Practice question · True or false
Simplifying an initial consonant cluster by deleting a sound damages intelligibility more than by inserting a vowel.
Hints
- Compare what a listener has to recover in each case.
- Deletion removes information; insertion leaves it recoverable.
Show the answer
True
Why
True, and the asymmetry is one of the Core's more actionable findings. An inserted vowel leaves every consonant present and merely restructures the syllables; a deletion removes a sound the listener needs. A learner who cannot yet produce a cluster is better served by adding than by dropping.
Practise Stress, Rhythm and Intelligibility
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