View source for Phonological history of English consonant clusters

{{Short description|Sound changes}}
{{Lead too short|date=April 2020}}
{{English phonology topics}}
{{IPA notice}}
The [[phonological history of English]] includes various changes in the [[phonology]] of [[consonant clusters]].

==H-cluster reductions==
{{see also|H-dropping}}
The H-cluster reductions are various [[Cluster reduction|consonant reductions]] that have occurred in the history of English, involving consonant clusters beginning with {{IPA|/h/}} that have lost the {{IPA|/h/}} (or become reduced to {{IPA|/h/}}) in some or all dialects.

=== Reductions of /hw/ ===
{{main|Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩}} 
The cluster {{IPA|/hw/}} (spelled ⟨wh⟩ since [[Middle English]]) has been subject to two kinds of reduction:
* Reduction to {{IPA|/h/}} before [[rounded vowel]]s (due to {{IPA|/hw/}} being perceived as a {{IPA|/h/}} with the [[labialization]] characteristic of that environment). This occurred with the word ''how'' in the [[Old English]] period, and with ''who'', ''whom'' and ''whose'' in [[Middle English]] (the latter words having had an unrounded vowel in Old English).
* Reduction to {{IPA|/w/}}, a development that has affected the speech of the great majority of English speakers, causing them to pronounce ⟨wh-⟩ the same as ⟨w-⟩ (sometimes called the ''wine–whine merger'' or ''[[glide (linguistics)|glide]] cluster reduction''). The distinction is maintained, however, in [[Scottish English|Scotland]], most of [[Irish English|Ireland]], and some [[Southern American English]].

=== Reduction of /hl/, /hr/ and /hn/ <span id="HL"></span>===
The Old English consonant clusters {{IPA|/hl/}}, {{IPA|/hr/}} and {{IPA|/hn/}} were reduced to {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, and {{IPA|/n/}} in Middle English. For example, Old English {{lang|ang|hlāf}}, {{lang|ang|hring}} and {{lang|ang|hnutu}} become ''loaf'', ''ring'' and ''nut'' in Modern English.

=== Reduction of /hj/ ===
In some dialects of English the cluster {{IPA|/hj/}} is reduced to {{IPA|/j/}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://students.csci.unt.edu/~kun/ch11.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2005-06-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050320125620/http://students.csci.unt.edu/~kun/ch11.html |archive-date=2005-03-20 }}</ref> leading to pronunciations like {{IPA|/juːdʒ/}} for ''huge'' and {{IPA|/ˈjuːmən/}} for ''human'', and making ''hew'', ''hue'', and ''Hugh'' [[homophones]] of ''ewe'', ''yew'', and ''you''. This is sometimes considered a type of [[glide cluster reduction]], but it is much less widespread than wh-reduction, and is generally [[social stigma|stigmatized]] where it is found. Aside from accents with general [[H-dropping]], in the [[United States]] this reduction is mostly found in accents of [[Philadelphia]] and [[New York City]]; it also occurs in [[County Cork|Cork]] accents of [[Irish English]]. In other dialects of English, ''hew'' and ''yew'' remain distinct; however, the cluster {{IPA|/hj/}} of ''hew'', ''human'', etc. is often reduced from {{IPA|[çj]}} to just {{IPA|[ç]}} (a [[voiceless palatal fricative]]).<ref>{{cite book | author=Gimson, A. C. | author-link=A. C. Gimson | title=An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English | edition=3rd | location=[[London]] | publisher=Edward Arnold Publishers | year=1980 | isbn=0-7131-6287-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Ladefoged, Peter | author-link=Peter Ladefoged | title=A Course in Phonetics | edition=4th | location=[[Fort Worth, Texas]] | publisher=Harcourt College Publishers | year=2001 | isbn=0-15-507319-2}}</ref>

==Y-cluster reductions==
{{see also|#Yod-rhotacization}}
Y-cluster reductions are reductions of clusters ending with the [[palatal approximant]] {{IPA|/j/}}, which is the sound of {{angbr|y}} in ''yes'', and is sometimes referred to as "yod", from the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] letter [[yodh|yod(h)]], which has the sound {{IPA|[j]}}. Many such clusters arose in dialects in which the [[falling diphthong]] {{IPA|/ɪu/}} (the product of the merger of several Middle English vowel sequences) became the [[rising diphthong]] {{IPA|/juː/}}. (For more information, see [[Phonological history of English high back vowels#ju|Phonological history of English high back vowels]].) They were thus often found before the vowel {{IPA|/uː/}}, as in ''cube'' {{IPA|/kjuːb/}} – which was in some cases [[English-language vowel changes before historic /r/|modified]] to {{IPA|/ʊə/}} or {{IPA|/ʊ/}} before (historical) {{IPA|/r/}}, as in ''cure'', or weakened to {{IPA|/ʊ/}} or {{IPA|/ə/}} as in ''argument''. They also occurred in words ending in ''-ion'' and ''-ious'', such as ''nation'' and ''precious''.

This change from {{IPA|/ɪu/}} to {{IPA|/juː/}}, which had occurred in London by the end of the 17th century, did not take place in all dialects. A few dialects, notably in [[Welsh English|Wales]], as well as in some parts of northern England, [[New England English|New England]], and the [[Southern American English|American South]], still retain a ([[Falling diphthong|falling]]) {{IPA|/ɪu/}} diphthong where standard English has {{IPA|/juː/}} – these dialects therefore lack the clusters with {{IPA|/j/}} and have not been subject to the reductions described here.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=John C. |author-link=John C. Wells |title=Accents of English |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1982 |isbn=0-521-22919-7 |volume=1 |page=207}}</ref>

The diphthongs {{IPA|/juː/}} or {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}} are most commonly indicated by the spellings {{angbr|eu}}, {{angbr|ew}}, {{angbr|uCV}} (where ''C'' is any consonant and ''V'' is any vowel), {{angbr|ue}} and {{angbr|ui}}, as in ''feud'', ''few'', ''mute'', ''cue'' and ''suit'', while the historical monophthong {{IPA|/uː/}} is commonly indicated by the spellings {{angbr|oo}} and {{angbr|ou}}, as in ''moon'' and ''soup''.

===Yod-dropping===
Yod-dropping is the [[elision]] of the {{IPA|/j/}} from certain syllable-initial clusters of the type described above. Particular cases of yod-dropping may affect all or some of the dialects that have the relevant clusters.

The change of {{IPA|[ɪ]}} to {{IPA|[j]}} in these positions (as described above) produced some clusters which would have been difficult or impossible to pronounce, which led to what [[John C. Wells|John Wells]] calls "early yod dropping" in which the {{IPA|[j]}} was elided in the following environments:<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=207}}.</ref>

*After {{IPA|/ʃ, tʃ, dʒ/}}, for example ''chute'' {{IPA|/ʃuːt/}}, ''chew'' {{IPA|/tʃuː/}}, ''juice'' {{IPA|/dʒuːs/}}
*After {{IPA|/j/}}, for example ''yew'' {{IPA|/juː/}} (compare {{IPA|[jɪʊ̯]}} in some conservative dialects)
*After {{IPA|/r/}}, for example ''rude'' {{IPA|/ruːd/}}
*After stop+{{IPA|/l/}} clusters, for example ''blue'' {{IPA|/bluː/}}

{{listen
| type = speech
| filename = En-ne-you yew.ogg
| title = The words ''you'' and ''yew'' in a dialect that was not subject to early yod-dropping
| description = ''you'', ''yew''<br />{{IPA|[ju jɪʊ̯]}}
}}
The previously mentioned accents that did not have the {{IPA|[ɪ]}}→{{IPA|[j]}} change were not subject to this process. Thus, for example, in much [[Welsh English]] pairs like ''chews''/''choose'', ''yew''/''you'' and ''threw''/''through'' remain distinct: the first member of each pair has the diphthong {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}}, while the second member has {{IPA|/uː/}}:<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=385}}.</ref>
*''chews'' {{IPA|/tʃɪʊ̯z/}}, ''choose'' {{IPA|/tʃuːz/}}
* ''yew'' {{IPA|/jɪʊ̯/}}, ''you'' {{IPA|/juː/}}
* ''threw'' {{IPA|/θrɪʊ̯/}}, ''through'' {{IPA|/θruː/}}
Conversely, an initial {{IPA|/j/}} does not appear in Welsh English before {{IPA|/iː/}} in words such as ''yeast'' and ''yield''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mees |first1=Inger M. |last2=Collins |first2=Beverley |chapter=Cardiff: A Real-time Study of Glottalisation |editor-last1=Foulkes |editor-first1=Paul |editor-last2=Docherty |editor-first2=Gerard |title=Urban Voices |publisher=Arnold |date=1999 |page=192 |isbn=0-340-70608-2}}</ref>

Many varieties of English have extended yod-dropping to the following environments if the {{IPA|/j/}} is in the same syllable as the preceding consonant:
*After {{IPA|/s/}}, for example ''suit'' {{IPA|/suːt/}}
*After {{IPA|/l/}}, for example ''lute'' {{IPA|/ˈluːt/}}
*After {{IPA|/z/}}, for example ''Zeus'' {{IPA|/ˈzuːs/}}
*After {{IPA|/θ/}}, for example ''enthuse'' {{IPA|/ɛnˈθuːz/}}

Yod-dropping in the above environments used to be considered nonstandard in England but now also occurs by educated [[Received Pronunciation|RP]]-speakers.<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=206}}.</ref> (The {{IPA|/j/}} after {{IPA|/s/}} is not normally dropped in RP in medial positions, however: compare ''pursuit'' {{IPA|/pəˈsjuːt/}}.) In [[General American]], yod-dropping is found not only in the above environments but also after {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/n/}} (for example, ''tune'' {{IPA|/ˈtuːn/}}, ''dew'' {{IPA|/ˈduː/}}, and ''new'' {{IPA|/ˈnuː/}}).

The lack of yod-dropping in those contexts has occasionally been held to be a [[shibboleth]] distinguishing Canadians from Americans. However, in a survey conducted in the [[Golden Horseshoe]] area of Southern Ontario in 1994, over 80% of respondents under the age of 40 pronounced ''student'' and ''news'' without yod.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~chambers/changes.html |title=Changes in Progress in Canadian English: Yod-dropping |work=CHASS.UToronto.ca |publisher=University of Toronto |access-date=March 30, 2010 |archive-date=February 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229080412/http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~chambers/changes.html |url-status=dead }} Excerpts from: {{cite journal |first=J. K. |last=Chambers |title=Social embedding of changes in progress |journal=Journal of English Linguistics |volume=26 |date=1998|pages=5–36 |doi=10.1177/007542429802600102 |s2cid=144942447 }}</ref>

[[Image:Iw-uw merger.svg|thumb|The areas marked in pink show where in the United States a distinction between {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}} in ''dew'' and {{IPA|/u/|cat=no}} in ''do'' may be made.<ref name=ANAE>{{cite book |first1=William |last1=Labov |author1-link=William Labov |first2=Sharon |last2=Ash |first3=Charles |last3=Boberg |title=The Atlas of North American English |date=2006 |publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter|Mouton de Gruyter]] |location=Berlin |isbn=3-11-016746-8}}</ref>]]
General American thus undergoes yod-dropping after all [[alveolar consonant]]s. A few accents of [[American English]], such as working-class [[Southern American English]], however, preserve the distinction in pairs like ''[[wikt:do|do]]''/''[[wikt:dew|dew]]'' because, like in the Welsh English dialects discussed above, they retain a diphthong {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}} in words in which RP has {{IPA|/juː/}}: {{IPA|/lut~lɪʊ̯t/}}, {{IPA|/du~dɪʊ̯/}}, etc.<ref name=ANAE />

However, in words like ''annual'', ''menu'', ''volume'', ''Matthew'', ''continue'', etc., with a syllable break before the {{IPA|/j/}}, there is no yod-dropping. The same applies accordingly to British and other accents; the yod is often dropped after initial {{IPA|/l/}}, for example, but it is not dropped in words like ''volume'' or ''value''. (British speakers omit the {{IPA|/j/}} in ''figure'', but most Americans retain it.)

Additionally, there is no {{IPA|/j/}} in British pronunciations of ''coupon'' and ''Pulitzer'', {{IPA|/ˈkuːpɒn/}} and {{IPA|/ˈpʊlɪtsə/}} respectively, but many American speakers keep the yod, realizing them as {{IPA|/ˈkjuːpɒn/}} and {{IPA|/ˈpjuːlɪtsər/}}, although ''Pulitzer'' with the ''pew'' sound is widely incorrect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allthingsd.com/20111106/a-nation-divided-on-how-to-say-the-word-coupon/|title=A Nation Divided on How to Say the Word "Coupon"|publisher=Dow Jones & Company Inc.|date=6 November 2011|website=All Things D |author=Duryee, Tricia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/faq#q24|title=FAQ|work=The Pulitzer Prizes|publisher=[[Columbia University]]|quote=24. How is 'Pulitzer' pronounced? The correct pronunciation is 'PULL it sir.'}}</ref>

In [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]] and to some extent [[Australian English]], ''debut'' is mainly pronounced without the yod as {{IPA|/ˈdæebʉː/}}.<ref>{{cite book|author1=L. J. Bauer|author2=P. Warren|authorlink1=Laurie Bauer|editor1-last=Burridge|editor1-first=Kate |editor2-last=Kortmann |editor2-first=Bernd|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zNNCKcMml8MC&pg=PA60 |title=Varieties of English 3: The Pacific and Australasia |date=2008 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|location=Berlin/New York|page=60 |chapter=New Zealand English: phonology|isbn=9783110208412 }}</ref>

Yod-dropping after {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, and {{IPA|/n/}} was also a traditional feature of [[Cockney]] speech, which continues to be the case after {{IPA|/n/}}, but now, after {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}}, [[#Yod-coalescence|yod-coalescence]] is now more common.<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=330}}.</ref>

Some [[East Anglian]] accents such as [[Norfolk dialect]] extend yod-dropping not only to the position after {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}} or {{IPA|/n/}} but also to the position after nonalveolar consonants as well: pairs like ''beauty''/''booty'', ''mute''/''moot'', ''cute''/''coot'' can then be homophonous.<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=338}}.</ref> A well-known series of British television advertisements beginning in the 1980s featured [[Bernard Matthews]], who was from Norfolk and described his turkeys as "bootiful" (for ''beautiful''). Such accents pronounce a {{IPA|/j/}} in words like "use", "unit", etc. only if there is no consonant before the {{IPA|/j/}}.
{{anchor|Yod coalescence}}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Homophonous pairs after j, r, ʃ, and tʃ
! {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}}
! {{IPA|/uː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| brewed || brood || {{IPA|ˈbruːd}}
|-
| brume || broom || {{IPA|ˈbruːm}}
|-
| chews || choose || {{IPA|ˈtʃuːz}}
|-
| chute || shoot || {{IPA|ˈʃuːt}}
|-
| drupe || droop || {{IPA|ˈdruːp}}
|-
| rheum || room || {{IPA|ˈruːm}}
|-
| rude || rood || {{IPA|ˈruːd}}
|-
| rue || roo || {{IPA|ˈruː}}
|-
| ruse || roos || {{IPA|ˈruːz}}
|-
| threw || through || {{IPA|ˈθruː}}
|-
| yew || you || {{IPA|ˈjuː}}
|-
| yule || you'll || {{IPA|ˈjuːl}}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Homophonous pairs after l and s
! {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}}
! {{IPA|/uː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| Blume || bloom || {{IPA|ˈbluːm}}
|-
| glume || gloom || {{IPA|ˈgluːm}}
|-
| [[Lewis (given name)|Lewis]]|| [[Louis (given name)|Louis]] || {{IPA|ˈluːɪs}}
|-
| lieu || loo || {{IPA|ˈluː}}
|-
| lieu || Lou || {{IPA|ˈluː}}
|-
| [[Luke (name)|Luke]] || look || {{IPA|ˈluːk}} || With [[foot–goose merger]].
|-
| lune || loon || {{IPA|ˈluːn}}
|-
| lute || loot || {{IPA|ˈluːt}}
|-
| slew || slough || {{IPA|ˈsluː}}
|-
| slue || slough || {{IPA|ˈsluː}}
|-
| sue || [[Sioux]] || {{IPA|ˈsuː}}
|-
| suit || soot || {{IPA|ˈsuːt}} || With [[foot–goose merger]].
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Homophonous pairs after d, n, and t
! {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}}
! {{IPA|/uː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| adieu || ado || {{IPA|əˈduː}}
|-
| dew || do || {{IPA|ˈduː}}
|-
| Dewar || doer || {{IPA|ˈduːər}}
|-
| due || do || {{IPA|ˈduː}}
|-
| dune || Doon || {{IPA|ˈduːn}}
|-
| knew || nu || {{IPA|ˈnuː}}
|-
| new || nu || {{IPA|ˈnuː}}
|-
| tune || toon || {{IPA|ˈtuːn}}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Homophonous pairs after other consonants
! {{IPA|/ɪʊ̯/}}
! {{IPA|/uː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| beaut || boot || {{IPA|ˈbuːt}}
|-
| beauty || booty || {{IPA|ˈbuːti}}
|-
| butte || boot || {{IPA|ˈbuːt}}
|-
| cue || coo || {{IPA|ˈkuː}}
|-
| cute || coot || {{IPA|ˈkuːt}}
|-
| feud || food || {{IPA|ˈfuːd}}
|-
| few || foo || {{IPA|ˈfuː}}
|-
| fuel || fool || {{IPA|ˈfuːl}} || With [[vile–vial merger]].
|-
| hew || who || {{IPA|ˈhuː}}
|-
| hews || who's || {{IPA|ˈhuːz}}
|-
| hews || whose || {{IPA|ˈhuːz}}
|-
| hue || who || {{IPA|ˈhuː}}
|-
| hues || who's || {{IPA|ˈhuːz}}
|-
| hues || whose || {{IPA|ˈhuːz}}
|-
| Hugh || who || {{IPA|ˈhuː}}
|-
| Hughes || who's || {{IPA|ˈhuːz}}
|-
| Hughes || whose || {{IPA|ˈhuːz}}
|-
| [[Kew]] || coo || {{IPA|ˈkuː}}
|-
| kyu || coo || {{IPA|ˈkuː}}
|-
| mew || moo || {{IPA|ˈmuː}}
|-
| mew || moue || {{IPA|ˈmuː}}
|-
| mewed || mood || {{IPA|ˈmuːd}}
|-
| muse || moos || {{IPA|ˈmuːz}}
|-
| muse || moues || {{IPA|ˈmuːz}}
|-
| mute || moot || {{IPA|ˈmuːt}}
|-
| pew || poo || {{IPA|ˈpuː}}
|-
| pule || pool || {{IPA|ˈpuːl}}
|-
| pure || poor || {{IPA|ˈpʊə(r)}}
|-
| Q; cue || coo || {{IPA|ˈkuː}}
|- 
| que || coo || {{IPA|ˈkuː}}
|-
| queue || coo || {{IPA|ˈkuː}}
|}

=== Yod-coalescence ===
Yod-coalescence is a process that [[Fusion (phonetics)|fuses]] the clusters {{IPA|/dj, tj, sj, zj/}} into the [[sibilant]]s {{IPA|[dʒ, tʃ, ʃ, ʒ]}} respectively (for the meanings of those symbols, see [[English phonology]]). The first two are examples of [[affrication]].

Unlike yod-dropping, yod-coalescence frequently occurs with clusters that would be considered to span a syllable boundary and so commonly occurs before unstressed syllables. For example, in ''educate'', the {{IPA|/dj/}} cluster would not usually be subject to yod-dropping in General American, as the {{IPA|/d/}} is assigned to the previous syllable, but it commonly coalesces to {{IPA|[dʒ]}}. Here are a few examples of yod-coalescence universal in all English dialects:

*{{IPA|/tj/ → [tʃ]}} in most words ending ''-ture'', such as ''nature'' {{IPA|[ˈneɪtʃəɹ]}}
*{{IPA|/dj/ → [dʒ]}} in ''soldier'' {{IPA|[ˈsoʊldʒəɹ]}}
*{{IPA|/sj/ → [ʃ]}} in words ending with ''-ssure'' such as ''pressure'' {{IPA|[ˈpɹɛʃəɹ]}} (also in words ending with consonant+''sure'', consonant+''sion'', ''-tion'')
*{{IPA|/zj/ → [ʒ]}} in words ending vowel+''sure'' such as ''measure'' {{IPA|[ˈmɛʒəɹ]}} (also vowel+''sion,'' r+''sion'')

In some other words, the coalesced pronunciation is common in English dialects around the world, but an older non-coalesced form still exists among some speakers of standard British English:
* ''educate'' {{IPA|[ˈɛdʒʊkeɪt]}} (also in standard [[Received Pronunciation|RP]]: {{IPA|[ˈɛdjʊkeɪt]}}) 
* ''azure'' {{IPA|[ˈæʒʊɚ]}} (also in RP {{IPA|[ˈæzjʊə]}})
* ''issue'' {{IPA|[ˈɪʃuː]}} (also in RP {{IPA|[ˈɪsjuː]}}), the intermediate form {{IPA|[ˈɪʃjuː]}} being also common

Coalescence can even occur across word boundaries, as in the colloquial "[[gotcha (disambiguation)|gotcha]]" {{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|ɒ|tʃ|ə}} (for ''got you'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|ɒ|t|j|u}}) and "whatcha" {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɒ|tʃ|ə}} (for ''what're you'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɒ|t|ər|j|ə}}).

In certain English accents, yod-coalescence also occurs in stressed syllables, as in ''tune'' and ''dune''. That occurs in [[Australian English phonology|Australian]], [[Cockney#Cockney speech|Cockney]], [[Estuary English]], [[Zimbabwean English]], some speakers of [[Hiberno-English]], [[Newfoundland English]], [[South African English]], and to a certain extent<ref name="Schneider">{{cite book |last1=Bauer |first1=L. |last2=Warren |first2=P. |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mtd3a-56ysUC&pg=PA596 |chapter=New Zealand English: Phonology |editor-last=Schneider |editor-first=E. W. |title=A Handbook of Varieties of English: Phonology |volume=1 |date=2005 |publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter|Mouton de Gruyter]] |location=Berlin|isbn=9783110175325 }}</ref> in [[New Zealand English phonology|New Zealand English]], [[Received Pronunciation|RP]],<ref name=":0">{{Citation |title=Why some say CHUBE and some say TOOB | date=8 November 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRs103ETh2Q |access-date=2023-05-04 |language=en}}</ref> many speakers in [[Scottish English]], and even some varieties of English in Asia, like [[Philippine English]] (many speakers because of the influence by the phonology of their mother languages). That results in pronunciations such as the following:

* ''dew/due'' {{IPA|[dʒuː]}} (RP: {{IPA|[djuː]}})
* ''tune'' {{IPA|[tʃuːn]}} (RP: {{IPA|[tjuːn]}})

In certain varieties such as Australian, Ugandan, and some [[Received Pronunciation|RP]],<ref name=":0" /> stressed {{IPA|[sj, zj]}} can also coalesce:
* ''resume'' {{IPA|[ɹəˈʒuːm]}} (RP: {{IPA|[ɹɪˈzjuːm]}})
* ''assume'' {{IPA|[əˈʃuːm]}} (RP: {{IPA|[əˈsjuːm]}})

That can lead to additional homophony; for instance, ''dew'' and ''due'' come to be pronounced the same as ''Jew''.

Yod-coalescence has traditionally been resisted in [[Received Pronunciation]]. It has certainly become established in words of the first group listed above (''nature'', ''soldier'', ''pressure'' etc.), but it is not yet universal in those of the second group (''educate'' etc.), and it does not generally occur in those of the third group (''dew'', ''tune'' etc.).<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=247}}.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Homophonous pairs
! {{IPA|/ɪu/}}
! {{IPA|/juː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| deuce || juice || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːs}}
|-
| dew || Jew || {{IPA|ˈdʒuː}}
|-
| dewed || Jude || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːd}}
|-
| dual || jewel || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːəl}}
|-
| due || Jew || {{IPA|ˈdʒuː}}
|-
| duel || jewel || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːəl}}
|-
| duke || juke || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːk}}
|-
| duly || Julie || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːli}}
|-
| dune || June || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːn}}
|-
| duty || Judy || {{IPA|ˈdʒuːɾi}} || With [[intervocalic alveolar flapping]].
|-
| sue || shoe || {{IPA|ˈʃuː}}
|-
| sue || shoo || {{IPA|ˈʃuː}}
|-
| suit || chute || {{IPA|ˈʃuːt}}
|-
| suit || shoot || {{IPA|ˈʃuːt}}
|-
| 'tude || chewed || {{IPA|ˈtʃuːd}}
|}

'''See also'''
*[[wikt:Appendix:List of dialect-dependent homophones#Yod-dropping and coalescence|List of yod-dropping and coalescence homophones]] on [[Wiktionary]].

==Other initial cluster reductions==

===Reduction of /wr/ and /wl/ <span id="wr"></span>===
Old and Middle English had an initial {{IPA|/wr/}} cluster (note that /r/ does not denote {{IPAblink|ɹ}} here), hence the spelling of words like ''write'' and ''wrong''. This was reduced to just {{IPA|/r/}}, apparently during the 17th century. An intermediate stage may have been an {{IPA|[r]}} with [[lip rounding]].<ref>[[Otto Jespersen|Jespersen, O.]], ''A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles'', vol. 1, 12.81-82.</ref>

As a result of this reduction, pairs of words like ''rap'' and ''wrap'', ''rite'' and ''write'', etc. are [[homophones]] in practically all varieties of Modern English. They remain distinct in the [[Doric dialect (Scotland)|Doric dialect]] of [[Scots language|Scots]], where the ''wr-'' cluster is pronounced {{IPA|/vr/}}. [[Alexander John Ellis]] reported distinctions between ''wr'' and ''r'' in [[Cumbria]] and in several varieties of Scots in the nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ellis Atlas survival of distinction between wr- and r- |url=http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/EllisAtlas/wr.html |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=www.lel.ed.ac.uk}}</ref>

Old English also had a cluster {{IPA|/wl/}}, which reduced to {{IPA|/l/}} during Middle English. For example, the word ''lisp'' derives from Old English ''wlisp(ian)''.

===Reduction of {{IPA|/kn/}} <span id="kn"></span>===
Middle English initial {{IPA|/kn/}} is reduced in modern English to {{IPA|/n/}}, making pairs like ''knot/not'' and ''knight/night'' homophones.

The {{IPA|/kn/}} cluster was spelled ''cn-'' in Old English; this changed to ''kn-'' in Middle English, and this spelling survives in Modern English, despite the loss of the {{IPA|/k/}} sound. Cognates in other [[Germanic languages]] usually still sound the initial {{IPA|/k/}}. For example, the Old English ancestor of ''knee'' was {{lang|ang|cnēo}}, pronounced {{IPA|/kneːo̯/}}, and the cognate word in Modern German is {{lang|de|Knie}}, pronounced {{IPA|/kniː/}}.

Most dialects of English reduced the initial cluster {{IPA|/kn/}} to {{IPA|/n/}} relatively recently; the change seems to have taken place in educated English during the 17th century.<ref>Jespersen, O., ''A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles'', vol. 1, 12.71.</ref> Several German-language grammars of English from the late 17th and early 18th centuries transcribed English ''kn-'' as ''tn-'', ''dn-'', implying that a stage of assimilation (or perhaps [[debuccalization]] to {{IPA|/ʔn/}}) preceded that of complete reduction.<ref>Vietor, Wilhelm: ''Elemente der Phonetik und Orthoepie des Deutschen, Englischen und Französischen'', 2nd ed., Heilbronn, 1887, p. 171</ref>

The cluster is preserved in some [[Scots language|Scots]] dialects,<ref name="scots-online.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.scots-online.org/grammar/mn_scots.php|title=Wir Ain Leed - Mid Northern Scots|website=Scots Online|access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref> and [[Alexander John Ellis]] recorded it in parts of the Northern English counties of [[Cumbria]] and [[Northumberland]] in the late nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ellis Atlas survival of distinction between kn- and n- |url=http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/EllisAtlas/kn.html |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=www.lel.ed.ac.uk}}</ref>

===Reduction of /ɡn/ <span id="gn"></span>===
The Middle English initial cluster {{IPA|/ɡn/}} is reduced to {{IPA|/n/}} in Modern English. Like the reduction of {{IPA|/kn/}}, this seems to have taken place during the seventeenth century.<ref>Jespersen, O., ''A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles'', vol. 1, 12.72.</ref> The change affected words like ''gnat'', ''gnostic'', ''gnome'', etc., the spelling with ''gn-'' being retained despite the loss of the {{IPA|/ɡ/}} sound. The cluster is preserved in some [[Scots language|Scots]] dialects.<ref name="scots-online.org"/>

The song ''[[The Gnu]]'' jokes about this silent ''g'' and other silent letters in English. In fact the ''g'' in ''gnu'' may always have been silent in English, since this loanword did not enter the language until the late 18th century.<ref>The first recorded use of the word ''gnu'' in English dates back to 1777, according to [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnu Merriam-Webster's dictionary].</ref> The trumpeter [[Kenny Wheeler]] wrote a composition titled ''[[Gnu High]]'', a pun on "new high".

===S-cluster reductions===
In some types of [[Caribbean English]], the initial clusters {{IPA|/sp/}}, {{IPA|/st/}}, and {{IPA|/sk/}} are reduced by the loss of {{IPA|/s/}}. The following [[stop consonant|stop]] is then subject to regular [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspiration]] (or devoicing of the following approximant) in its new word-initial environment. Some examples of such pronunciations are:
{|
|-
|''spit'' ||→ '' 'pit'' ||{{IPA|[ˈspɪt]}} ||→ {{IPA|[ˈpʰɪt]}}
|-
|''stomach'' ||→ '' 'tomach'' ||{{IPA|[ˈstʌmək]}} ||→ {{IPA|[ˈtʰʌmək]}}
|-
|''spend'' ||→ '' 'pen'' ||{{IPA|[ˈspɛnd]}} ||→ {{IPA|[ˈpʰɛn]}} (also affected by [[#Generalized final cluster reduction|final cluster reduction]])
|-
|''squeeze'' ||→ '' 'queeze'' ||{{IPA|[ˈskwiːz]}} ||→ {{IPA|[ˈkʰw̥iːz]}}
|}
According to [[John C. Wells|Wells]], these reductions occur only in the broadest [[creole language|creole]].<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=567}}.</ref>

==Final cluster reductions==

===<span id="Ng-coalescence"></span>NG-coalescence===
NG-coalescence is a historical sound change by which the final cluster {{IPA|/nɡ/}}, pronounced {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} (the {{IPA|/n/}} being realized as a [[velar nasal]] by [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] with the velar {{IPA|/ɡ/}}), came to be pronounced as just {{IPA|[ŋ]}} – that is, the final {{IPA|[ɡ]}} was dropped, but the velar quality of the nasal remained. The change took place in educated London speech around the end of the 16th century, and explains why there is no {{IPA|[ɡ]}} sound at the end of words like ''fang'', ''sing'', ''wrong'' and ''tongue'' in the standard varieties of Modern English.<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=188}}.</ref>

The change in fact applies not only at the end of a word, but generally at the end of a [[morpheme]]. If a word ending in ''-ng'' is followed by a [[suffix]] or is compounded with another word, the {{IPA|[ŋ]}} pronunciation normally remains. For example, in the words ''fangs'', ''sings'', ''singing'', ''singer'', ''wronged'', ''wrongly'', ''hangman'', there is no {{IPA|[ɡ]}} sound. An exception is the [[comparative]] and [[superlative]] forms of adjectives: in the words ''longer/longest'', ''stronger/strongest'', ''younger/youngest'', the {{IPA|[ɡ]}} is pronounced in most accents. The pronunciation with {{IPA|[ɡ]}} is thus possible only before a vowel; before a consonant, the only possibility is a bare {{IPA|[ŋ]}}.

In other cases (when it is not morpheme-final), word-internal ''-ng-'' does not show the effects of coalescence, and the pronunciation {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} is retained, as in ''finger'' and ''angle''. This means that the words ''finger'' and ''singer'' do not rhyme in most modern varieties of English, although they did in Middle English. The process of NG-coalescence might therefore be referred to as the ''singer–finger [[phonemic split|split]]''.

[[File:Ng-coalescence.svg|thumb|Pronunciation of {{angle bracket|ng}} in the word ''tongue'' in various regional dialects of England]]
Some accents, however, do not show the full effects of NG-coalescence as described above. In these accents, ''sing'' may be found with {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}}, <!-- the suffix ''-ing'' may be pronounced {{IPA|[ɪŋɡ]}} (though [[#G-dropping|G-dropping]] is another possibility), --> and ''singer'' may rhyme with ''finger''.<ref name="G.Bailey">{{cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=George |title=Insertion and deletion in Northern English (ng): Interacting innovations in the life cycle of phonological processes |journal=Journal of Linguistics |date=15 December 2020 |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=465–497 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-linguistics/article/abs/insertion-and-deletion-in-northern-english-ng-interacting-innovations-in-the-life-cycle-of-phonological-processes/1916323B9E65DDDAE8C272BBACEC91CA |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/S0022226720000365 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This is particularly associated with [[English English]] accents in areas such as [[Lancashire dialect|Lancashire]], the [[West Midlands English|West Midlands]] and [[Derbyshire]], and is also present in north-east varieties of [[Welsh English]]. This includes the cities of [[Birmingham]] (see [[Brummie dialect|Brummie]]), [[Manchester]] (see [[Manchester dialect]]), [[Liverpool]] (see [[Scouse]]), [[Sheffield]] and [[Stoke-on-Trent]] (see [[Potteries dialect]]). This also occurs in a small area of [[Kent]]. As this occurs around the mining area of Kent, it might be a result of large-scale migration by miners from other more northerly coalfields to Kent in the 1920s.

It is also associated with some [[American English]] accents in the [[New York City]] area.<ref>Wells (1982), pp. 189, 366.</ref>

On the other hand, in some accents of the west of [[Scotland]] and [[Ulster]], NG-coalescence is extended to morpheme-internal position, so that ''finger'' is pronounced {{IPA|/ˈfɪŋər/}} (cf. [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''vinger'' {{IPA|/ˈvɪŋər/}}), thus rhyming with ''singer'' (although the {{IPA|[ɡ]}} is not dropped before a stressed syllable, as in ''engage'').

It is because of NG-coalescence that {{IPA|/ŋ/}} is now normally regarded one of the [[English phonology|phonemes of standard English]]. In Middle English, the {{IPA|[ŋ]}} can be regarded as an [[allophone]] of {{IPA|/n/}}, occurring before [[velar consonant]]s, but in Modern English, in view of [[minimal pair]]s such as ''pan–pang'' and ''sin–sing'', that analysis no longer appears to hold. Nevertheless, some linguists{{who|date=April 2025}} (particularly [[generativist]]s) do regard a word like ''sing'' as being [[underlying representation|underlyingly]] {{IPA|/sɪnɡ/}}, positing a rule that deletes {{IPA|[ɡ]}} after a nasal before a morpheme boundary, after the nasal has undergone assimilation. A problem with this view is that there are a few words in which {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is followed neither by a velar nor a morpheme boundary (such as ''gingham'', ''dinghy'', ''orangutan'' and ''[[Singapore]]'', for those speakers who pronounce them without {{IPA|[ɡ]}}), and some in which the {{IPA|[ɡ]}} is not deleted before a morpheme boundary (such as ''longer'', ''stronger'', ''younger'' noted above). In the case of ''longer'', a [[minimal pair]] occurs for some speakers between {{IPA|/lɒŋɡə(r)/}} ([[comparative]] form of the adjective ''long'') and {{IPA|/lɒŋə(r)/}} ("someone who longs"; [[agent noun]] of the verb ''long'').

The above-mentioned accents which lack NG-coalescence may more easily be analyzed as lacking a phoneme {{IPA|/ŋ/}}. The same may apply to those where NG-coalescence is extended to morpheme-internal position, since here a more consistent {{IPA|[ɡ]}}-deletion rule can be formulated.<ref>Wells (1982), pp. 60–64.</ref>

===G-dropping===
{{main|G-dropping}}
G-dropping is a popular name for the feature of speech whereby {{IPA|/n/}} is used in place of the standard {{IPA|/ŋ/}} in [[Stress and vowel reduction in English|weak syllables]]. This applies especially to the ''[[-ing]]'' ending of verbs, but also in other words such as ''morning'', ''nothing'', ''ceiling'', ''Buckingham'', etc. G-dropping speakers may pronounce this syllable as {{IPA|[ɪn]}} or {{IPA|[ən]}} (reducing to a [[syllabic consonant|syllabic [n] ]] in some cases), while non-G-dropping speakers have {{IPA|/ɪŋ/}} ({{IPA|/əŋ/}} with the [[weak vowel merger]]) or {{IPA|/iŋ/}}.<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=262}}.</ref>

Relative to the great majority of modern dialects, which have [[#NG-coalescence|NG-coalescence]], G-dropping does not involve the dropping of any sound, simply the replacement of the [[velar nasal]] with the [[alveolar nasal]]. The name derives from the apparent [[orthography|orthographic]] consequence of replacing the sound written {{angbr|ng}} with that normally written {{angbr|n}}. The spelling ''-in' '' is sometimes used to indicate that a speaker uses the G-dropping pronunciation, as in ''makin' '' for ''making''.

The pronunciation with {{IPA|/n/}} rather than {{IPA|/ŋ/}} is a long-established one. Old English verbs had a [[present participle]] in ''-ende'' and a verbal noun ([[gerund]]) form in ''-ing(e)''. These merged into a single form, written ''-ing'', but not necessarily spoken as such – the {{IPA|/n/}} pronunciation may be inherited from the former distinct present participle form. The {{IPA|/n/}} variant appears to have been fashionable generally during the 18th century, with the alternative {{IPA|/ɪŋ/}} being adopted in educated speech around the 1820s, possibly as a [[spelling pronunciation]].<ref>Wyld, H.C., ''A History of Modern Colloquial English'', Blackwell 1936, cited in {{harvp|Wells|1982|p=262}}.</ref>

Today, G-dropping is a feature of colloquial and non-standard speech of all regions, including stereotypically of [[Cockney]], [[Southern American English]] and [[African American Vernacular English]]. Its use is highly correlated with the [[socioeconomic]] class of the speaker, with speakers of lower classes using {{IPA|/n/}} with greater frequency. It has also been found to be more common among men than women, and less common in more formal styles of speech.<ref>Wells (1982), pp. 17, 19, 26.</ref>

The fact that the {{IPA|/n/}} pronunciation was formerly associated with certain upper-class speech is reflected in the phrase ''huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’'' (used in referring to country [[gentry]] who frequently engaged in such [[field sports]]). Further evidence that this pronunciation was once standard comes from old rhymes, as in this couplet from [[John Gay]]'s 1732 pastoral ''[[Acis and Galatea (Handel)|Acis and Galatea]]'', set to music by [[Handel]]:

:Shepherd, what art thou pursuing,
:Heedless running to thy ruin?

{{notatypo|which}} was presumably pronounced "shepherd, what art thou pursuin', heedless runnin' to thy ruin", although this would sound very odd in an opera today. Similarly, in the poetry of [[Jonathan Swift]] (1667–1745), ''-ing'' forms consistently rhyme with words ending in {{IPA|/ɪn/}}, as in this verse of ''A Ballad on the Game of Traffic'', where "lining" rhymes with "fine in":

:But Weston has a new-cast gown
:On Sundays to be fine in,
:And, if she can but win a crown,
:'Twill just new dye the lining.

===Reduction of /mb/ and /mn/ <span id="mb"></span> ===
In later Middle English, the final cluster {{IPA|/mb/}} was reduced to just {{IPA|/m/}} (the plum-plumb merger). This affects words such as ''lamb'' and ''plumb'', as well as derived forms with suffixes, such as ''lambs'', ''lambing'', ''plumbed'', ''plumber''.

By analogy with words like these, certain other words ending in {{IPA|/m/}}, which had no historical {{IPA|/b/}} sound, had a silent letter {{angbr|b}} added to their spelling by way of [[hypercorrection]]. Such words include ''limb'' and ''crumb''.<ref name="odd">{{cite web|last1=Liberman|first1=Anatoly|title=The Oddest and Dumbest English Spellings, Part 15, With a Note on Words and Things|date=21 October 2009|url=http://blog.oup.com/2009/10/dumbest_english_spellings/|publisher=OUP|access-date=28 January 2015}}</ref>

Where the final cluster {{IPA|/mn/}} occurred, this was reduced to {{IPA|/m/}} (the him-hymn merger), as in ''column'', ''autumn'', ''damn'', ''solemn''. (Compare French {{lang|fr|automne}}, where the cluster has been reduced to {{IPA|/n/}}.) Both sounds are nonetheless still pronounced before vowels in certain derivatives, such as ''columnar'', ''autumnal'', ''damnation'', ''solemnity''.

===Generalized final cluster reduction===
General reduction of final consonant clusters occurs in [[African American Vernacular English]] and [[Caribbean English]]. It also appears in the [[Dublin English#Local Dublin English|Local Dublin English]].<ref>* {{cite book|last=Hickey|first=Raymond|title=Irish English: History and Present Day Forms|date=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=353-354|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3vDuPNG7nUC|isbn=9781139465847}}</ref> The new final consonant may be slightly lengthened as an effect.

Examples are:

{|
|-
|''test'' ||→ ''tes' ''||{{IPA|[tɛst]}} ||→ {{IPA|[tɛs(ˑ)]}}
|-
|''desk'' ||→ ''des' ''||{{IPA|[dɛsk]}} ||→ {{IPA|[dɛs(ˑ)]}}
|-
|''hand'' ||→ ''han' ''||{{IPA|[hænd]}} ||→ {{IPA|[hæn(ˑ)]}}
|-
|''send'' ||→ ''sen' ''||{{IPA|[sɛnd]}} ||→ {{IPA|[sɛn(ˑ)]}}
|-
|''left'' ||→ ''lef''' ||{{IPA|[lɛft]}} ||→ {{IPA|[lɛf(ˑ)]}}
|-
|''wasp'' ||→ ''was' ''||{{IPA|[wɒsp]}} ||→ {{IPA|[wɒs(ˑ)]}}
|}

The [[English plurals|plurals]] of ''test'' and ''desk'' may become ''tesses'' and ''desses'' by the same rule that gives plural ''messes'' from singular ''mess''.<ref name="AAVE">{{cite web |title=Phonological Features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) |url=http://www.rehabmed.ualberta.ca/spa/phonology/features.htm |website=www.rehabmed.ualberta.ca |date=March 17, 2001}}</ref><ref>[http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/PhonProcess/accents.html HLW: Word Forms: Processes: English Accents<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://courses.essex.ac.uk/lg/lg449/AAVEfeatureList.htm List of AAVE features contrasting with MUSE<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622200047/http://courses.essex.ac.uk/lg/lg449/AAVEfeatureList.htm |date=2006-06-22 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rickford |first1=John R. |title=Ebonics Notes and Discussion |url=http://www.stanford.edu/~rickford/ebonics/EbonicsExamples.html |website=[[Stanford University]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250403123624/https://web.stanford.edu/~rickford/ebonics/EbonicsExamples.html |archive-date=3 April 2025 |language=en |date=December 1996 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Medial cluster reductions==
When a consonant cluster ending in a [[stop consonant|stop]] is followed by another consonant or cluster in the next syllable, the final stop in the first syllable is often [[elision|elided]]. This may happen within words or across word boundaries. Examples of stops that will often be elided in this way include the {{IPA|[t]}} in ''postman'' and the {{IPA|[d]}} in ''cold cuts'' or ''band saw''.<ref>Denham, K., [[Anne Lobeck|Lobeck, A.]], ''Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction'', Cengage Learning 2012, p. 162.</ref>

Historically, similar reductions have taken place before [[syllabic consonant]]s in certain words, leading to the silent {{angbr|t}} in words like ''castle'' and ''listen''. This change took place around the 17th century. In the word ''often'', the {{IPA|[t]}} sound later came to be re-inserted by some speakers as a [[spelling pronunciation]].<ref>Algeo, J., Butcher, C. ''The Origins and Development of the English Language'', Cengage Learning 2013, p. 49.</ref>

An earlier reduction that took place in early Middle English was the [[C#Later use|change of {{IPA|/ts/|cat=no}} to {{IPA|/s/|cat=no}}]] (the sent-cent merger). This led to the modern sound of [[soft C|soft {{vr|c}}]].

==Consonant insertions==

===Prince–prints merger===
For many speakers, an [[epenthetic]] {{IPA|[t]}} is inserted in the final cluster {{IPA|/ns/}}, making it identical or very similar to the cluster {{IPA|/nts/}}. For example, the words ''prince'' and ''prints'' have come to be homophones or nearly so.

The epenthesis is a natural consequence of the transition from the [[nasal consonant|nasal]] {{IPA|[n]}} to the [[fricative]] {{IPA|[s]}}; if the raising of the soft palate (which converts a nasal to an oral sound) is completed before the release of the tongue tip (which enables a fricative sound), an intervening stop {{IPA|[t]}} naturally results.<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=95}}.</ref> The merger of {{IPA|/ns/}} and {{IPA|/nts/}} is not necessarily complete, however; the duration of the epenthetic {{IPA|[t]}} in {{IPA|/ns/}} has been found to be often shorter (and the {{IPA|[n]}} longer) than in the underlying cluster {{IPA|/nts/}}.<ref>Yu, A.C.L., in ''The Blackwell Companion to Phonology'', Wiley 2011, p. 1906.</ref> Some speakers preserve a clearer distinction, with ''prince'' having {{IPA|[ns]}}, and ''prints'' having {{IPA|[nts]}} or {{IPA|[nʔs]}}. The epenthesis does not occur between syllables, in words like ''consider''.<ref>Wells, J.C., [http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2010/08/some-day-my-prints-will-come.html "Some day my prints will come"], John Wells's Phonetic Blog, 25 August 2010.</ref>

===Other insertions===
The merger of {{IPA|/nz/}} and {{IPA|/ndz/}} is also possible, making ''bans'' and ''pens'' sound like ''bands'' and ''pends''. However, this is less common than the merger of {{IPA|/ns/}} and {{IPA|/nts/}} described above, and in rapid speech may involve the [[elision]] of the {{IPA|/d/}} from {{IPA|/ndz/}} rather than epenthesis in {{IPA|/nz/}}.<ref name="Gim99">Alan Cruttenden, ''Gimson's Pronunciation of English'', Routledge 2013, p. 99.</ref>

Epenthesis of a stop between a nasal and a fricative can also occur in other environments, for example: 
*{{IPA|/nʃ/}} may become {{IPA|/ntʃ/}} (so ''pinscher'' is often pronounced like ''pincher'')
*{{IPA|/ms/}} may become {{IPA|/mps/}} (so ''Samson'' becomes "Sampson", ''hamster'' becomes "hampster")
*{{IPA|/ŋs/}} may become {{IPA|/ŋks/}} (so ''Kingston'' becomes "kinkston")<ref name="Gim99" />

Epenthesis may also happen in the cluster {{IPA|/ls/}}, which then becomes {{IPA|/lts/}}, so ''else'' rhymes with ''belts''.

An epenthetic {{IPA|[p]}} often intervenes in the cluster {{IPA|/mt/}} in the word ''dreamt'', making it rhyme with ''attempt''.

Some originally epenthetic consonants have become part of the established pronunciation of words. This applies, for instance, to the {{IPA|/b/}} in words like ''thimble'', ''grumble'' and ''scramble''.<ref name="odd" />

For the insertion of glottal stops before certain consonants, see [[#Glottalization|Glottalization]] below.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Homophonous pairs
! [[fricative consonant|fricative]]
! [[affricate consonant|affricate]]
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| Aaron's || errands || {{IPA|ˈɛrən(d)z}} || With [[Mary-marry-merry merger]].
|-
| -ance || -ants || {{IPA|-ən(t)s}}
|-
| [[ANSI]] || antsy || {{IPA|ˈæn(t)si}}
|-
| bans || bands || {{IPA|ˈbæn(d)z}}
|-
| Ben's || bends || {{IPA|ˈbɛn(d)z}}
|-
| bines || binds || {{IPA|ˈbaɪn(d)z}}
|-
| brans || brands || {{IPA|ˈbræn(d)z}}
|-
| bunce || bunts || {{IPA|ˈbʌn(t)s}}
|-
| [[Bynes]] || binds || {{IPA|ˈbaɪn(d)z}}
|-
| chance || chants || {{IPA|ˈtʃæn(t)s, ˈtʃɑːn(t)s}}
|-
| dense || dents || {{IPA|ˈdɛn(t)s}}
|-
| dense || dints || {{IPA|ˈdɛn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| -ence || -ents || {{IPA|-ən(t)s}}
|-
| Erin's || errands || {{IPA|ˈɛrən(d)z}} || With [[weak vowel merger]].
|-
| fines || finds || {{IPA|ˈfaɪn(d)z}}
|-
| fens || fends || {{IPA|ˈfɛn(d)z}}
|-
| [[Finns]] || fends || {{IPA|ˈfɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| fins || fends || {{IPA|ˈfɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| glans || glands || {{IPA|ˈɡlæn(d)z}}
|-
| Hans || hands || {{IPA|ˈhæn(d)z}} || ''Hans'' may also be pronounced {{IPA|/ˈhɑːnz/}} or {{IPA|/ˈhɑːns/}}.
|-
| Heinz || hinds || {{IPA|ˈhaɪn(d)z}} || ''Heinz'' may also be pronounced {{IPA|/ˈhaɪnts/}}.
|-
| hence || hints || {{IPA|ˈhɪn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| Hines || hinds || {{IPA|ˈhaɪn(d)z}}
|-
| inns || ends || {{IPA|ˈɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| ins || ends || {{IPA|ˈɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| intense || intents || {{IPA|ɪnˈtɛn(t)s}}
|-
| [[Kines]] || kinds || {{IPA|ˈkaɪn(d)z}}
|-
| LANs || lands || {{IPA|ˈlæn(d)z}}
|-
| lens || lends || {{IPA|ˈlɛn(d)z}}
|-
| men's || mends || {{IPA|ˈmɛn(d)z}}
|-
| mince || mints || {{IPA|ˈmɪn(t)s}}
|-
| mines || minds || {{IPA|ˈmaɪn(d)z}}
|-
| N's; ens || ends || {{IPA|ˈɛn(d)z}}
|-
| patience || patients || {{IPA|ˈpeɪʃən(t)s}}
|-
| pawns || ponds || {{IPA|ˈpɑn(d)z}} || With [[cot-caught merger]].
|-
| pens || pends || {{IPA|ˈpɛn(d)z}}
|-
| pins || pends || {{IPA|ˈpɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| ponce || ponts || {{IPA|ˈpɑn(t)s}}
|-
| pons || ponds || {{IPA|ˈpɑn(d)z}}
|-
| presence || presents || {{IPA|ˈprɛzən(t)s}}
|-
| prince || prints || {{IPA|ˈprɪn(t)s}}
|-
| rinse || rents || {{IPA|ˈrɪn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| sans || sands || {{IPA|ˈsæn(d)z}}
|-
| sense || cents || {{IPA|ˈsɛn(t)s}}
|-
| sense || scents || {{IPA|ˈsɛn(t)s}}
|-
| since || cents || {{IPA|ˈsɪn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| since || scents || {{IPA|ˈsɪn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| spins || spends || {{IPA|ˈspɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| Stan's || stands || {{IPA|ˈstæn(d)z}}
|-
| tens || tends || {{IPA|ˈtɛn(d)z}} || 
|-
| tense || tents || {{IPA|ˈtɛn(t)s}}
|-
| tense || tints || {{IPA|ˈtɪn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| tins || tends || {{IPA|ˈtɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| [[Vince (disambiguation)|Vince]] || vents || {{IPA|ˈvɪn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| wans || wands || {{IPA|ˈwɑn(d)z}}
|-
| wens || wends || {{IPA|ˈwɛn(d)z}}
|-
| wens || winds (n.) || {{IPA|ˈwɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| wince || [[Wentz]] || {{IPA|ˈwɪn(t)s}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| whence || [[Wentz]] || {{IPA|ˈwɪn(t)s}} || With [[wine-whine merger]].
|-
| whines || winds (v.) || {{IPA|ˈwaɪn(d)z}} || With [[wine-whine merger]].
|-
| wines || winds (v.) || {{IPA|ˈwaɪn(d)z}}
|-
| wins || wends || {{IPA|ˈwɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| wins || winds (n.) || {{IPA|ˈwɪn(d)z}}
|-
| wyns, wynns || wends || {{IPA|ˈwɪn(d)z}} || With [[pen-pin merger]].
|-
| wyns, wynns || winds (n.) || {{IPA|ˈwɪn(d)z}}
|}

==Alterations of clusters==

===Assimilation===
In English as in other languages, [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] of adjacent consonants is common, particularly of a [[nasal consonant|nasal]] with a following consonant. This can occur within or between words. For example, the {{IPA|/n/}} in ''encase'' is often pronounced {{IPA|[ŋ]}} (becoming a [[velar consonant|velar]] nasal by way of assimilation with the following velar stop {{IPA|/k/}}), and the {{IPA|/n/}} in ''ten men'' likely becomes {{IPA|[m]}}, assimilating with the following [[bilabial nasal]] {{IPA|/m/}}. Other cases of assimilation also occur, such as pronunciation of the {{IPA|/d/}} in ''bad boy'' as {{IPA|[b]}}. Voicing assimilation determines the sound of the endings ''-s'' (as in [[English plurals|plurals]], [[English possessive|possessives]] and [[English verbs|verb forms]]) and ''-ed'' (in verb forms): these are voiced ({{IPA|[z]}}, {{IPA|[d]}}) following a [[voiced consonant]] (or vowel), but voiceless ({{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[t]}}) after a voiceless consonant, as in ''gets'', ''knocked''.<ref>Nathan, G.S., ''Phonology: A Cognitive Grammar Introduction'', John Benjamins Publishing 2008, pp. 77–78.</ref>

===Glottalization===
While there are many accents (such as [[Cockney]]) in which syllable-final {{IPA|/t/}} is frequently [[glottalization|glottalized]] (realized as a [[glottal stop]], {{IPA|[ʔ]}}) regardless of what follows it, the glottaling of {{IPA|/t/}} in clusters is a feature even of standard accents, such as RP. There, {{IPA|[ʔ]}} may be heard for {{IPA|/t/}} in such words and phrases as ''quite good'', ''quite nice'', ''nights''. More precisely, it occurs in RP when {{IPA|/t/}} appears in the [[syllable coda]], is preceded by a vowel, [[liquid consonant|liquid]] or [[nasal consonant|nasal]], and it is followed by another consonant except (normally) a liquid or [[semivowel]] in the same word, as in ''mattress''.<ref name="W121">{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=261}}.</ref>

Another possibility is pre-glottalization (or glottal reinforcement), where a glottal stop is inserted before a syllable-final stop, rather than replacing it. That can happen before {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/k/}} or also before the [[affricate]] {{IPA|/tʃ/}}. It can occur in RP in the same environments as those mentioned above, without the final restriction so a glottal stop may appear before the {{IPA|/t/}}, as in ''mattress''. It can also occur before a pause as in ''quite!'' spoken alone but not in ''quite easy''. In the case of {{IPA|/tʃ/}}, pre-glottalization is common even before a vowel, as in ''teacher''.<ref>{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=260}}.</ref>

According to Wells, this pre-glottalization originated in the 20th century (at least, it was not recorded until then). Glottalization of {{IPA|/t/}} spread rapidly during the 20th century.<ref name="W121" />

===S-cluster metathesis===
<!-- This section is linked from [[African American Vernacular English]] -->
Final consonant clusters starting with {{IPA|/s/}} sometimes undergo [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]], meaning that the order of the consonants is switched. For example, the word ''ask'' may be pronounced like "ax", with the {{IPA|/k/}} and the {{IPA|/s/}} switched.

This example has a long history: the Old English verb ''áscian'' also appeared as ''acsian'', and both forms continued into Middle English, the latter, metathesizing to "ask". The form ''axe'' appears in Chaucer: "I axe, why the fyfte man Was nought housband to the Samaritan?" (''[[Wife of Bath]]'s Prologue'', 1386), and was considered acceptable in literary English until about 1600.<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary - [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=ask&allowed_in_frame=0 Ask]</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2020}} It persists in some dialects of rural England as well as in [[Ulster Scots language|Ulster Scots]]<ref name="Kperogi">{{cite book |last1=Kperogi |first1=Farooq A. |title=Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English in a Global World |date=2015 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-1-4331-2926-1 |page=208 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opRVCwAAQBAJ&q=ax+ask}}</ref> as {{IPA|/ˈaks/}}, and in [[Jamaican English language|Jamaican English]] as {{IPA|/ˈaːks/}}, from where it has entered [[Multicultural London English|London English]] as {{IPA|/ˈɑːks/}}.

S-cluster metathesis has been observed in some forms of [[African American Vernacular English]], although it is not universal, one of the most stigmatized features of AAVE and often commented on by teachers.<ref name="AAVE" />{{Failed verification|date=February 2020}} Examples of possible AAVE pronunciations include:

{|
|-
|ask ||→ {{IPA|/ˈæks/}}
|-
|grasp ||→ {{IPA|/ˈɡræps/}}
|-
|wasp ||→ {{IPA|/ˈwɑps/}}
|-
|gasp ||→ {{IPA|/ˈɡæps/}}
|}

===Merger of /str/ and /skr/===
For some speakers of [[African American Vernacular English]], the [[consonant cluster]] {{IPA|/str/}} is pronounced as {{IPA|/skr/}}. For example, the word ''street'' may be pronounced as {{IPA|/skrit/}}.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Green|first1=Lisa J.|title=African American English : a linguistic introduction|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521891387|url-access=registration|date=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0521891387|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521891387/page/122 122]|edition=1. publ., 4. print.}}</ref>

The form has been found to occur in [[Gullah language|Gullah]] and in the speech of some young African Americans born in the Southern United States. It is reported to be a highly stigmatized feature, with children who use it often being referred to speech pathologists.<ref>Dandy, E.B., ''Black Communications: Breaking Down the Barriers'', African American Images, 1991, p. 44.</ref>

===Yod-rhotacization===
{{Misleading|section|date=March 2025}}
Yod-rhotacization is a process that occurs for some [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] [[AAVE]]{{r|AAVE}} speakers, where {{IPA|/j/}} is rhotacized to {{IPA|[r]}} in consonant clusters, causing pronunciations like:

{|
|-
|beautiful ||→ {{IPA|[ˈbruɾɪfl̩]}}
|-
|cute ||→ {{IPA|[krut]}}
|-
|music ||→ {{IPA|[ˈmruzɪk]}}
|}

Compare [[#Yod-dropping|yod-dropping]] and [[#Yod-coalescence|yod-coalescence]], described above (and also the [[Phonological history of English diphthongs#Coil–curl merger|coil–curl merger]], which features the reverse process, {{IPA|/r/}} → {{IPA|/j/}}).

==See also==
* [[Phonological history of English]]
* [[Phonological history of English consonants]]
* [[Phonological history of English fricatives and affricates]]
* [[H-dropping]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{History of English}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phonological History Of English Consonant Clusters}}
[[Category:Splits and mergers in English phonology]]
[[Category:Scottish English]]
[[Category:Phonotactics]]