ABSTRACT
English consonants can occur in groups, known as consonant clusters. For example, there are consonant clusters at the beginning of the words float, cream, sprout, stream, and at the end of the words bank, past, wasps, and instincts. Words such as sing, knife, gnome, and receipt, of course, don’t contain consonant clusters because clusters are a matter of pronunciation, not spelling. Groups of consonants occurring between words also don’t count as consonant clusters. The clusters permissible in English differ according to whether they are at the beginning of a syllable or the end of a syllable. This chapter provides a summary of the clusters commonly found in the core vocabulary of English. Sounds can also be inserted into clusters, a phenomenon known as epenthesis. This usually involves the insertion of a voiceless plosive between a nasal and a following voiceless fricative.
