TYPES OF PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES
There are several types of phonological processes,
recognized for instance in Andrew Spencer s
 Phonology (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996; ch.2.4), or in
the phonology textbook written by Jolanta Szpyra-
Kozłowska  Wprowadzenie do współczesnej
fonologii (Lublin: Wyd. UMCS, 2002; ch. 3).
Below we will provide examples of the following
types:
ASSIMILATION, DISSIMILATION,
ELISION, INSERTION, METATHESIS,
WEAKENING, STRENGTHENING.
ASSIMILATION is a type of process in which two
phonological segments become more similar in
some respect. This may involve, for instance,
assimilation of place of articulation, manner of
articulation, or voicing of consonants.
(Polish terms: asymilacja, upodobnienie)
In English assimilation of voice is rare, but
assimilation in the place of articulation of adjacent
consonants is quite common in connected speech.
e.g. ten men [tðeð mðeð] Ä…ð [tðeðmð mðeð]
ten girls [tðeð gðäðÄ…ðlðzð] Ä…ð [tðeðNð gðäðÄ…ðlðzð]
n+m (alveolar + bilabial) Ä…ð mm
n+g (alveolar + velar) Ä…ð Nð+gð (velar+velar)
Obligatory voicing assimilation in Polish:
rozszerzyć [z+a
] Ä…ð [sa
]
Further optional place of articulation assimilation:
[sa
] Ä…ð [a
a
] in rozszerzyć
Assimilation processes may be attributed to the
principle of maximum ease of articulation, since
they facilitate speech production and can be
regarded as reflecting the speaker s tendency
towards economy during sound articulation (cf.
Peter Ladefoged  A Course in Phonetics , ch. 11).
DISSIMILATION is a process which is opposite to
assimilation since it ensures that differences
between adjacent sounds are enhanced.
Dissimilation facilitates speech perception since
neighbouring sounds become more auditorily
distinct.
(See Peter Ladefoged on the principle of
sufficient perceptual separation of sounds,
which benefits the listener).
Examples of dissimilation in English (in the domain
of allomorphy): the replacement of the suffix  al by
its allomorph  ar in stems ending in /l/;
Cf. electrical, regional, cultural (e.g. region+ -al)
BUT:
tabular (not *tabulal, from table)
circular (not *circulal, from circle)
singular (not *singulal, from single)
ELISION (=DELETION) is omission of sounds in
consonant groups (visible especially frequently in
fast connected speech).
Ex.: best man [bðeðsðtð mðÏð] Ä…ð [bðeðsð mðÏð]
ELISION is often accompanied by ASSIMILATION,
e.g. hand grenade [hðÏðdð gðrð«ð"ðeðIðdð] -Ä…ð [hðÏð gðrð«ð"ðeðIðdð]
Ä…ð[hðÏðNð gðrð«ð"ðeðIðdð]
ELISION, like ASSIMILATION, follows from the
principle of ease of articulation.
INSERTION  insertion of sounds, especially in the
colloquial pronunciation of English words such as
sense, prince, something, length.
sense [sðeðsð] Ä…ð [sðeðtðsð]
something [sðżðmðTðIðNð] Ä…ð [sðżðmðpðTðIðNð]
Samson [sðÏðmðsð«ð] Ä…ð [sðÏðmðpðsð«ð]
The process of insertion benefits the listener since
it results in a greater perceptual separation of
consonants in clusters, such as nasal+fricative
groups above (i.e. ns, ms, mðTð).
METATHESIS (in Polish metateza, przestawienie)
is a change in the order of phonological segments.
Examples of metathesis can be encountered in the
history of English:
Old English (OE) berht Ä…ð breht (now bright);
OE hros Ä…ð hors (now horse)
OE wðÏðpðsðeð Ä…ð wðÏðsðpðeð (now wasp)