pronunciation - Do you read the 'c' in 'kc'?


For example:




  • clickcub




  • clickcube




  • clickcrab




  • clickcrate




  • clickcone




In which of those cases do you read the 'c' and not?



Answer



This is difficult to answer without referring to phonetic details, but I'll do the best I can.


All of the words that you mentioned are compounds (and new, unfamiliar compounds at that), which will be pronounced with a geminate [k] in careful speech. For example, your "clickcub" would be something like ['klɪk:ʰʌb]. Two consecutive /k/ sounds run together as a geminate or "long" [k]. Whether you perceive this as one /k/ or two has more to do with your native language than with English phonetics.


I'm not aware of any dialect of English where you pronounce these words with two distinct releases, as [kʰkʰ]. Furthermore, in rapid speech even the geminates will be shortened, rendering all of them as a single [k].


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