CONSONANT CLUSTERS
I. Description
- two or more consonants together
- initial, final: limited
- inability -> incomprehensibility
Common pronunciation mistakes
Changing a consonant in a cluster into a different
consonant: present / pleasant
Leaving out one of the consonant sounds: plash /
splash
Adding an extra vowel between consonants:
faree / free
A. Initial two-consonant clusters
Table 1: Initial two-consonant clusters beginning with a stop
cluster example cluster example cluster example
pl Play kl Clean
pr Pray tr Tree kr Cream
pj Pure tj Tune kj Cute
tw Twin kw Queen
bl Blue gl Gleam
br Brew dr Dream gr Green
bj Beautiful dj Due gj Gules
(archaic)
dw (rare) dwindle gw Gwen
Table 2: Initial two-consonant clusters beginning with a fricative
cluster example cluster example cluster example cluster example
fl Flew sl Slow
fr Fry θr Three sr Sri Lanka ∫r Shriek
fj Few θj Thew(archaic) sj Suit
θw Thwart sw Switch
sp Spit
st Stone
sk School
sm Smile
sn Snow
sf Sphere
vj (rare) View
Table 3: Initial two-consonant clusters beginning with a nasal
cluster example cluster example
mj Music nj News
Table 4: Initial two-consonant clusters beginning with /h/
cluster example cluster example
hj Hue hw Whether
B. Initial three-consonant clusters
There are only a few initial clusters of three consonants. They all begin with an /s/ followed by /p/,
/t/, or /k/ followed in turn by /r/, /l/, /j/ or /w/
Table 5: Initial clusters of three consonants
cluster example cluster example cluster example
spl Splice skl Sclerosis
spr Spring str String skr Screw
spj Spew stj Stew skj Skew
skw Squirt
FINAL CLUSTERS
A. final clusters of two consonants
Table 6: Final clusters of two consonants beginning with a nasal
cluster example cluster example cluster example
mp Bump nt Rant ηk Think
mf Triumph nd Hand
ns Tense
nθ Tenth
nt∫ Wrench
ndʒ Strange
Table 7: Final clusters of two consonants beginning with /l/ or /r/
cluster example cluster example cluster example cluster example
lp Help rp Harp lθ Wealth rθ Hearth
lb Bulb rb Curb ls Else rs Course
lt Welt rt Art l∫ Welsh r∫ Marsh
ld Old rd Cord lt∫ Belch rt∫ Match
lk Milk rk Cork ldʒ Bulge rdʒ Barge
rg Morgue lm Film rm Arm
lf Elf rf Scarf ln Kiln rn Barn
lv Shelve rv Serve rl Girl
Table 8: Final clusters of two consonants beginning with a fricative or stop
cluster example cluster example
sp Wasp pt Apt
st Trust pθ Depth
sk Ask ps Lapse
ft Rift tθ Eighth
fθ Fifth ts Rites
kt Act
ks Tax
dz Adze
B. Final clusters of three consonants
Table 9: Final three-consonant clusters
cluster example cluster example cluster example
kst Text mpt Exempt lts Waltz
ksθ Sixth mps Glimpse rps Corpse
nts Prince rts Quarts
nst Against rst First
rld World
rlz Charles
rmθ Warmth
Important note:
Some final clusters with three/ four consonants can be difficult to pronounce so in some words,
these are commonly simplified. The middle consonants of /kts/, /mps/, /mpt/, /ndz/ and /skt/ is
hardly heard or even left out
products -> products jumps -> jumps
SYLLABLE AND STRESS
I. Syllable
- a centre…little / no obstruction to airflow…comparatively loud
- before and after this centre
- a vowel
- components:
+ onset: consonants
+ peak: vowels
+ coda: consonants
1. Minimum syllable: single vowel in isolation / isolated consonants
2. An onset
3. A coda
4. Onset and coda
5. Syllabic consonants
SYLLABIC CONSONANTS
- centre of a syllable instead of vowel
1. Syllabic /l/
- after another consonant, lateral release
- ending with one or more consonant letters followed by ‘-le’, suffix beginning with a vowel
2. Syllabic /n/
- after alveolar plosives and fricatives
3. Syllabic /m, η/
- assimilation, elision
4. Syllabic /r/
- RP
II. Stress
A. Definition
- the degree of prominence with which a sound or a word is pronounced
B. Kind of stress
- 3 kinds: word stress, phrase stress, and sentence stress
- word stress is fixed whereas phrase stress and sentence stress vary with the content
in which they are found
Level of stress
- primary stress, secondary stress
stress:
+ pitch (strongest, effect)
+ length
+ loudness
+ quality
C. Level of stress
1. In words
1.1 stress in simple word
1.1.1 stress in two-syllable simple word
- most two-syllable nouns and adjectives have stress on the first syllable
Exceptions: asleep, mistake, …
- most two-syllable verbs have stress on the second syllable
Exceptions: cancel, copy, two-syllable verbs ending in -er and -en such as answer,
enter…
- from a one-syllable word, stress…original word
Exceptions: no change of stress… both verbs and nouns
- the stress stays in the same place…make longer words
