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Difficulty: MediumMonophthongs (Pure Vowels)

Match each word on the left with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol on the right that represents its primary monophthong (pure vowel) sound.

  • hearth/ɑː/
  • swan/ɒ/
  • pretty/ɪ/
  • leopard/e/

Answer

'hearth' matches /ɑː/, 'swan' matches /ɒ/, 'pretty' matches /ɪ/, and 'leopard' matches /e/.
Each target word features a specific monophthong phoneme: 'hearth' contains the long back vowel /ɑː/, 'swan' contains the short rounded back vowel /ɒ/, 'pretty' contains the short front vowel /ɪ/, and 'leopard' contains the short front vowel /e/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic realization of 'hearth'
The vowel digraph 'ear' in 'hearth' produces the long pure vowel sound /ɑː/ as in 'father'.
English orthography often misleads students to read 'ear' as /ɪə/ or /ɜː/, but in 'hearth' it represents /ɑː/.
2
Identify the monophthong in 'swan'
The letter 'a' in 'swan' yields the short pure vowel sound /ɒ/ as in 'lot'.
Following the labial-velar consonant /w/, the vowel 'a' typically undergoes rounding to become /ɒ/.
3
Determine the stressed vowel sound in 'pretty'
The letter 'e' in 'pretty' is pronounced as the short front vowel /ɪ/ as in 'sit'.
This is an exceptional spelling pattern where 'e' corresponds to the lax front vowel /ɪ/.
4
Examine the vowel digraph in 'leopard'
The digraph 'eo' in 'leopard' produces the short front monophthong /e/ as in 'bed'.
The letter 'o' is silent in this context, leaving the short monophthong /e/.

Key Concept

Monophthongs (Pure Vowels) and Orthographic Exceptions
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Topics

Monophthongs (Pure Vowels)

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