User:IanDMc/Cluster reduction

Dialects of English[edit]
Different varieties of cluster reduction can be observed in numerous examples of English dialects around the world, including but not limited to New Zealand English, South Atlantic English, and African American Vernacular English.

In some dialects of English such as AAVE certain historical consonant clusters reduce to single consonants at the ends of words, and is common in words in which one of the final consonants is alveolar (/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/): friend rhymes with Ben, and cold is homophonous with coal. In both cases, a historical cluster of homorganic consonants loses a stop: /ˈfrɛn/, /ˈkoʊl/ However, in colder, where the consonant cluster falls between vowels, the /d/ remains: /ˈkoʊldɚ/. The similar word-final reduction of */mb/ to /m/ and */ŋɡ/ to /ŋ/ is complete in standard English (e.g. lamb, long), as it is in many other Germanic languages (e.g. Swedish lamm, lång).

In AAVE, this cluster reduction is the result of a phonological rule. In unambiguous situations, the clusters can be reduced without leaving the listener confused. For example, the rule implies that a speaker could say "eight cat," when referring to multiple cats, but not "the cat" when referring to multiple cats. The latter statement would result in ambiguity, and listeners may become confused, thinking the speaker is talking about only one cat.