Assimilation
Sunday, March 15th, 2009Total-Partial
Total: The sound becomes identical to another by taking on all of it’s phonetic features
Partial: The assimilating sound acquires some traits of another, but does not become fully identical to it.
Regressive-Progressive
Regressive (anticipatory): A change in which the sound that undergoes the change comes earlier in the word (nearer the beginning) than the sound which causes or conditions the assimilation.
Progressive: Changes that affect sounds which come later in the word than (closer to the end of the word) the conditioning environment.
Total Contact Regressive Assimilation (Latin-> Italian)
Octo-> Otto (It.) Noctem-> Notte (It.) Factum-> Fatto (It.) /k/ is before /t/ which conditions it to change; thus it’s regressive. The /k/ is immediately adjacent to /t/; thus it’s a contact change.
More examples: Somnus->Sonno (It.) Septem->Sette (It.)