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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 ...
NG-coalescence – reduction of the final cluster [ŋɡ] to [ŋ], in words like hang, which has occurred in all but a few English dialects. G-dropping – reduction of the final cluster [ŋɡ] to [n] in weak syllables, principally in the verb ending -ing, which has occurred in many English dialects, although not in the modern standard varieties.
Reduction to /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 cluster reduction). The distinction is maintained, however, in Scotland, most of Ireland, and some Southern American English.
In French, a final /n/ sound disappeared, but left its trace in the nasalization of the preceding vowel, as in vin blanc [vɛ̃ blɑ̃], from historical [vin blaŋk].; In many languages (Sino-Tibetan, Austroasiatic, Oceanic, Celtic…), a vowel was nasalized by the nasal consonant preceding it: this "historical transfer of nasality between consonantal onset and vowel" is a case of ...
Persian also does not allow clusters at the beginning of a word and typically uses /æ/ to break up such clusters in borrowings except between /s/ and /t/, when /o/ is added. [citation needed] Spanish does not allow clusters at the beginning of a word with an /s/ in them and adds e-to such words: Latin species > especie, English stress > estrés.
The cluster /mx/ is also rare, but occurs in Russian words such as мха (/mxa/). Consonant clusters at the ends of syllables are less common but follow the same principles. Clusters are more likely to begin with a liquid, approximant, or nasal and end with a fricative, affricate, or stop, such as in English "world" /wə(ɹ)ld/.
Most commonly, the change is a result of sound assimilation with an adjacent sound of opposite voicing, but it can also occur word-finally or in contact with a specific vowel. For example, the English suffix -s is pronounced [s] when it follows a voiceless phoneme ( cats ), and [z] when it follows a voiced phoneme ( dogs ). [ 1 ]
A marked feature of AAVE is final consonant cluster reduction. [46] This is a process by which the pronunciations of consonant clusters at the end of certain words are reduced to pronouncing only the first consonant of that cluster. [47] There are several phenomena that are similar but are governed by different grammatical rules.