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'''gh''' in English is a justly notorious digraph, representing as it usually does the sorry relic of a sound ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] χ) no longer pronounced except in exclamations of disgust, '''úgh! yeùgh!''', | '''gh''' in English is a justly notorious digraph, representing as it usually does the sorry relic of a sound ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] χ) no longer pronounced except in exclamations of disgust, '''úgh! yeùgh!''', also found as Scottish '''ch''' in '''lóch''' (which in Ireland is indeed spelt '''lóugh''') - or mutated into the sound of [f] and 'ph'. | ||
'''nîght''' and '''cóugh''', for example, are pronounced *nîte and *cóff (the accents show pronunciation: see [[English phonemes]]). It is pronounced [f] in: '''tróugh, cóugh, Góugh, enoúgh, toúgh, roúgh, sloúgh''' ''skin''. | |||
More often '''gh''' is silent as in '''slòugh''' ''swamp'' and the English town '''Slòugh''', both *slòu, and with quite a variety of preceding vowel sounds and spellings: '''ŏught, sŏught, bŏught, cåught, nåughty, Våughan, Våughn, dôugh, èight, nèigh, wèigh, slèigh''' ''ride'' (= '''slây''' ''kill''), '''wèight''' ''heavy'' (= '''wâit''' ''time''), '''frèight, heîght, bòugh, throûgh, thôugh, Búrrôughs, sîght, nîght, nîgh'''. | |||
'''ough''' is even a [[schwa]] [ə] in British English '''bòrough, Scàrborough''' and '''thòrough''', though in American these are '''bòrôugh, Scàrborôugh''', and '''thòrôugh''', rhyming with '''fúrrôw'''. BrE pronounces '''fürlôugh''' this way too. | |||
'''gh''' uniquely sounds like [p] in '''híccoúgh''' (a variant spelling of '''híccup'''). In other words the digraph merely represents a hard '''g''', | '''gh''' uniquely sounds like [p] in '''híccoúgh''' (a variant spelling of '''híccup'''). In other words the digraph merely represents a hard '''g''', Germanic at the beginning of a word, as in '''ghôst, ghoûl, ghāstly''', or in Italian '''spaghéttì'''; and an '''h''' serves to distinguish '''dínghy''' ''boat'' (which can have hard '''g''' or silent '''g''', but always the '''ng''' sound) from '''díngy''' ''dirty'' (soft '''g''': *dínjy). | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 18:41, 16 May 2009
GH, gh is a digraph (a two-letter grapheme) used with various different values in a number of languages using the Latin alphabet, especially in English, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Italian, Romanian, Friulian and Corsican.
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 |
gh in English is a justly notorious digraph, representing as it usually does the sorry relic of a sound (IPA χ) no longer pronounced except in exclamations of disgust, úgh! yeùgh!, also found as Scottish ch in lóch (which in Ireland is indeed spelt lóugh) - or mutated into the sound of [f] and 'ph'.
nîght and cóugh, for example, are pronounced *nîte and *cóff (the accents show pronunciation: see English phonemes). It is pronounced [f] in: tróugh, cóugh, Góugh, enoúgh, toúgh, roúgh, sloúgh skin.
More often gh is silent as in slòugh swamp and the English town Slòugh, both *slòu, and with quite a variety of preceding vowel sounds and spellings: ŏught, sŏught, bŏught, cåught, nåughty, Våughan, Våughn, dôugh, èight, nèigh, wèigh, slèigh ride (= slây kill), wèight heavy (= wâit time), frèight, heîght, bòugh, throûgh, thôugh, Búrrôughs, sîght, nîght, nîgh.
ough is even a schwa [ə] in British English bòrough, Scàrborough and thòrough, though in American these are bòrôugh, Scàrborôugh, and thòrôugh, rhyming with fúrrôw. BrE pronounces fürlôugh this way too.
gh uniquely sounds like [p] in híccoúgh (a variant spelling of híccup). In other words the digraph merely represents a hard g, Germanic at the beginning of a word, as in ghôst, ghoûl, ghāstly, or in Italian spaghéttì; and an h serves to distinguish dínghy boat (which can have hard g or silent g, but always the ng sound) from díngy dirty (soft g: *dínjy).