Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumConsonant Sounds

Identify the phonetic consonant sound produced by the underlined letter combinations in the statement below. Complete the sentence by supplying the appropriate International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol or descriptive name for each sound.

Answer:In standard English, the underlined letters 'ch' in the word 'schism' represent the consonant sound 【/k/】, while the 'ch' in 'chef' represent the consonant sound 【/ʃ/】.

Answer

The 'ch' in 'schism' is pronounced as the voiceless velar plosive /k/, while the 'ch' in 'chef' is pronounced as the voiceless post-alveolar fricative /ʃ/.
The digraph 'ch' varies in sound depending on word origin. In 'schism', it is pronounced /k/ (voiceless velar plosive). In 'chef', a loanword from French, it is pronounced /ʃ/ (voiceless post-alveolar fricative).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the pronunciation of the word 'schism'.
The word is pronounced as /ˈsɪz.əm/. The letter combination 'sch' produces the consonant sequence /s/ followed by /k/ (or the 'ch' specifically represents /k/).
Although spelled with 'ch', words of Greek origin like 'schism' frequently realize 'ch' as the hard consonant sound /k/.
2
Analyze the pronunciation of the word 'chef'.
The word is pronounced as /ʃef/, where 'ch' represents the fricative sound /ʃ/.
Words borrowed relatively recently from French, such as 'chef' and 'chiffon', retain the French pronunciation of 'ch' as /ʃ/.

Key Concept

Orthographic variation of consonant digraphs across different etymological origins
Rate this question

Topics

Consonant Sounds

More questions from this topic