækst/.
8. Flapping
The flapping that exists in the words actually means when a syllable in the word make the trill or even stop sound.
Example:
- In English, especially American English, the flapping rule happens in the word with the syllable which consists of a /t/ or ‘T’ that is placed between two vowels.
- Water
- Dated
- Writer
- Kitty
- Little
- Metal
- Bottom
- Auto
- Duty
- Party
- Editor
- Dramatic
Childhood Phonological Processes
As I’ve mentioned before, the phonological processes can also be determined to another aspect. Below are the examples of various phonological processes rule as the progress in a kid, and the times when this habit should have go away.
- Assimilation : gog for gog (3 y.o)
- Deletion : nana for banana (3 y.o)
- Reduplication : wawa for water (3 y.o)