Initial consonant deletion describes

• A. Final consonant deletion
• B. Deletion of initial consonant or consonant cluster
• C. Replacement of vowels with consonants
• D. Deletion of silent letters

Answer: (B)

Initial consonant deletion is the removal of the initial sound(s) of a syllable—the onset, which can be a single consonant or a consonant cluster. When that initial sound or cluster is dropped, the word starts with a vowel sound. For example, cat becomes at when the initial /k/ is deleted; street becomes eet when the /str/ cluster is removed. This is different from final consonant deletion, where the last sound is dropped (cat → ca). It’s also not about replacing vowels with consonants or deleting silent letters; it’s specifically about losing the initial onset of the syllable.