The Yorkshire Assimilation Rule states that voiced obstruents become fully devoiced when followed by a voiceless segment. It occurs not only in Yorkshire but also in other parts of northern England. However, the rule is not categorical. It can occur word-internally and across word boundaries.
The following are examples in which the Yorkshire Assimilation Rule can apply:
bagpipe
egg salad
headquarters
lab coat
live performance
log cabin
newspaper
old car
sand castle
wide table
The process known as Yorkshire Assimilation was first termed by John Wells in 1982. It is an example of regressive assimilation. According to Kate Whisker-Taylor and Lynn Clark (2019), the frequency with which the rule is applied has declined in recent years. They also claim that is used most by older speakers.
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