In this video we are going to look at a special feature of connected speech: assimilation in English phonology.

Assimilation means that a sound changes to become more similar to the following sound. We are going to have a look at examples of assimilation within a word and also across word boundaries.

Assimilation is a process that occurs naturally when we speak fast. For learners of English, it is important to learn to recognise words in which assimilation occurs so they can fully understand what’s being said – sometimes words sound quite different in connected speech.

The next step is to learn to use assimilation yourself because it allows you to speak faster and to sound more natural. Often learners ‘over-pronounce’ words and that makes them sound unnatural. Listen to the examples I give you and repeat them after me so you can improve your pronunciation.

At the end of the video, you’ll find a little test to see how much you have understood!

Please note: There are several types of assimilation. In this video we are only going to look at the most common one in English – anticipatory assimilation to an adjacent segment, and only some examples. Assimilation could also happen between other sounds in English.

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