G (letter): Difference between revisions
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'''G, g''' is a letter of the [[Latin alphabet]]. It is the seventh letter of most variants, being placed after [[F (letter)|F]] and before [[H (letter)|H]], as is the case for instance in the [[English alphabet]]. Its English name is pronounced [ˈdʒiː], | '''G, g''' is a letter of the [[Latin alphabet]]. It is the seventh letter of most variants, being placed after [[F (letter)|F]] and before [[H (letter)|H]], as is the case for instance in the [[English alphabet]]. Its English name is pronounced [ˈdʒiː], like ''gee''. | ||
==Use in English== | ==Use in English== | ||
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:''See also '''[[GH]]''''' | :''See also '''[[GH]]''''' | ||
'''g''' is pronounced in the throat, a voiced '''k''' as in '''kíng''' (compare '''gâte''' and '''Kâte''' | '''g''' is pronounced in the throat, a voiced '''k''' as in '''kíng''' (compare '''gâte''' and '''Kâte'''); or it is pronounced like '''j''' in '''júg''' ('''d''' sound followed by the '''zh''' sound: [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] [dʒ]). | ||
Hard '''g''', the voiced k: '''goòd, dóg, guàrd, gúm, ágony, guést, bíg, píg, wríggle, squíggle, égg, flág, ság, Péggy, regâle'''. | {{:English spellings/Accents}} | ||
Like '''c''', it has two sounds, hard before back vowels, and usually soft (= '''j''') before front vowels. Unlike '''c''', though, whose soft equivalent is '''s''', and which has two hard equivalents in '''k''' and '''q''', there is no other letter that sounds like hard '''g'''. | |||
Hard '''g''', the voiced '''k''': '''goòd, dóg, guàrd, gúm, ágony, guést, bíg, píg, wríggle, squíggle, égg, flág, ság, Péggy, píggy, regâle'''. | |||
Words beginning with '''gu'''- plus a front vowel, '''e, i''' or '''y''', have the hard sound; the '''u''' is written to show this, and is itself silent: '''guîde, guínea, guéss, guést, guŷ, guílty''' (cf. hard final-sound '''g''' followed by silent -'''ue''' in '''lêague, plâgue''') - similarly, hard '''gh'''- in '''ghôst, ghoûlish, ghāstly'''. | Words beginning with '''gu'''- plus a front vowel, '''e, i''' or '''y''', have the hard sound; the '''u''' is written to show this, and is itself silent: '''guîde, guínea, guéss, guést, guŷ, guílty''' (cf. hard final-sound '''g''' followed by silent -'''ue''' in '''lêague, plâgue''') - similarly, hard '''gh'''- in '''ghôst, ghoûlish, ghāstly'''. | ||
Soft '''g''', sounding like j, found before front vowels '''e, i''' and '''y''' medially often preceded by a '''d''' following a short vowel: '''George, gín, gŷroscope, géntleman, geriátric, giráffe, Gërmany, hédge, lódge, cúdgel, brídge, egrêgious, édgy, pâge, Nîgel, wâge'''. | Soft '''g''', sounding like '''j''', is found before front vowels '''e, i''' and '''y''' medially often preceded by a '''d''' following a short vowel: '''George, gín, gŷroscope, géntleman, geriátric, giráffe, Gërmany, hédge, lódge, cúdgel, brídge, egrêgious, édgy, pâge, Nîgel, wâge'''. The '''e''' can be omitted in '''júdgment'''/'''júdgement''' and is absent from '''Wédgwood''' and '''Édgbaston''' (which begin with '''wédge''' and '''édge'''). | ||
Soft '''g''' is rarely doubled | Soft '''g''' is rarely doubled, but it is in '''exággerate''' and '''Réggie''' (cf. '''píggy''', '''Mággie''', '''Péggy''', hard '''g''' before a front vowel). | ||
But '''g''' before '''e''' and '''i''' is hard in some words, often at the beginning: '''gíve, gét, gíbbon, gízzard, gíg, gíld''' ''gold'' (= '''guíld''' ''society''), '''gíll''' ''fish'' (cf. soft '''g''' in '''gíll''' ''quarter pint'' = '''Jíll''' ''person''), '''gíddy, begín''', and beginning the last syllable in '''Háringèy''' = '''Hárringây'''. | But '''g''' before '''e''' and '''i''' is hard in some words, often at the beginning: '''gíve, gét, gíbbon, gízzard, gíg, gíld''' ''gold'' (= '''guíld''' ''society''), '''gíll''' ''fish'' (cf. soft '''g''' in '''gíll''' ''quarter pint'' = '''Jíll''' ''person''), '''gíddy, begín''', and beginning the last syllable in '''Háringèy''' = '''Hárringây'''. | ||
'''g''' has the 'zh' sound only in the name of the former French colony '''Nigér''' (*Nìzhér). | And '''g''' before '''a''' and '''o''' is soft in a few words: '''gâol''' (alternative British spelling of '''jâil'''), '''margarìne''' (also spelt '''margerìne'''), '''mǒrtgagor''' *mǒrgajor. | ||
'''g''' has the simple '''zh''' sound (without the usual '''d''' sound preceding it) only in the name of the former French colony '''Nigér''' (*Nìzhér). The name of the river and delta, also spelt '''Nîger''', and the former British colony '''Nigêria''' both have the normal '''j''' (-dzh-) sound of '''g''' - and a different '''î''' sound. | |||
'''g''' is always soft in penultimate position before '''e''': '''áverage''', '''bínge''', although there is an alternative spelling of '''renègue''', '''renège''', keeping its hard '''g''' sound. | |||
'''g''' | For a hard '''g''' before final '''e''', a French-style ending is required, -'''gue''', where the -'''ue''' is silent: '''lêague, intrìgue, plâgue, vâgue, Hâgue''' (similarly with -'''que'''). | ||
Before suffixes, hard '''g''' is doubled to keep the preceding vowel short: '''dígging, pégging, lágging, fóggy, dóggie, dógged, béggar, rúgger''' and also finally in '''égg''' and in surnames: '''Clégg, Hógg''' = '''hóg''' ''animal'', '''Wrágg''' = '''rág''' ''cloth'', '''Rígg''' = '''ríg''' ''ship'' and before final '''s''' in '''Bíggs'''. | Before suffixes, hard '''g''' is doubled to keep the preceding vowel short: '''dígging, pégging, lágging, fóggy, dóggie, dógged, béggar, rúgger, Mággie''' (cf. '''Még''') and also finally in '''égg''' and in surnames: '''Clégg, Hógg''' = '''hóg''' ''animal'', '''Wrágg''' = '''rág''' ''cloth'', '''Rígg''' = '''ríg''' ''ship'' and before final '''s''' in '''Bíggs'''. | ||
There is a soft '''g''' in '''dúngeon''', *dúnjən, and '''díngy''' ''dirty'', *dínjy; '''dínghy''' ''boat'' has the '''ng''' sound, with or without a '''g''' sound following it, depending on the speaker. Hard '''g''' is '''gh''' in '''spaghétti, ghôul, ghôst'''. | There is a soft '''g''' in '''dúngeon''', *dúnjən, and '''díngy''' ''dirty'', *dínjy; '''dínghy''' ''boat'' has the '''ng''' sound, with or without a '''g''' sound following it, depending on the speaker. Hard '''g''' is '''gh''' in '''spaghétti, ghôul, ghôst'''. | ||
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'''g''' begins consonant clusters: '''glûe, ignŏre''' ('''g''' sounded, cf. '''gnôme''' ''garden'' = '''Nõme''' ''Alaska''), '''grêen'''. | '''g''' begins consonant clusters: '''glûe, ignŏre''' ('''g''' sounded, cf. '''gnôme''' ''garden'' = '''Nõme''' ''Alaska''), '''grêen'''. | ||
Although pronounced after the '''í''' in ignŏre, '''g''' is often silent before '''n''' (cf. '''k''' in '''knôw''') initially: '''gnôme, gnåw''', or, more often, medially after a long vowel or diphthong: '''sîgn''' (cf. '''sígnal''', '''g''' pronounced) '''resîgn, desîgn, impûgn, dèign, rèign''' ''monarch'' (= '''râin''' ''wet''), '''campâign''', and after an unstressed vowel in '''fóreign'''; and sometimes, from French, -'''gne''': '''champâgne, colôgne'''. | Although pronounced after the '''í''' in '''ignŏre''', '''g''' is often silent before '''n''' (cf. '''k''' in '''knôw''') initially: '''gnôme, gnåw''', or, more often, medially after a long vowel or diphthong: '''sîgn''' (cf. '''sígnal''', '''g''' pronounced), '''condîgn, resîgn, desîgn, impûgn, dèign, rèign''' ''monarch'' (= '''râin''' ''wet''), '''campâign''', and after an unstressed vowel in '''fóreign'''; and sometimes, from French, -'''gne''': '''champâgne, colôgne, Charlemâgne'''. And there is a similar Italian '''g''' in '''laságnê''' *ləzányi. '''g''' is also silent in the name of the writer Paul '''Màgrs''' (= '''Màrs'''). | ||
'''g''' also combines to form the eccentric digraph '''[[GH|gh]]'''. | |||
The BBC pronounces the '''ğ''' in the name of Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan as '''w'''. | |||
Many speakers pronounce '''végetable''' as *véchtəbl. | |||
==Scientific uses== | |||
*G prefix: giga, 10<sup>9</sup> in most uses, or 2<sup>30</sup> in computing | |||
* | *''G'': universal gravitational constant | ||
* | *''g'': gravitational acceleration at the Earth's surface | ||
* | |||
Revision as of 12:40, 16 January 2017
G, g is a letter of the Latin alphabet. It is the seventh letter of most variants, being placed after F and before H, as is the case for instance in the English alphabet. Its English name is pronounced [ˈdʒiː], like gee.
Use in English
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use in English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alphabetical word list | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retroalphabetical list | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common misspellings |
- See also GH
g is pronounced in the throat, a voiced k as in kíng (compare gâte and Kâte); or it is pronounced like j in júg (d sound followed by the zh sound: IPA [dʒ]).
- The accents show stress and pronunciation (see English spellings): A: sát, mâde, pàrk, cāst (cást/càst), åll, ãir; E: ére, êar, vèin, fërn; I: sít, mîne, skì, bïrd; O: sóng, môde, lòve, wörd, ŏr; OO: moôn, foòt; U: sún, mûse, fùll, pürr; W: neŵ, ẁant; Y: gým, mŷ, keỳ, mÿrrh.
Like c, it has two sounds, hard before back vowels, and usually soft (= j) before front vowels. Unlike c, though, whose soft equivalent is s, and which has two hard equivalents in k and q, there is no other letter that sounds like hard g.
Hard g, the voiced k: goòd, dóg, guàrd, gúm, ágony, guést, bíg, píg, wríggle, squíggle, égg, flág, ság, Péggy, píggy, regâle.
Words beginning with gu- plus a front vowel, e, i or y, have the hard sound; the u is written to show this, and is itself silent: guîde, guínea, guéss, guést, guŷ, guílty (cf. hard final-sound g followed by silent -ue in lêague, plâgue) - similarly, hard gh- in ghôst, ghoûlish, ghāstly.
Soft g, sounding like j, is found before front vowels e, i and y medially often preceded by a d following a short vowel: George, gín, gŷroscope, géntleman, geriátric, giráffe, Gërmany, hédge, lódge, cúdgel, brídge, egrêgious, édgy, pâge, Nîgel, wâge. The e can be omitted in júdgment/júdgement and is absent from Wédgwood and Édgbaston (which begin with wédge and édge).
Soft g is rarely doubled, but it is in exággerate and Réggie (cf. píggy, Mággie, Péggy, hard g before a front vowel).
But g before e and i is hard in some words, often at the beginning: gíve, gét, gíbbon, gízzard, gíg, gíld gold (= guíld society), gíll fish (cf. soft g in gíll quarter pint = Jíll person), gíddy, begín, and beginning the last syllable in Háringèy = Hárringây.
And g before a and o is soft in a few words: gâol (alternative British spelling of jâil), margarìne (also spelt margerìne), mǒrtgagor *mǒrgajor.
g has the simple zh sound (without the usual d sound preceding it) only in the name of the former French colony Nigér (*Nìzhér). The name of the river and delta, also spelt Nîger, and the former British colony Nigêria both have the normal j (-dzh-) sound of g - and a different î sound.
g is always soft in penultimate position before e: áverage, bínge, although there is an alternative spelling of renègue, renège, keeping its hard g sound.
For a hard g before final e, a French-style ending is required, -gue, where the -ue is silent: lêague, intrìgue, plâgue, vâgue, Hâgue (similarly with -que).
Before suffixes, hard g is doubled to keep the preceding vowel short: dígging, pégging, lágging, fóggy, dóggie, dógged, béggar, rúgger, Mággie (cf. Még) and also finally in égg and in surnames: Clégg, Hógg = hóg animal, Wrágg = rág cloth, Rígg = ríg ship and before final s in Bíggs.
There is a soft g in dúngeon, *dúnjən, and díngy dirty, *dínjy; dínghy boat has the ng sound, with or without a g sound following it, depending on the speaker. Hard g is gh in spaghétti, ghôul, ghôst.
g begins consonant clusters: glûe, ignŏre (g sounded, cf. gnôme garden = Nõme Alaska), grêen.
Although pronounced after the í in ignŏre, g is often silent before n (cf. k in knôw) initially: gnôme, gnåw, or, more often, medially after a long vowel or diphthong: sîgn (cf. sígnal, g pronounced), condîgn, resîgn, desîgn, impûgn, dèign, rèign monarch (= râin wet), campâign, and after an unstressed vowel in fóreign; and sometimes, from French, -gne: champâgne, colôgne, Charlemâgne. And there is a similar Italian g in laságnê *ləzányi. g is also silent in the name of the writer Paul Màgrs (= Màrs).
g also combines to form the eccentric digraph gh.
The BBC pronounces the ğ in the name of Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan as w.
Many speakers pronounce végetable as *véchtəbl.
Scientific uses
- G prefix: giga, 109 in most uses, or 230 in computing
- G: universal gravitational constant
- g: gravitational acceleration at the Earth's surface