English orthography often masks phonetic structures. Which of the following words contains… — JAMB UTME

English orthography often masks phonetic structures. Which of the following words contains the diphthong sound /əʊ/?

The word 'tableau' contains the diphthong sound /əʊ/.

The correct choice is the word 'tableau' because its final syllable is pronounced with the diphthong glide /əʊ/ (/ˈtæbləʊ/).

Transcribe the phonetic vowel sound of the target word 'tableau'.

The word 'tableau' is phonetically transcribed as /ˈtæbləʊ/.

The spelling 'eau' borrowed from French produces the English diphthong glide /əʊ/.

Analyze the vowel sounds of the remaining choices to identify monophthongization traps.

'broad' is /brɔːd/ (long monophthong /ɔː/), 'cough' is /kɒf/ (short monophthong /ɒ/), and 'quay' is /kiː/ (long monophthong /iː/).

These words feature monophthongs that are commonly misidentified due to deceptive spelling patterns.

Identification of the Diphthong /əʊ/

Estimated Time:45s

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