longer) than in the underlying cluster . Some speakers preserve a clearer distinction, with prince having , and prints having or . The epenthesis does not occur between syllables, in words like consider. Other insertions The merger of and is also possible, making bans and pens sound like bands and pends. However, this is less common than the merger of and described above, and in rapid speech may involve the elision of the from rather than epenthesis in . Epenthesis of a stop between a nasal and a fricative can also occur in other environments, for example: may become (so pinscher is often pronounced like pincher) may become (so Samson becomes "Sampson", hamster becomes "hampster") may become (so Kingston becomes "kinkston") Epenthesis may also happen in the cluster , which then becomes , so else rhymes with belts. An epenthetic often intervenes in the cluster in the word dreamt, making it rhyme with attempt. Some originally epenthetic consonants have become part of the established pronunciation of words. This applies, for instance, to the in words like thimble, grumble and scramble. For the insertion of glottal stops before certain consonants, see Glottalization below. Alterations of clusters Assimilation In English as in other languages, assimilation of adjacent consonants is common, particularly of a nasal with a following consonant. This can occur within or between words. For example, the in encase is often pronounced (becoming a velar nasal by way of assimilation with the following velar stop ), and the in ten men likely becomes , assimilating with the following bilabial nasal . Other cases of assimilation also occur, such as pronunciation of the in bad boy as . Voicing assimilation determines the sound of the endings -s (as in plurals, possessives and verb forms) and -ed (in verb forms): these are voiced (, ) following a voiced consonant (or vowel), but voiceless (, ) after a voiceless consonant, as in gets, knocked. Glottalization While there are many accents (such as Cockney) in which syllable-final is frequently glottalized (realized as a glottal stop, ) regardless of what follows it, the glottaling of in clusters is a feature even of standard accents, such as RP. There, may be heard for in such words and phrases as quite good, quite nice, nights. More precisely, it occurs in RP when appears in the syllable coda, is preceded by a vowel, liquid or nasal, and it is