A sound becomes more similar to a neighboring sound.
- Nasal assimilation:
/æ/ -> [æ̃] / before nasal consonants,/æ/ -> [æ] / elsewhere(e.g., cat/kæt/ -> [kæt], can/kæn/ -> [kæ̃n]) - Voicing assimilation:
/l/ -> [l̥] / after a voiceless obstruent,/l/ -> [l] / elsewhere(e.g., plays/pleɪz/ -> [pʰl̥eɪz], clue/klu/ -> [kʰl̥u], sly/slaɪ/ -> [sl̥aɪ], glaze/gleɪz/ -> [gleɪz]) - Palatization:
/t/ -> [t͡ʃ] / before [i] or [j],/k/ -> [t͡ʃ] / before [i] or [j],/d/ -> [d͡ʒ] / before [i] or [j],/g/ -> [d͡ʒ] / before [i] or [j],/s/ -> [ʃ] / before [i] or [j],/z/ -> [ʒ] / before [i] or [j](e.g., did you?/dɪd ju/ -> [dɪdʒu]) - Place assimilation:
/ʌn/ -> [ʌ̃n] / before an alveolar consonant,/ʌn/ -> [ʌ̃m] / before an bilabial consonant,/ʌn/ -> [ʌ̃ŋ] / before an velar consonant(e.g., unstable/ʌn'steɪbl̥/ -> [ʌ̃n'steɪbl̥], unbelievable/ʌnbə'livəbl̥/ -> [ʌ̃mbə'livəbl̥], unclear/ʌn'kliɹ/ -> [ʌ̃ŋ'kʰliɹ])