Spelled clusters such as KW and SW (etc.) sometimes sound like two consonants, and sometimes not. In general, you can hear a W-like sound in such spellings at the end of the word, but not elsewhere. The pronunciation of such spellings is described below.
At the end of the word
You can hear a type of W sound at the end of a word in combinations spelled like KW. In such cases, the letter W can sound either like a voiceless [ ʷ ] or like an H, [ ʰ ]. To make the voiceless W sound, pretend that you are blowing out a candle. This is also the sound that some English speakers use at the beginning of words like which or what.
Here are some examples:
The letters KW sound like [ kʷ ]:
More often, however, the W is silent. In such cases, the W affects the pronunciation of the following vowel instead, (especially in combinations like WAA and WAAU). No [ w ] sound is audible, even though it is spelled.
Grammar
