Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardConsonant Clusters

Match each English word on the left with the correct structural description of its spoken consonant cluster configuration on the right.

  • sphereInitial two-consonant cluster (/sf/) formed with a digraph, with no final cluster
  • christenInitial two-consonant cluster (/kr/) with silent 't' preventing a medial cluster
  • textsFinal four-consonant cluster (/ksts/) following a single vowel sound
  • thirstsSingle initial consonant sound (/θ/) with a final three-consonant cluster (/sts/)

Answer

sphere matches Initial two-consonant cluster (/sf/) formed with a digraph, with no final cluster; christen matches Initial two-consonant cluster (/kr/) with silent 't' preventing a medial cluster; texts matches Final four-consonant cluster (/ksts/) following a single vowel sound; thirsts matches Single initial consonant sound (/θ/) with a final three-consonant cluster (/sts/).
Each word must be analyzed by its spoken consonant phonemes rather than its written orthography. 'Sphere' (/sfɪər/) features an initial cluster /sf/ formed by 's' and the digraph 'ph' (/f/). 'Christen' (/ˈkrɪs.ən/) contains an initial cluster /kr/ while the silent 't' prevents a medial cluster. 'Texts' (/teksts/) yields a four-consonant final cluster (/ksts/) because 'x' generates /ks/. 'Thirsts' (/θɜːsts/) begins with a single phoneme /θ/ ('th') and ends with a three-consonant cluster /sts/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Transcribe each word into its standard phonetic transcription to isolate spoken sounds from orthographic spelling.
sphere = /sfɪər/, christen = /ˈkrɪs.ən/, texts = /teksts/, thirsts = /θɜːsts/.
Consonant clusters are sequences of contiguous spoken consonant phonemes within the same syllable, independent of spelling.
2
Identify silent letters and digraphs in each word.
'ph' in 'sphere' is the single phoneme /f/; 't' in 'christen' is silent; 'x' in 'texts' stands for two phonemes (/k/ + /s/); 'th' in 'thirsts' is the single phoneme /θ/.
Orthographic representations can mislead cluster counts if silent letters or multi-letter digraphs are misinterpreted.
3
Count and match the initial, medial, and final consonant phoneme clusters for each item.
sphere has initial cluster /sf/; christen has initial cluster /kr/ with no medial cluster due to silent 't'; texts has final cluster /ksts/; thirsts has single initial sound /θ/ and final cluster /sts/.
Matches each word strictly to its structural cluster profile.

Key Concept

Consonant Clusters and Phonological Awareness
Rate this question

Topics

Consonant Clusters

More questions from this topic