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Question

Difficulty: MediumConsonant Sounds

From the words lettered A to D, which word has the SAME CONSONANT SOUND as the one represented by the underlined letters in the word below?

breathe

  1. A
    breath
  2. soothingAnswer
  3. C
    length
  4. D
    growth

Answer

The word 'soothing' contains the same voiced dental fricative sound /ð/ as the underlined letters in 'breathe'.
The underlined digraph 'th' in 'breathe' is pronounced as the voiced dental fricative consonant sound /ð/. Among the options, 'soothing' also contains this voiced sound /ð/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the phonetic consonant sound of the underlined letters in the target word
The underlined letters 'th' in the verb 'breathe' represent the voiced dental fricative sound /ð/.
In 'breathe' (/briːð/), the vocal cords vibrate when producing the 'th' sound.
2
Analyze the consonant sound represented by 'th' in each option
'breath', 'length', and 'growth' contain the voiceless dental fricative /θ/, while 'soothing' contains the voiced dental fricative /ð/.
Phonetic transcriptions: breath (/breθ/), length (/leŋθ/), growth (/ɡrəʊθ/), and soothing (/ˈsuːðɪŋ/).
3
Match the target sound to the correct word
The word 'soothing' shares the exact voiced dental fricative sound /ð/.
Both 'breathe' and 'soothing' articulate the voiced dental fricative /ð/.

Key Concept

Voiced vs. Voiceless Dental Fricatives (/ð/ vs. /θ/)
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Topics

Consonant Sounds

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