6-1 Pronouncing Consonant Clusters

This speaking lesson focusses on skills related to 

Consonant clusters are a very common feature of English pronunciation and involve the combined sound of two consecutive consonants in one syllable.

In English, the longest possible cluster at the beginning of a word contains three consonants, as in split and strudel, all beginning with /s/ or /ʃ/ and ending with /l/ or /r/.

The longest possible final consonant cluster is five consonants, as in angsts, though that is rare.  The longest common final consonant cluster contains four, as in twelfths, sixths and bursts.

In compound words, longer clusters are possible, such as in the word handspring.