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Question

Difficulty: HardConsonant Sounds

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the SAME CONSONANT SOUND as the one represented by the underlined letter in the word 'anxiety'. Which of the following words contains this consonant sound?

  1. A
    complex
  2. dismalAnswer
  3. C
    luxury
  4. D
    exercise

Answer

The word 'dismal' contains the same consonant sound /z/ as represented by the letter 'x' in 'anxiety'.
In the word 'anxiety' (/æŋˈzaɪəti/), the letter 'x' is pronounced as the voiced alveolar fricative /z/. Similarly, in 'dismal' (/ˈdɪzməl/), the letter 's' represents the voiced sound /z/. Therefore, both words share the exact same consonant sound.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the phonetic pronunciation of the underlined letter in the target word.
In the word 'anxiety' (/æŋˈzaɪəti/), the underlined letter 'x' is pronounced as the voiced alveolar fricative sound /z/.
When 'x' appears in 'anxiety', spelling conventions mask its phonetic realization as the voiced fricative /z/.
2
Analyze the phonetic realization of the target consonants in each option.
'complex' contains /ks/; 'dismal' contains /z/; 'luxury' contains /kʃ/; 'exercise' contains /ks/.
Different orthographic spellings (such as 's' and 'x') can represent the identical phonetic consonant sound /z/.
3
Match the target sound /z/ to the correct option.
'dismal' (/ˈdɪzməl/) contains the voiced alveolar fricative sound /z/ represented by the letter 's'.
Both 'anxiety' and 'dismal' share the identical consonant sound /z/.

Key Concept

Phonetic realization of the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ across different orthographic spellings
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Consonant Sounds

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