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Question

Difficulty: MediumConsonant Sounds

Match each word on the left with the correct phonetic consonant sound (or realization) represented by the underlined letter 't' on the right.

  • nation/ʃ/
  • question/tʃ/
  • castleSilent (no sound)
  • total/t/

Answer

The correct pairings are: 'nation' matches /ʃ/, 'question' matches /tʃ/, 'castle' matches Silent (no sound), and 'total' matches /t/.
Each item demonstrates a unique contextual realization of the letter 't': 'nation' produces the fricative /ʃ/, 'question' produces the affricate /tʃ/ due to the preceding 's', 'castle' contains a silent 't', and 'total' retains the primary alveolar plosive sound /t/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic environment of 'nation'.
The letter 't' combines with suffix '-ion' to yield the fricative sound /ʃ/ as in 'ship'.
Standard English phonetic rule for '-tion' words preceded by vowels.
2
Analyze the phonetic environment of 'question'.
The letter 't' following 's' in '-stion' forms the affricate sound /tʃ/ as in 'church'.
When 's' precedes 't' in suffixes like '-stion', assimilation produces /tʃ/ instead of /ʃ/.
3
Analyze the word 'castle'.
The letter 't' is unpronounced in the cluster '-stle'.
Words ending in '-stle' (e.g., castle, whistle, nestle) feature a silent consonant 't'.
4
Analyze the initial letter in 'total'.
The letter 't' is pronounced as the standard plosive /t/.
Direct orthographic-to-phonetic alignment for initial 't'.

Key Concept

Orthographic Realizations of Consonants
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Topics

Consonant Sounds

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