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Difficulty: HardMonophthongs (Pure Vowels)

Which International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol correctly represents the underlined pure vowel sound (monophthong) in each word given below? Match each word on the left to its corresponding IPA symbol on the right.

  • sergeant/ɑː/
  • bosom/ʊ/
  • womb/uː/
  • flood/ʌ/

Answer

sergeant matches /ɑː/; bosom matches /ʊ/; womb matches /uː/; flood matches /ʌ/
'sergeant' matches /ɑː/ because 'ergea' forms a long open back vowel; 'bosom' matches /ʊ/ as the vowel sound is short and rounded; 'womb' matches /uː/ as the single vowel takes a long back close articulation; and 'flood' matches /ʌ/ because 'oo' in this word represents a short unrounded pure vowel.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the monophthong in 'sergeant'
'sergeant' is phonetically transcribed as /ˈsɑːdʒənt/, containing the long pure vowel /ɑː/.
The letter group 'ergea' irregularly produces the /ɑː/ sound rather than a short front vowel.
2
Determine the monophthong in 'bosom'
'bosom' is phonetically transcribed as /ˈbʊzəm/, containing the short pure vowel /ʊ/.
The letter 'o' in 'bosom' takes the lax rounded vowel sound heard in 'put'.
3
Determine the monophthong in 'womb'
'womb' is phonetically transcribed as /wuːm/, containing the tense long pure vowel /uː/.
The single 'o' before 'mb' lengthens to /uː/ rather than /ɒ/ or /ʊ/.
4
Determine the monophthong in 'flood'
'flood' is phonetically transcribed as /flʌd/, containing the short unrounded pure vowel /ʌ/.
The double 'oo' spelling in 'flood' (and 'blood') is an exceptional spelling for /ʌ/ instead of /uː/.

Key Concept

Phonetic identification of monophthongs with irregular orthographic representations
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Topics

Monophthongs (Pure Vowels)

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