Sunday, 24 November 2013

psst!


credit: http://www.4teachers.de/

While preparing a lecture on sound sequences in English words, I put up a list of 'illegal' initial consonant clusters, e.g. */pt_/. Words such as ptarmigan, pterodactyl or Ptolemy start with /t_/. I can't offer a word with initial /pt_/ or can you?
What about /ps_/? Yes, there a few:
psst
psi
and optionally though rare in
psittacosis
psoriasis
psephology


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5 comments:

  1. Jack Windsor Lewis28 November 2013 at 14:43

    [ `nəʊ aɪ `kɑnt pt aɪ `kan ɒfə `ðɪs ]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kraut10 December 2013 at 12:56

      Can you and do you produce the [p] without any audible release?

      Delete
    2. JWL19 December 2013 at 12:54

      Yes and yes

      Delete
  2. Anonymous4 December 2013 at 13:20

    How about the French drink Pschitt?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Philip Taylor29 January 2014 at 10:51

    The OED does in fact sanction a number of /pt_/ pronunciations : pteropodium (/(p)tɛrəʊˈpəʊdɪəm/), ptilosis (/(p)tɪˈləʊsɪs/), ptish, (/p(ə)tɪʃ/), ptochocracy (/ptəʊˈkɒkrəsi/, /ptɒˈkɒkrəsi/), ptochogony (/ptəʊˈkɒɡəni/, /ptɒˈkɒɡəni/), ptui (/p(ə)ˈtuːi/).

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