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Difficulty: MediumMonophthongs (Pure Vowels)

Match each of the target words below to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol representing its stressed pure vowel (monophthong) sound.

  • plait/æ/
  • quay/i:/
  • bosom/ʊ/
  • clerk/ɑ:/

Answer

'plait' corresponds to /æ/, 'quay' corresponds to /i:/, 'bosom' corresponds to /ʊ/, and 'clerk' corresponds to /ɑ:/.
Each word matches its corresponding monophthong symbol based on standard RP English phonetic conventions: 'plait' (/plæt/) pairs with /æ/, 'quay' (/ki:/) pairs with /i:/, 'bosom' (/ˈbʊzəm/) pairs with /ʊ/, and 'clerk' (/klɑ:k/) pairs with /ɑ:/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the exact phonetic transcription and stressed monophthong for each target word.
'plait' is transcribed as /plæt/, 'quay' as /ki:/, 'bosom' as /ˈbʊzəm/, and 'clerk' as /klɑ:k/.
Orthographic spelling in English often misleads pronunciation; analyzing standard IPA transcriptions reveals the underlying pure vowel sounds.
2
Match each word's vowel sound to the given IPA symbol.
plait → /æ/, quay → /i:/, bosom → /ʊ/, clerk → /ɑ:/.
Each target word features a distinctive monophthong that matches one of the four phonetic symbols provided.

Key Concept

Monophthong Sound Identification and Irregular Orthographic Spellings
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Topics

Monophthongs (Pure Vowels)

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