If a following sound is influencing a preceding sound, it is called . A: epenthesis B: deletion C: progressive assimilation D: regressive assimilation

______ is a process by which one sound takes on some or all the characteristics of a neighboring sound, a term often used synonymously with coarticulation. If a following sound is influencing a preceding sound, it is called regressive assimilation; the converse process, in which a preceding sound is influencing a following sound, is known as progressive assimilation.