Answer to Question #156857 in English for Badshah

Question

b. Differentiate between the following by giving examples:

i. regressive and progressive assimilation

ii. linking and intrusive ‘r’ 

Answer 1

Regressive assimilation occurs when the preceding word is influenced by the following word. A great example is light bluethat is pronounced as /lait blu:/ and someone can rapidly pronounce it as /laip blu:/. On the other hand, progressive assimilation happens when the preceding sound demonstrates dominance over the following sound. For instance, imperfect remains imperfect in its pronunciation. Linking "r" refers to the words that have "r" as an ending when a morpheme exists such as there while the intrusive "r" lacks the sound of "r" in the pronunciation such as karma and nirvana.