Unit 7.1
Consonant clusters
Introduction
A consonant cluster is the combination of two or more consonants together placed in any part of the word.
Form
The most common consonant clusters are:
| Uppercase | Lowercase | Phonetic transcription |
| BL, BR | bl, br, | /bl/, /br/ |
| CL, CR | cl, cr | /kl/, /kr/ |
| DR | dr | /dr/ |
| FL, FR | fl, fr | /fl/, /fr/ |
| GL,GR | gl, gr | /gl/, /gr/ |
| PL, PR | pl, pr | /pl/, /pr/ |
| SC, SK, SL, SM, SN, SP, ST, SW | sc, sh, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw | /sk/, /sk/, /sl/, /sm/, /sn/, /sp/, /st/, /w/ |
| TR, TW | tr, tw | /tr/, /tw/ |
Example
- bl: cable
- cl: cluster
- tr: tree
- st: coast
- pr: apricot
Use
A consonant cluster is a combination of two or more consonants together, without a vowel between them, that are part of the same syllable.
They may appear anywhere in the word: at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end.
Consonant clusters can be produced in a lot of ways, some of which are:
- nasal + stop – /læmp/
- nasal + fricative- /sɛvənθ/
- nasal + affricate – /lʌntʃ/
- fricative + stop /best/
Perhaps at first they are difficult to pronounce for students due to the cluster of two consonant sounds. It usually happens when sk- at the beginning of the word, as in ski (/skiː/, not /eskiː/.)