What is assimilation in phonological processes?

Assimilation in phonological processes refers to a phenomenon where one sound in a word changes to become more similar to another sound nearby. This typically happens to simplify the pronunciation of a word and can occur in various forms, such as voicing changes, manner of articulation, or place of articulation. For instance, in the word "gump," a child might say "bump" because the "g" sound in "gum" becomes more like the following "b" sound, leading to assimilation. This process is common in language acquisition as young children adapt words to their developing phonological system. Understanding assimilation helps clinicians identify and address speech patterns and errors in children, making it a crucial aspect of speech-language pathology.