{{Short description|Simplification of consonant clusters in certain environments}} {{Sound change}} In phonology and historical linguistics, '''cluster reduction''' is the simplification of consonant clusters in certain environments or over time. Cluster reduction can happen in different languages, dialects of those languages, in World Englishes, and as a part of language acquisition.
==Uses== ===Dialects of English=== 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 (AAVE).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schreier |first=Daniel |title=Consonant change in English worldwide : synchrony meets diachrony |date=2005 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-51332-7 |location=Basingstoke [England] |oclc=70191483}}</ref>
In some dialects of English such as African American Vernacular English, certain historical consonant clusters reduce to single consonants at the ends of words. That is common in words in which one of the final consonants is alveolar (/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/):<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fromkin|first1=Victoria|title=An Introduction to Language|last2=Rodman|first2=Robert|last3=Hyams|first3=Nina|publisher=Cengage Learning, Inc.|year=2017|isbn=978-1-33755958-4|pages=282}}</ref> ''friend'' rhymes with ''Ben'', and ''cold'' is homophonous with ''coal''. In both cases, a historical cluster of homorganic consonants loses a stop: {{IPA|/ˈfrɛn/, /ˈkoʊl/}} However, in ''colder'', where the consonant cluster falls between vowels, the {{IPA|/d/}} remains: {{IPA|/ˈkoʊldɚ/}}. The similar word-final reduction of {{IPA|*/mb/}} to {{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|*/ŋɡ/}} to {{IPA|/ŋ/}} is complete in standard English (e.g. ''lamb'', ''long''), as it is in many other Germanic languages (e.g. Swedish {{lang|sv|lamm}}, {{lang|sv|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.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Denham|first1=Kristin|author-link=Kristin Denham |title=Linguistics for Everyone|last2=Lobeck|first2=Anne|author2-link=Anne Lobeck|publisher=Wadsworth, Cengage Learning|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4130-1589-8|pages=160}}</ref> 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 and think that the speaker is talking about only one cat.
===World languages=== Italian is well known to have undergone cluster reduction, where stop clusters have become geminates. For example, {{lang|la|Victoria}} has become {{lang|it|Vittoria}}. In other words, articulation but not length has reduced. A similar occurrence is observed in Portuguese as well, but gemination is absent. Cluster reduction also takes place in Catalan, and in a similar way as it happens in English. Certain consonant clusters placed at the end of a word are reduced: {{lang|ca|cent}} {{IPA|/sen/}} instead of {{IPA|/sent/}}. They recover, however, the reduced consonant when the cluster falls between vowels: {{lang|ca|centenar}} {{IPA|/səntəˈna/}}. The phenomenon does not exist in Valencian: {{lang|ca-valencia|cent}} {{IPA|/sent/}} and {{lang|ca-valencia|centenar}} {{IPA|/senteˈnaɾ/}}.
Word-initial and word-final consonant clusters do not exist in the Japanese language. Therefore, an English-language learner from Japanese may find producing English words with such clusters to be troublesome.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Franklin|first1=Amber|last2=McDaniel|first2=Lana|date=2016-05-01|title=Exploring a Phonological Process Approach to Adult Pronunciation Training|journal=American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology|volume=25|issue=2|pages=172–182|doi=10.1044/2015_AJSLP-14-0172|pmc=4972003|pmid=27151825}}</ref> Common cluster simplification strategies include cluster reduction (e.g., string /stɹɪŋ/ → /sɹɪŋ/) and epenthesis (e.g., /stɹɪŋ/ → /stəɹɪŋ/), which describes vowel additions within, or at the end of, words.<ref name=":0" />
===World Englishes=== Cluster reduction is common in specific languages, and it occurs in World Englishes as well. For example, final consonant cluster reduction is common among those speaking dialects of Singapore English, and they may use cluster reduction strategies known as metathesis, glottalization, and deletion.<ref name=":1" />{{rp|348}} Clusters which have both /t/ and /k/ are usually reduced to [k].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Gut|first=Ulrike|date=2007|title=First language influence and final consonant clusters in the new Englishes of Singapore and Nigeria|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-971X.2007.00513.x|journal=World Englishes|language=en|volume=26|issue=3|pages=346–359|doi=10.1111/j.1467-971X.2007.00513.x|issn=1467-971X|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|354}} As in Singapore English, speakers of Nigerian English may also reduce or delete their final consonant clusters. Strategies of cluster reduction common in Nigerian English include metathesis or epenthesis with the vowels /u/ or /i/. An example occurs in the word silk, which speakers Nigerian English may say /silik/ instead.<ref name=":1" />{{rp|348}} Unlike Singapore English, /k/ and /t/ clusters are generally reduced to [t].<ref name=":1" />{{rp|354}}
A common simplification process in Chicano English is word-final cluster simplification. For example, "ward" would sound like "war," and "start" would sound like "star."<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last1=Fromkin|first1=V|title=An Introduction to Language|last2=Rodman|first2=R|last3=Hyams|first3=N|publisher=Thomson Heinle|year=2003|pages=467}}</ref>{{rp|467}} In Spanish, there is a sequential constraint, and /s/ clusters cannot occur at the beginning of a word. That constraint causes epenthesis of a vowel in a word before the beginning /s/ cluster to be common, such as in the words "school," "scare," and "spoon," which would sound like [iskul], [iskɛr], and [ispun], respectively.<ref name=":7" />{{rp|467}}
===Language acquisition=== In first-language acquisition, children show similarities in the clusters that are reduced and to which consonant the clusters are reduced.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Ohala|first=Diane K|date=November 1999|title=The influence of sonority on children's cluster reductions|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0021992499000180|journal=Journal of Communication Disorders|language=en|volume=32|issue=6|pages=397–422|doi=10.1016/S0021-9924(99)00018-0|pmid=10560714 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|397}} Following are some common word-initial cluster reductions: Clusters including a fricative and a stop typically get reduced to the stop, as in [pun] for spoon. Clusters with a stop and a liquid usually reduce to the stop, such as in [bu] for blue. Clusters with a fricative then a liquid generally get reduced to the fricative, like in [fai] for fly. Clusters containing a stop and a glide are reduced to the stop, as in [kin] for queen. Fricative glide clusters are reduced to the fricative, like in [sɪm] for swim. Finally, nasal and glide clusters reduce to the nasal, such as in [musɪk] for music.<ref name=":2" />{{rp|398}}
/S/ clusters serve as a special case for development, as they are learned separately from other clusters, with some children learning them first and some learning them last.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Yavaş|first=Mehmet|date=2011-11-01|title=Patterns of cluster reduction in the acquisition of #sC onsets: Are bilinguals different from monolinguals?|url=https://doi.org/10.3109/02699206.2011.616643|journal=Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics|volume=25|issue=11–12|pages=981–988|doi=10.3109/02699206.2011.616643|issn=0269-9206|pmid=22106888|s2cid=12218059 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|982}} In general, English-speaking children reduce /sl-/ clusters to [s] (as in /sling/ - /sing/), but reduce every other type of /s/ cluster (/sp-/, /st-/, /sk/, /sm-/, /sn-/, and /sw-/) to the second consonant in the cluster.<ref name=":6" />{{rp|982}}
In general, children may have trouble with the production of liquids /l/ and /r/.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|last1=McLeod|first1=S.|last2=Doorn|first2=J. van|last3=Reed|first3=V. A.|date=1997-01-01|title=Realizations of consonant clusters by children with phonological impairment|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02699209708985185|journal=Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics|volume=11|issue=2|pages=85–113|doi=10.1080/02699209708985185|issn=0269-9206|pmid=21271753|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|103}} To simplify clusters that include these liquids, children may replace these sounds for the glide /w/ or omit the sounds completely.
Two of the theories for liquid cluster development have been proposed by Greenlee (1974) and Elbert and McReynolds (1979). Greenlee (1974) introduced a three-stage process of developing stop and liquid consonant clusters which includes liquid deletion ([pɒt] for _plot_), substitution of the liquid with the glide [w] ([pwɒt]), and then correct production ([plɒt]).<ref name=":23">{{Cite journal|last1=McLeod|first1=S.|last2=Doorn|first2=J. van|last3=Reed|first3=V. A.|date=1997-01-01|title=Realizations of consonant clusters by children with phonological impairment|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02699209708985185|journal=Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics|volume=11|issue=2|pages=85–113|doi=10.1080/02699209708985185|issn=0269-9206|pmid=21271753|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|87}}
Elbert and McReynolds (1979) created a four-step process based on Greenlee's (1974) previous proposal, including stage one, where both consonants are deleted; stage two, where one consonant is kept while the other is omitted; stage three, where both consonants are produced, but not correctly; and stage four, which is the correct production of both consonants.<ref name=":24">{{Cite journal|last1=McLeod|first1=S.|last2=Doorn|first2=J. van|last3=Reed|first3=V. A.|date=1997-01-01|title=Realizations of consonant clusters by children with phonological impairment|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02699209708985185|journal=Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics|volume=11|issue=2|pages=85–113|doi=10.1080/02699209708985185|issn=0269-9206|pmid=21271753|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|87}} For example, _tree_ would first be produced as [i:], then [ti:], then [twi:], and, lastly, [tri:].
Cluster reduction also occurs in the Dutch language, similar to English. It is common for Dutch-speaking children to begin reducing clusters between ages 1;3 and 1;11.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Haaften|first1=Leenke van|last2=Diepeveen|first2=Sanne|last3=Engel-Hoek|first3=Lenie van den|last4=Swart|first4=Bert de|last5=Maassen|first5=Ben|date=2020|title=Speech sound development in typically developing 2–7-year-old Dutch-speaking children: A normative cross-sectional study|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1460-6984.12575|journal=International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders|language=en|volume=55|issue=6|pages=971–987|doi=10.1111/1460-6984.12575|pmid=33111376 |s2cid=225099535 |issn=1460-6984|hdl=11370/50e95148-5f70-4df2-b275-31bb6818b4b5|hdl-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|974}} The strategy tends to decrease between ages 2;6 and 3;0, and it drastically decreases by the time the children are 4;3. Some cluster reduction may linger until the age of 6, and development of clusters could last until the age of 10 for some.<ref name=":5" />{{rp|973-974}}
Consonant-cluster reduction is the most common phonological process used by Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children, and it has been found to be used the longest, sometimes past the age of 6;0.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Ceron|first1=Marizete Ilha|last2=Gubiani|first2=Marileda Barichello|last3=de|first3=Oliveira Camila Rosa|last4=Keske|first4=-Soares Márcia|date=2017-04-14|title=Factors Influencing Consonant Acquisition in Brazilian Portuguese–Speaking Children|url=https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-15-0208|journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research|volume=60|issue=4|pages=759–771|doi=10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-15-0208|pmid=28306754 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|761}} Studies have not shown any gender differences in language acquisition for typically developing Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children.<ref name=":4" />{{rp|762}}
Unlike Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children, differences in language acquisition have been found in Cantonese-speaking children. With consonants, girls tend to acquire both initial and final consonants before boys do.<ref name=":4" />{{rp|762}} Consonant clusters containing a fricative and /l/ are generally the final clusters acquired, and, by the ages of 7;6-7;11, typically developing children usually no longer reduce clusters.<ref name=":4" />{{rp|766, 768}}
Children using cochlear implants tend to use the same cluster-reduction strategies as children with normal hearing when learning words with consonant clusters.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Chin|first1=S.B.|last2=Finnegan|first2=K.R.|date=2000|title=Consonant Cluster Production by Pediatric Users of Cochlear Implants|url=|journal=Volta Review |volume= 102 |issue=4|pages=157–174|via=EBSCOhost}}</ref>{{rp|157}} When liquids and fricatives are present before a stop in a cluster, the liquid or fricative is more often the consonant that gets reduced. For example, /pleɪ/ gets reduced to [peɪ], and /skaɪ/ is reduced to [kaɪ].<ref name=":3" />{{rp|159}}
==References== {{Reflist}} *Crowley, Terry. (1997) ''An Introduction to Historical Linguistics.'' 3rd edition. Oxford University Press. * Fromkin, Victoria; Rodman, Robert; Hyams, Nina (2017). ''An Introduction to Language''. Cengage Learning, Inc. p. 282. {{ISBN|978-1-33755958-4}}. * Denham, Kristin; Lobeck, Anne (2010). ''Linguistics for Everyone''. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. p. 160. {{ISBN|978-1-4130-1589-8}}. * Franklin, A., & McDaniel, L. (2016). Exploring a Phonological Process Approach to Adult Pronunciation Training. ''American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 25''(2), 172–182.
Category:Phonetics