Pronounce English Accurately

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Syllable final consonant clusters - Part 2

The next category of consonant clusters consists of a nasal followed by a stop. These are /mp/, /nt/ and /nd/, /md/, /ŋd/, /ŋk/, and /ŋg/.

Examples of final /mp/: bump - lump - hump - stamp - camp - lamp.

To these can be added final /t/ or final /s/: bumped - stamped - camped; bumps - lumps - camps.

We can also have a four consonant cluster, the /mpts/ in 'pre-empts'.

Examples of final /nt/: mint - sent - spent - tent - want - agreement - can't pint - joint.

And to this we can add final /s/: mints - tents - wants - pints.

Examples of final /nd/: mind - wind - wind - lend - friend - find.

And to this we can add final /z/: minds - winds - winds - friend - finds.

Examples of final /md/: filmed - armed - stormed - hummed - aimed - steamed.

Examples of final /ŋd/: hanged - banged - longed - belonged - prolonged.

Examples of final /ŋk/: think - drink - pink - zinc - monk - monkey - anchor.

To this can be added final /s/: thinks - thanks - blinks - inks.

ALSO FINAL /-t-: banked, thanked, linked, pranked

/ŋg/ cannot occur at the end of a word, but as we have seen it occurs at the end of syllables, most obviously in comparative and superlative forms of adjectives: longer - longest - stronger - strongest.

Also in words where the root does not end at the 'ng': finger - linger - hunger - anger- mongrel - single - jingle - angle - language - distinguish - penguin.

Next we have /l/ plus a stop: /lp, lb, lt, ld/ and /lk/:

/lp/: help, help - yelp - scalp - pulp.

And to this we can add either final /s/ or final /t/: helps, helped; yelps, yelped.

/lb/: bulb - the only word, I think. And we can add /z/: bulbs, and if we think 'bulbed' is a word, then we can have /lbd/. Not sure about that one.

/lt/: belt - dealt - felt - melt - built - guilt - fault - vault - bolt.

And we can add /s/: belts - vaults - bolts.

/ld/: old - mould - old - bold - cold - sold - child - mild - wild - field.

And we can add /z/: colds - fields - worlds - scolds.

/lk/: milk - silk - elk - bulk - hulk - skulk - sulk.

And we can add either /s/ or /t/: milks, milked; elks; sulks, sulked.

Next we have a group consisting of /l/ followed by a fricative: /lf, lv, lθ, ls/ and /lz/.

/lf/: self - elf - shelf - golf - wolf.

To this can be added final /t/: golfed, wolfed, as in 'wolfed it down'.

/lv/: solve - involve - revolve - valve - delve.

And to this can be added either final /z/ or final /d/: solves, solved; revolves, revolved; delves, delved.

/lθ/: weath, health - wealthy, healthy - filth, filthy.

MISSING: /lθs/: wealths?

/ls/: else - false - pulse - impulse;

MISSING: -lst: pulsed, repulsed, convulsed

/lz/: pills - pulls - piles - walls - girls - goals - halls.

Now we get to the worst of the lot, /l/ followed by two fricatives, in /lfθ/. Only the one word 'twelfth', and we can make it even worse by adding final /s/: twelfths.

Next are a group consisting of a nasal plus a fricative: /mf, ns, nz, mz, ŋz, mθ, nθ/ and /ŋθ/ or /ŋkθ/.

/mf/: A rare cluster with lymph, nymph and triumph.

And to that we can add final /s/ or /t/: triumphs, triumphed.

/ns/: dance - once - glance - chance

and all the words ending in -ance and -ence: attendance, innocence, radiance, independence.

And to this we can add final /t/ to make /nst/: danced - glanced - chanced.

/nz/: bones - pins - twins - lens - lines - fans.

/mz/: homes - comes - rooms - storms - times - hums.

/ŋz/: sings - things - rungs - lungs - kings - tongues.

/mθ/: Just one word, 'warmth'.

/nθ/: seventh - ninth - tenth - thirteenth - fifteenth - sixteenth - nth. And we can add a final /s/: sevenths, ninths, etc.

/ŋθ/ or /ŋkθ/: 'strength' and 'length' can be pronounced with or without an intrusive /k/ sound: /streŋθ/ or /streŋkθ/, /leŋθ/ or /leŋkθ/, and of course final /s/ can be added: 'strengths, lengths'.

The next group is /l/ followed by a nasal: /lm and /ln/:

/lm/: film - elm - helm - realm. Usually 'lm' has a silent l' as in 'calm', and 'palm', but in these words it is /lm/.

And this can have either final /z/ or final /d/ added: films, filmed.

/ln/: Just one word, 'kiln', which can add final /z/ to make 'kilns'.

Not far to go now! Only two groups left, and this one is a rather questionable one, consisting of a stop followed by /l/: /pl/ and /bl/, /tl/ and /dl/, and /kl/ and /gl/.

It's questionable whether these should be counted as clusters because these occur in two-syllable words like 'apple' and 'battle', but I'll include them here for completeness because of what happens to a preceding /t/.

/pl/: Examples are: apple - maple - ripple and people.

And we can add either /z/ or /d/ onto that: apples - ripples - peoples - peopled.

/bl/: table - stable and warble, and all the words ending in '-able' and '-ible'.

And as before we can also add /z/ or /d/: tables - tabled; warbles, warbled.

/tl/: cattle - kettle - rattle - metal.

Remember that a /t/ before /l/ is affected by the lateral, resulting in noisy lateral release to the stop: cattle - kettle - rattle - metal.

And to that we can add /z/ or /d/: kettles, kettled; metals, metalled; rattles, rattled.

/dl/: waddle - ladle - riddle - piddle.

And we can add /z/ or /d/: waddles, waddled; ladles, ladled; tiddled; riddles, riddled.

/kl/: cackle, chuckle, tackle, pickle.

And with /z/ or /d/: cackles, cackled; chuckles, chuckled; pickles, pickled.

/gl/: eagle - beagle - wriggle - giggle - struggle.

And with /z/ or /d/: eagles - beagles - wriggles, wriggled - giggles, giggled - struggles, struggled.

And the last group!!

This consists of a nasal plus a stop in the same place of articulation, plus /l/: /mpl, mbl, ntl, ndl, ŋkl/ and /ŋgl/:

/mpl/: ample - sample - dimple - crumple.

And we can add either /z/ or /d/: samples, sampled; dimples, dimpled; crumples, crumpled.

/mbl/: crumble -amble -ramble -thimble -tumble.

And we can add either /z/ or /d/: crumbles, crumbled, tumbles, tumbled; rambles, rambled.

/ntl/: Rather rare: gentle - mantle, mantel - lintel.

It can certainly have a final /z/: mantels, lintels, but possibly not a final /d/, just because it seems there may be no verbs ending in /ntl/.

/ndl/: trundle - bundle - swindle - fondle.

And that can certainly have both /z/ and /d/ added: trundles, trundled; swindles, swindles; fondles, fondled.

/ŋkl/: uncle seems to be the only word. So we can have 'uncles' but no /d/ addition.

/ŋgl/: angle - triangle - jangle - jingle - mingle - tingle.

And we can have both /z/ and /d/ again: angles, angle; mingles, mingled.

WOW!! That, I think, is all the consonant clusters of English! If you're still with me, congratulations!, as that was a real marathon of a session, and now we're ready to go on to the really tricky stuff - the VOWELS!