English Orthography - Spelling Irregularities - "Ough" Words

"Ough" Words

Main article: Ough (combination)

The most notorious group of letters in the English language, ough, is commonly pronounced at least ten different ways, six of which are illustrated in the construct, Though the tough cough and hiccough plough him through, which is quoted by Robert A. Heinlein in The Door into Summer to illustrate the difficulties facing automated speech transcription and reading. Ough is in fact a word in its own right; it is an exclamation of disgust similar to ugh.

  • though: /oʊ/ as in toe; (other examples: dough)
  • tough: /ʌf/ as in cuff; (other examples: rough, enough)
  • cough: /ɒf/ as in off; (other examples: Gough (name, some pronunciations))
  • hiccough (a now uncommon variant of hiccup): /ʌp/ as in up; (unique)
  • plough: /aʊ/ as in cow; (other examples: sough, drought, bough, and the name Doughty)
  • through: /uː/ as in blue;
  • nought: /ɔː/ as in caught; (other examples: ought, sought, thought, brought)
  • lough: /ɒx/ with a rough breathing sound like the ch in loch

Finally, there is the place name Loughborough, where the first ough has the sound as in cuff and the second rhymes with thorough.

Read more about this topic:  English Orthography, Spelling Irregularities

Famous quotes containing the word words:

    Earthly minds, like mud walls, resist the strongest batteries: and though, perhaps, sometimes the force of a clear argument may make some impression, yet they nevertheless stand firm, and keep out the enemy, truth, that would captivate or disturb them. Tell a man passionately in love, that he is jilted; bring a score of witnesses of the falsehood of his mistress, it is ten to one but three kind words of hers shall invalidate all their testimonies.
    John Locke (1632–1704)