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Difficulty: Very hardMonophthongs (Pure Vowels)

Complete the statement by identifying the correct International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol for the monophthong (pure vowel) sound represented by the underlined letter(s) in each word.

Answer:In the word bury, the underlined vowel letter represents the monophthong sound 【/e/】, whereas in the word busy, the underlined vowel letter represents the monophthong sound 【/ɪ/】.

Answer

The underlined letter 'u' in 'bury' produces the short monophthong sound /e/, while the underlined letter 'u' in 'busy' produces the short monophthong sound /ɪ/.
The word 'bury' presents an irregular orthographic spelling where the letter 'u' represents the monophthong /e/ (as in 'red'). Conversely, the word 'busy' uses the letter 'u' to represent the monophthong /ɪ/ (as in 'hit').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic transcription of the word 'bury'.
The word 'bury' is phonetically transcribed as /ˈber.i/. The letter 'u' represents the short front mid unrounded pure vowel sound /e/.
In English phonology, 'bury' is an irregular spelling exception where the orthographic letter 'u' corresponds to the /e/ sound found in words like 'bed'.
2
Analyze the phonetic transcription of the word 'busy'.
The word 'busy' is phonetically transcribed as /ˈbɪz.i/. The letter 'u' represents the short close front unrounded pure vowel sound /ɪ/.
The orthographic letter 'u' in 'busy' represents an atypical spelling pattern for the lax monophthong /ɪ/ found in words like 'sit'.

Key Concept

Atypical orthographic representations of English monophthongs (Pure Vowels)
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Topics

Monophthongs (Pure Vowels)

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