Abstract and Key Words

Abstract: Assimilation of speech sounds is a common phenomenon in pronunciation of most languages especially when in a rapid speech. It occurs mainly for saving effort and smooth pronunciation, but English phonological assimilation is difficult for Chinese EFL learners to grasp. As there are many similarities between Chinese and English phonological assimilations and Chinese phonological assimilation is easier for learners to grasp, the author first briefly discusses Chinese phonological assimilation, then introduces English phonological assimilation by analyzing its definition and probing into the types from the perspective of direction, result, feature and place of articulation in detail. Understanding assimilation of speech sounds in English can improve the fluency of their spoken English and enhance their ability in listening comprehension.

Key words: assimilation; speech sounds; English pronunciation

摘要：语音同化在大多数语言的发音中都普遍存在，特别在语速较快时更容易发生,主要是为了省力或发音顺畅，但英语语音同化对英语学习者来说比较难掌握。因为英汉语音同化存在相似处，而汉语语音同化对中国人来说更容易掌握,所以作者先简单论述了汉语语音同化，由此来导入英语中的语音同化现象，首先分析了英语语音同化的定义，然后再分别从同化方向、同化结果、发音特点、发音部位等方面详细探讨了英语语音同化的类型。理解英语语音同化现象有助于提高个人口语流利程度和听力水平。

关键词：同化；语音；英语发音

1. Introduction
Concerning assimilation, different answers are got by scholars of different sciences: From a biologist, it’s a kind of conversion by the processes of digestion and absorption; according to a sociologist, it’s the blending or fusing of minority groups into the dominant society; a psychologist may say it is the incorporation of new concepts into existing schemes, and a linguistician will explain it’s a phonological process by which a sound becomes similar to an adjacent sound. The range of this thesis is limited to assimilation in linguistics. Investigating assimilation of speech sounds in English is helpful for Chinese-speaking students to have a better mastery of English pronunciation, improve the fluency of their spoken English and enhance their ability in listening comprehension.