Assibilation Assibilation is a phonological process where a non-sibilant sound (like "t" or "d") becomes a sibilant sound (like "s" or "sh") in certain phonetic environments. The words "explode" to "explosion" and "navigate" to "navigation" are good examples of this process: Explode -> Explôsion: In "explode," the "d" is a non-sibilant sound. When we add the suffix "-ion" to form "explôsion," the environment around the "d" changes. The "d" is followed by the vowel sound "i" in "-ion," which is a high front vowel. This proximity to a high front vowel triggers the assibilation process. As a result, the "d" sound is transformed into an "zh" sound, and "explode" becomes "explôsion." This change makes the pronunciation smoother in the transition from the consonant to the vowel. Navegaite -> Navegâcion: In "navegaite," the "t" is a non-sibilant sound. Adding the suffix "-ion" to form "navegâcion" changes the phonetic context of the "t." Similar to the previous example, the "t" is now followed by a high front vowel sound ("i" in "-ion"). This causes the "t" to undergo assibilation, changing to a "sh" (ʃ) sound. Therefore, "navegaite" becomes "navegâcion." In both cases, assibilation occurs because the addition of the "-ion" suffix places a high front vowel after a non-sibilant consonant, causing the consonant to shift to a sibilant sound for easier and more fluid pronunciation. This is a common feature in many languages, including Inglish, and is particularly noticeable in words of Latin origin where the "-ion" suffix is prevalent. Additional examples: to erode + ion -> erôsion ta corrode + ion -> corrôsion to envâde + ion -> envâsion ta persuâde + ion -> persuâsion ta colîde + ion -> colis̃on ta divîde + ion -> divis̃on ta decîde + ion -> decis̃on ta provîde + ion -> provis̃on ta criâte + ion -> criâcion ta vâqete + ion -> vâcâcion ta graᶁuete + ion -> graᶁuâcion to assoçiete + ion -> assoçiâcion to apríçiete + ion -> apríçiâcion to iniçiete + ion -> iniçiâcion ta negoçiete + ion -> negoçiâcion ta diffrençiete + ion -> diffrençiâcion ta rep̃udiete + ion -> rep̃udiâcion ta mitigaite + ion -> mitigâcion