Does ough make a long O sound?
Spelling tip: 'ough' can also make the final sound 'ow' or 'owe' (long 'o' sound).
-ough can also make a short o sound seen in the words "bought," "fought," and "thought." And these should rhyme with the word "rot." 6. -ough can make another vowel consonant combo sound "off," surprisingly identical to the word "off" ;) This is spelled in the word "cough."
As with many English vowels, there are multiple ways to represent /ō/ when spelling words.
Review. So, let's review what we have learned about how to pronounce -ough in English: The first way is like "oh" in the words: dough, though, although, and thorough. The second way is like "ooh" in the words: through, and throughout. The third way is like "off" in the words: cough, and trough.
So, to recap the 7 ways these 4 letters can be pronounced when together in a word are: oh, ow, oo, aw, ah-ff, uh-ff, uh-pp. Though, bough, through, thought, cough, enough, hiccough.
English Pronunciation: Sounds with O
The basic rules are these: use short O for simple spellings in words or word parts. use long O with complex spellings, i.e. a silent vowel near the O. use the reduced O (the "u" as in "up") sometimes when O is not stressed.
-OUGH is one of the most confusing spellings in English. Because of changes in the spelling of English vowels over time, and English's penchant for borrowing words from other languages, we've ended up with this hot mess of letters which can be pronounced in a number of different ways.
Uppercase Form | O |
---|---|
Lowercase | o |
Name | o (pronounced /oʊ/) |
Common Sounds | /ɒ/, /əʊ/, /uː/, /ʌ/, /ə/ |
The letters 'ough' can be pronounced 9 different ways in English. 'ough' can be pronounced as [ʌf] in rough, /aʊ/ in plough/u:/ in through, /oʊ/ in though, /ɔː/ in thought, /ə/ – in thorough /ˈθʌr. ə/, /ɒf/ in cough, /ʌp/ in hiccough and /ɒk/ in lough.
If we hear the long O sound in the middle of a word, we use OA. We use the keyword goat to help our students remember this. If we hear the long O sound at the end of the word, we use OE.
Is ough a grapheme?
The grapheme 'ough' is a tricky one for young children to learn as it can make lots of different sounds depending on the word. It can make a short /o/ sound (as in hot). Here are some examples of 'ough' words that make the short /o/ sound: bought.
There are a lot of different ways to pronounce 'ough' so to make your life easier here's our simple guide to the 7 most common ways to pronounce these troublesome letters: Though – “o” as in “go” – some examples are dough, although. Through – “oo” as in “too” Cough – “off” as in “offer” – some examples are trough.
Another factor that illustrates why English's alphabetic orthography is complex is that some letters make multiple sounds. For example, the letter combination “ough” can be read in at least seven different ways: as in “through”, “thorough”, “although”, “plough”, “thought”, “cough” and “rough”.
For example, the articulations of the L, R, S, Th, and Z sounds are often particularly challenging for children. These especially difficult intricate sounds for children to produce can sometimes take a bit of extra care to learn.
There are FIVE common ways to spell the long o sound. (I include 6 examples in the chart below because of the two different spelling rules — or generalizations — about the o spelling pattern.)
Balloon has an /oo/ sound in the middle of the word, and book has a /u/ sound in the middle. Both words use the spelling "oo" to make the vowel sound, but the sounds are different. The letters "oo" make two sounds: /oo/ and /u/. This vowel combination is called a variant vowel.
The best way to determine if a word has a diphthong, with two vowel sounds, or a monophthong, with only one vowel sound, is to listen to how it sounds when you say it out loud. If the vowel sound changes within the same syllable, it's most definitely a diphthong.
The inconsistency in pronunciation of words containing "ough" can be attributed to the historical evolution of the English language. The "ough" letter combination has its roots in Old English and Middle English, and over time, various pronunciation changes occurred while the spelling remained relatively unchanged.
The third word is 'tough'. So in this case we begin with a strong T sound it's not a “th” – “T” “T” “T” – and the “O-U-G-H” stands for “uh” “uh”. And then it ends with an F sound. So the “G-H” actually represents the F – “tuhf” “tuhf” “tuhf”.
Review with children that together the vowels “oa” make the long “o” sound. Together, brainstorm words that have “oa,” such as boat, road, soap, and float. Encourage children to use rhyming strategies to help them come up with words. Some children will recognize that “oa” often comes in the middle of the word.
Is Hello a long o word?
English Unite - Phonics Long O Vowel - Hello.
Short O Vowel sound can be heard in words such as dog, mop, pod, hog , frog etc.
The Fox (Short Vowel o)
Long–o Word Soap (Long–o Sound)
What do box, frog and moth all have in common? They all have a short o vowel sound.
References
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-sounds-ough-sara-dasko-pmp
- https://www.mw-literacy.com/blog/2021/6/7/long-o-spelling-patterns
- https://www.speakmethod.com/vowels_o_sounds_pronunciation.html
- https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/sounding-out-short-o/
- https://www.thespeechlanguagecenter.com/learning-how-to-pronounce-difficult-sounds-l-r-s-th-z/
- https://www.ascendlearningcenter.com/blog-highlights/oa/oe
- https://ieltsonlinetests.com/speaking-tips/10-pronunciations-ough
- https://www.speakeasyschool.co.uk/different-pronunciations-of-ough/
- https://www.speechactive.com/ways-to-pronounce-ough/
- https://teachables.scholastic.com/teachables/books/The-Fox-Short-Vowel-o--9780439458542_024.html
- https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/ough-sound-cut-and-stick-phonics-activity-sheet-cfe-e-60
- https://langeek.co/en/grammar/course/953/the-letter-o
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/dipthong-lesson-for-kids-definition-examples.html
- https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/though-thought-tough/
- https://englishunite.com/product/long-o-hello/
- https://www.really-learn-english.com/english-spelling-rules-pronunciations-of-ough.html
- https://support.logicofenglish.com/hc/en-us/articles/4689075005595-Long-O-Spellings-O-OA-OW-OU-OUGH
- https://www.quora.com/Why-is-it-that-words-with-ough-can-be-pronounced-so-many-different-ways-Examples-rough-dough-thought-plough-through-slough-cough-and-hiccoughed
- https://educators.brainpop.com/teaching-tip/long-o-background-information-for-teachers-parents-and-caregivers/
- https://rachelsenglish.com/pronounce-ough/
- https://summerfields.co.in/pdf-files/2020/08/Pre-primary-Subject%E2%80%93english-Topic-long-and-short-O-vowel-sound-2020-2021.pdf
- https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/readingviewing/Pages/key-concepts-phonics.aspx
- https://teachables.scholastic.com/teachables/books/Long-o-Word-Soap-Long-o-Sound--9780545201131_033.html
- https://www.elephango.com/index.cfm/pg/k12learning/lcid/11976/Variant_Vowel_/oo/