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Glite Dictionary
assibilation

assibilation

9.9
A change when a consonant sound starts sounding like s or sh
  • noun
  • /əˌsɪbɪˈleɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : asibilación
  • You can hear assibilation in the way some speakers pronounce 't' as a 'ts' sound.

Examples

  • The assibilation of certain consonants is evident in the evolution of Latin to modern Romance languages.

  • Linguists study assibilation to understand historical changes in pronunciation patterns.

  • The term assibilation describes a fascinating phonetic change.

  • Many linguists study assibilations in various languages.

  • Linguists study assibilation to understand how sounds evolve in spoken language.

  • The assibilation of 't' to 'ts' can be heard when certain dialects are spoken.

  • You can observe assibilation in the way some English speakers pronounce 's' and 'sh' sounds.

Synonyms

sibilation
vsassibilation
9.9

A hissing sound someone makes when they speak

describes a consonant changing into a hissing sound during pronunciation

Surface Forms

assibilation singular
assibilations plural

Morphology

assibilation = assibilate (transparent) = as + sibil + ation

Formed by nominalization of the verb 'assibilate' with the productive suffix '-ation', yielding 'the process of making sibilant'.

Etymology

Assibilation comes from the root sibil-, which means 'to hiss' and is like the English word 'hiss'. So assibilation is the process when a consonant sound changes into a hissing sound such as 's' or 'sh', which explains its modern meaning.