A merger between two segments can also occur between word boundaries, an example being the phrase got ya /ˈɡɒt jə/ being pronounced like gotcha /ˈɡɒtʃə/.
Historically, the alveolar plosives and fricatives have fused with /j/, in a process referred to as yod coalescence.
Words ending in the Latin-derived suffixes -tion and -sion, such as fiction and mission, are examples that exhibit yod coalescence.
Words that did not experience universal yod coalescence, are always realised as two segments in accents like Received Pronunciation.
In General American, /j/ elides entirely when following alveolar consonants, in a process called yod dropping.
Australian English exhibits yod coalescence to an extreme degree, even when the cluster is in a stressed syllable, though there is some sociolectal variation.
This can result in homophony between previously distinct words, as between dune and June, which are both pronounced /d͡ʒuːn/.
During the development of Ancient Greek from Proto-Greek, the labiovelar [kʷ], [kʷʰ], and [ɡʷ] became [p], [pʰ], and [b].
This even occurs across word boundaries, as in the sentence "går det bra?"
This process will continue for as long as there are more alveolar consonants, though when this amount exceeds four, people usually try to break it up or shorten it, usually by replacing /ʂ/ with /s/, or eliding /d/.
Examples include sterkt /stæɾkt/ [stæʈː], skarpt /skɑɾpt/ [skɑʈː], verktøy /ʋæɾk.tœʏ̯/ [ʋæʈ.ʈœʏ̯] and varmt /ʋɑɾmt/ [ʋɑɳʈ].