Question 54
NECO_MODEL_QUESTIONS_VOL1
•
2021
•
ENGLISH_LANGUAGE
•
objective
For each of the following words - ‘thought', ‘through', ‘though', ‘tough' - provide the IPA transcription, identify the vowel phoneme, and explain the phonological rule that accounts for the different vowel sounds despite the similar spelling. Additionally, count the total number of syllables across the four words and state the count.
Answer Options
A.
1. thought - \/θɔːt\/ - vowel \/ɔː\/. 2. through - \/θrʊ\/ - vowel \/ʊ\/. 3. though - \/ðɒ\/ - vowel \/ɒ\/. 4. tough - \/tʌf\/ - vowel \/ʌ\/. The rule: The sequence ‘ough' always yields the vowel /ʌ/ in English, but spelling conventions cause occasional exceptions. Syllable count: each word is monosyllabic, total = 4 syllables.
B.
1. thought - \/θɒt\/ - vowel \/ɒ\/. 2. through - \/θruː\/ - vowel \/uː\/. 3. though - \/ðoʊ\/ - vowel \/oʊ\/. 4. tough - \/tʌf\/ - vowel \/ʌ\/. The rule: The grapheme ‘ough' is pronounced /ɒ/ in all English words, a relic of Old English spelling. Historically it kept a single vowel sound, but modern dialects vary. Syllable count: each word is monosyllabic, so total = 5 syllables.
C.
1. thought - \/θɔːt\/ - vowel \/aɪ\/. 2. through - \/θruː\/ - vowel \/aɪ\/. 3. though - \/ðoʊ\/ - vowel \/aɪ\/. 4. tough - \/tʌf\/ - vowel \/aɪ\/. The rule: All ‘ough' words share the same vowel phoneme /aɪ/ because they derive from the same Middle English root. Syllable count: each word is monosyllabic, total = 4 syllables.
Correct Answer
D.
1. thought - /θɔːt/ - vowel /ɔː/. 2. through - /θruː/ - vowel /uː/. 3. though - /ðoʊ/ - vowel /oʊ/. 4. tough - /tʌf/ - vowel /ʌ/. The rule: English spelling ‘ough' is orthographically opaque; its pronunciation depends on lexical history and surrounding consonants. Historically, ‘ough' represented a long vowel /oː/ in Middle English, but later sound changes (Great Vowel Shift, vowel reduction, and borrowing) produced divergent modern pronunciations. Thus, the same grapheme cluster maps to different vowel phonemes.
Syllable count: each word is monosyllabic, so total = 4 syllables.
Correct Answer
D
Correct Option:
1. thought - /θɔːt/ - vowel /ɔː/. 2. through - /θruː/ - vowel /uː/. 3. though - /ðoʊ/ - vowel /oʊ/. 4. tough - /tʌf/ - vowel /ʌ/. The rule: English spelling ‘ough' is orthographically opaque; its pronunciation depends on lexical history and surrounding consonants. Historically, ‘ough' represented a long vowel /oː/ in Middle English, but later sound changes (Great Vowel Shift, vowel reduction, and borrowing) produced divergent modern pronunciations. Thus, the same grapheme cluster maps to different vowel phonemes.
Syllable count: each word is monosyllabic, so total = 4 syllables.
About This Question
This is
Neco Model Questions Vol1
2021
English Language
Question 54.
It is one of the
objective
questions from the
2021
Neco Model Questions Vol1
English Language
examination.
Difficulty level:
Medium
.