I think it based on voicing and place of articulation. However, i'm not sure if the 'place of articulation' is correct since /m/,/p/,/b/ are all bilabial.
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So maybe it's just about voicing? You've already figured out that it's not about place of articulation. I'm unclear how this is a question about learning English, and not about English phonology in general.– gotube ♦Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 5:32
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Oh my bad, this is the first time I've used it. This is a question from my linguistic teacher, and he gives me some cues, but I'm not sure if the 'place of articulation' is correct or not.– Emerald NgoCommented Nov 18, 2023 at 13:22
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It seems you are confused between "can't pronounce" and "don't pronounce". Native speakers can pronounce /mb/ But we don't pronounce /mb/ except in borrowed words like mbira or iamb; or when it crosses a syllable like "am.ber"– James KCommented Nov 18, 2023 at 13:30
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1 Answer
Because the word "climb" is pronounced /klaim/. There is no particular articulation difficulty with /mb/. There are words like "Amber", "bombastic", and "crumble" that have /mb/.
It is true, however, that /mb/ doesn't come at the end of any words in modern English (except borrowed words from other languages). So in any words that end "mb" the b is silent. Examples include "bomb", lamb, dumb, crumb and "tomb". The spelling is not phonetic.
So we are able to pronounce /mb/, but in English we don't pronounce it at the end of words (nor even at the end of syllables).
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2It's a whole can of worms, one that opens rather illogically. Bombing, lambing etc it stays silent, but given little excuse it's back again, Bombastic, crumble. Limb - limber, limbic. Commented Nov 9, 2023 at 7:43
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But it's been silent for 700 years, so you have to get used to it.– James KCommented Nov 9, 2023 at 7:46
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What is the origin of the silent 'b' at the end of English words such as lamb, comb, crumb and bomb? by Professor JC Wells and an interesting answer on ELU.– NoneCommented Nov 9, 2023 at 8:07