Which term describes when two sounds next to each other are so similar you can't tell there are two? Example: the 2 'n's in unknown

Which term describes when two sounds next to each other are so similar you can't tell there are two? Example: the 2 'n's in unknown

• A. Gemination
• B. Coalescence
• C. Elision
• D. Linking

Answer: (A)

Gemination is when a consonant is held longer, so two identical sounds in a row are perceived as one extended sound. In unknown, the nasal at the end of one part and the nasal at the start of the next part can be pronounced so closely that they merge into a single prolonged /n/, rather than two distinct bursts. This lengthening of the consonant makes it feel like one sound instead of two. The other processes describe different things: elision is the dropping of a sound, coalescence would fuse two sounds into a new single sound, and linking is the connecting of sounds across word boundaries, not creating a longer version of the same consonant within a word.

Gemination is when a consonant is held longer, so two identical sounds in a row are perceived as one extended sound. In unknown, the nasal at the end of one part and the nasal at the start of the next part can be pronounced so closely that they merge into a single prolonged /n/, rather than two distinct bursts. This lengthening of the consonant makes it feel like one sound instead of two. The other processes describe different things: elision is the dropping of a sound, coalescence would fuse two sounds into a new single sound, and linking is the connecting of sounds across word boundaries, not creating a longer version of the same consonant within a word.