verb
- converting a sound (especially a stop or affricate) into a sibilant sound, or undergoing such a conversion
Usage: linguistics; phonetics; technical
Examples
- In historical phonology, assibilating processes changed dental stops into fricatives.
- The linguist explained how assibilating affected the pronunciation of certain consonants over time.
- Some languages show assibilating patterns when stops occur before front vowels.
- The assibilating shift transformed the sound system of the language across generations.