A consonant cluster is a combination of two or more consonants that occur together in a word, without the presence of intermediate vowels. These consonants can be at the beginning, middle or end of the word.
Examples:
- prmaid
- clube
- atscer
- pla-N-AltO
- Theplactive
- visorvrThe
Classification of Consonant Clustering
There are different types of consonant clusters in Portuguese, each with its rules of pronunciation and formation. Are they:
Pure Consonant Cluster
A pure consonant cluster is a sequence of consonants that occur together in a same syllable.
Examples:
- clube (club)
- grampo (clip)
- onlyprO (so - pro)
- crthis (Christian)
- pla CA (plate)
- brisa (breeze)
- plhey (claim)
- crase (crave)
- brega (corny)
- praga (pra - ga)
Disjunct Consonant Cluster
Disjoint consonant clusters occur when the consonants that meet are separated into different syllables.
Examples:
- abismO (a - bis - mo)
- adornO (the - pain - in)
- hospital (hospital)
- jornal (newspaper)
- It isspada (sword)
- sayscO (disco)
- fortIt is (strong)
- It isstatal (state-owned)
- dustrtThe (door)
- barcO (boat)
Mixed Consonant Cluster (Pure and Disjoint)
Mixed or pure and disjoint consonant clusters occur when, in the same word, there are consonant clusters of these two categories.
Examples:
- prismThe (pris - ma)
- It isstrada (road)
- insprezo (des - pre - zo)
- footrspicacia (pers - pi - here - ci - a)
- TheltruistThe (al - tru - is - ta)
- praticamentIt is (virtually)
- instruir(to destroy)
- ilustrIt is (i - lus - tre)
- filtrO (filter)
- Obstrution (obs - tru - tion)
Phonetic Consonant Encounter
Occurs when a phoneme has the sound of two phonemes. It is the case of the letter "X" when it has the double (diphonic) sound of "CS".
Examples:
- flexible
- completexO
- OKxi
- goodxIt is
- okxico
- Thexila
- onix
- Oxgenius
- Thexioma
- barkx
Consonant Cluster and Digraph
Digraphs are combinations of two letters that represent a only sound (phoneme), and these letters can be vowels, semivowels or consonants. The main digraphs are:
- vowel digraphs: am, an, in, en, im, in, om, on, um, un.
- consonant digraphs: ch - gu - lh - nh - qu - rr - sc - sç - ss - xc - xs
Consonant clusters, in turn, are the combination of two or more consonants that occur together in a word, which can be individually pronounced or combine to form a new sound.
Examples:
- Digraph: in the words "filhthe" and "carrro", the letters "lh" and "rr" represent a single sound.
- consonant cluster: in the word "planta", "pl" is a consonant cluster in which the two consonants are pronounced individually.
Difference between consonant and vowel cluster
The vowel encounter occurs when two or more vowels appear together in a word, without the presence of intermediate consonants: "pthere", "mhey", "lwow", "sauof", "trophyI", for example.
The vowel cluster, as seen previously, is the junction of consonants in a word, without intermediate vowels or semivowels.
Bibliography:
- BECHARA, Evanildo. Modern Portuguese Grammar. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Lucerna, 1999.
- CUNHA, Celso; CINTRA, Lindley. New grammar of contemporary Portuguese. Lisbon: Editions João Sá da Costa, 1991.
See too:
- Vocal Encounters
- Adverb
- Adjective
- examples of adjectives
- Pronoun
- Preposition
- Digraphs
