In many Nigeria languages, there is no consonant cluster but in English, there may be an initial cluster of two or three consonants. In some English vowels, it is not easy to identify consonant cluster by merely looking at the written form of the word. Such words manifest the cluster only when they are pronounced. The following are example: bitten, coffin, garden, raffle, peddle, little, bangle,
Word Correct pronunciations
New / nju: /
Few / fju: /
Tune / tju:n /
View / vju: /
Stew / stju: /
Stupid / stju:pld /
Cluster of two consonants
Bride crime
Dwell flame
Glad crop
Play tray
Thrice spice
Shrink stand.
Cluster of three consonant
Sprint spring
Splash stray
Scrap scream
Squire squeeze
Strong stripe.
In an English word, there may be a consonant at the end of a word. While two or three consonant can occur at the beginning of a word in English the language permits at most four consonants in a cluster at the end of a word. This can be expressed as: ( C 0 – 3 ) v ( C 0 – 4 ) or ( CCC) V (CCCC).
Cluster of four consonant
Tempts exempts
Sixths texts
Prompts sculpts
Glimpsed twelfths.
See also
FORMAL AND INFORMATION LETTERS