Which strategy involves omitting a phoneme to aid pronunciation (e.g., omitting /c/ in arctic)?

• A. Strategy to replace sounds with others
• B. Strategy to break words into syllables
• C. Strategy to pronounce consonant clusters by omitting a phoneme
• D. Strategy to add vowels

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is using a phoneme deletion strategy to make pronunciation easier. When a word has a tricky consonant cluster, a learner may omit one sound to produce a simpler, more fluid utterance. For example, dropping the /c/ sound in arctic results in artik, which is easier to say aloud. This approach lowers the immediate difficulty of producing several consonants in a row while still keeping the word recognizable to listeners, and it can be a stepping-stone as learners work toward pronouncing the full form.

This differs from substituting sounds, which replaces one sound with another; from breaking a word into syllables, which is about chunking for rhythm and emphasis; or from adding vowels, which inserts extra sounds to create easier articulation. Here the emphasis is on temporarily removing a phoneme within a cluster to aid articulation and spoken fluency.