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Difficulty: Very hardDiphthongs

In English phonology, spelling patterns can frequently obscure the underlying vowel sounds. Which of the following words contains the exact same diphthong sound as the word gauge?

  1. feignAnswer
  2. B
    plaid
  3. C
    draught
  4. D
    suite

Answer

feign
The word 'gauge' is phonetically transcribed as /ɡeɪdʒ/, containing the diphthong /eɪ/. The word 'feign' is pronounced /feɪn/, which shares the exact same /eɪ/ diphthong glide.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic transcription of the target word
The word 'gauge' is transcribed phonetically as /ɡeɪdʒ/, identifying its primary vowel sound as the diphthong /eɪ/.
Identifying the precise phonetic symbol of the target sound is necessary to locate an exact match.
2
Examine the phonetic structure of each given option
'feign' is pronounced /feɪn/ (/eɪ/), 'plaid' is pronounced /plæd/ (/æ/), 'draught' is pronounced /drɑːft/ (/ɑː/), and 'suite' is pronounced /swiːt/ (/iː/).
Disambiguating deceptive orthography reveals which word contains a diphthong rather than a monophthong.
3
Match the target diphthong sound to the correct option
Both 'gauge' and 'feign' share the diphthong /eɪ/.
'feign' is the only option that contains the identical /eɪ/ diphthong sound.

Key Concept

Diphthong /eɪ/ Identification across Deceptive Orthographic Spellings
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Topics

Diphthongs

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