English, 1: Consonants
3.5 Consonants with doubled spellings which are rare in one-syllable words:
/b d g m n p t/, plus /r/
For the incluson of /r/ in this section see section 3.2.
Despite their rarity in stem words, the doubled spellings of these consonant phonemes arise very frequently from suffixation, e.g. rubbed, budding, begged, skimmed, skinned, hopped, pitted, preferring (see sections 4.2 and 4.3.1).
3.5.1 /b/ as in by
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <b> 98% e.g. rabid Other frequent graphemes (none)
Doubled spelling <bb> <1% medially, regular before final /əl/ spelt <-le> after a short
vowel spelt with a single letter, e.g. babble – see section 4.3.3;
there are also independent medial examples, e.g. abbey, abbot, bobbin, cabbage, dibber, hobbit, hobby, hubbub, rabbi, rabbit, ribbon, rubber, rubbish, Sabbath, shibboleth, stubborn – see sections 4.3.4 and 4.4.5-6;
word-finally, only in ebb – see section 4.3.2
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 1: Consonants 25
THE REST
Doubled spelling + <e> (does not occur)
Oddities 1% in total
<bh> only in abhor and its derivatives abhorred, abhorrent, plus bhaji, bhang(ra), bhindi, Bhutan and a few other rare words from the Indian sub-continent. <b, h> are usually separate graphemes at a morpheme boundary, as in clubhouse, subheading
<bu> only in build, buoy, buy. See Notes
<pb> only in the compound words cupboard, raspberry, plus Campbell
2-phoneme graphemes (none)
NOTES
For the compound words gooseberry /ˈgʊzbriː/), raspberry /ˈrɑːzbriː/), strawberry /ˈstrɔːbriː/) see section 6.10.
I analyse <bu> in build, buoy, buy as a grapheme spelling /b/ because this is more economical than adding /ɪ/ spelt <ui>, /ɔɪ/ spelt <uoy> and /aɪ/ spelt <uy> to the list of graphemes; cf. <gu> under /g/, section 3.5.3,
and <cu> under /k/, section 3.7.1.
3.5.2 /d/ as in dye
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <d> 98% e.g. bud
Other frequent grapheme <ed> (not counted in percentages) See Note
Doubled spelling <dd> 2% medially, regular before final /əl/ spelt<-le> after a short
vowel spelt with one letter, e.g.
griddle – see section 4.3.3; other medial examples include addictive, additive, adduce, bladder,
buddy, cheddar, fodder, judder, ladder, midden, rudder, ruddy, shoddy, sodden, sudden, teddy, toddy, widdershins – see sections 4.3.4 and 4.4.5–6; perhaps also the compound word granddad, but see section 4.4.7; word-finally, only in add, odd, rudd, Sudd – on add, odd see section 4.3.2
THE REST
Doubled spelling + <e> (does not occur)
Oddities <1% in total
<bd> only in bdellium
<ddh> only in Buddha and derivatives, saddhu
<de> only in aide, blende, blonde, horde and (for)bade pronounced /(fəˈ)bæd/ (also pronounced /(fəˈ)beɪd/ with <d> alone spelling /d/ and <a.e> spelling /eɪ/). The
<e> in blonde marks it French-style as feminine (masculine: blond)
<dh> only in a few loanwords and names from the Indian subcontinent, e.g. dhobi, dhoti, dhow, Gandhi, jodhpurs, sandhi, Sindh 2-phoneme graphemes (none)
NOTE
/d/ is almost always spelt <ed> in past forms of regular verbs ending in a voiced consonant other than /d/ or a vowel, e.g. ebbed, flowed. The only exceptions are laid, paid which would (if they were spelt regularly) be *layed,
*payed – cf. delayed, played and sections 5.7.1 and 6.5. See also the entry for <ed> in chapter 10, section 10.15.
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 1: Consonants 27
3.5.3 /g/ as in goo
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <g> 92% e.g. beg Other frequent graphemes (none)
Doubled spelling <gg> 2% medially, regular before final /əl/ spelt <-le> after a short
vowel spelt with one letter, e.g.
muggle – see section 4.3.3;
other medial examples include aggressive, beggar, dagger, doggerel, haggis, jagged,
maggot, nugget, ragged, rugged, rugger, sluggish, trigger – see sections 4.3.4 and 4.4.5-6;
word-finally, only in egg – see section 4.3.2
THE REST
Doubled spelling + <e> (does not occur)
Oddities 2% in total
<ckgu> only in blackguard /ˈblægəd, ˈblægɑːd/
<gh> word-final only in ugh; otherwise only in afghan, aghast, burgher, ghastly, ghat, ghee, gherkin, ghetto, ghillie (also spelt gillie), ghost, ghoul, ogham, sorghum and a few more rare words
<gu> word-initially, only in guarantee, guard, guerrilla, guess, guest, guide, guild, guilder, guile, guillemot, guillotine, guilt, guinea, guise, guitar, guy and a few more rare words;
medially, only in baguette, beguine, dengue, disguise, languor (the <u>
surfaces as /w/ in languid, languish – see section 7.2) and suffixed forms of a few words in next category, e.g. cataloguing; phonemicallyword-final only in brogue, drogue, fatigue, fugue, intrigue, plague, rogue, vague, vogue and a few more rare words where the final written <e>
is part of a split digraph with the vowel letter preceding the <g> – see also next paragraph, and Notes
<gue> only word-final and only in analogue, catalogue, colleague, decalogue, demagogue, dialogue, eclogue, epilogue, ideologue, league, monologue, morgue, pedagogue, prologue, prorogue, synagogue. In some of the words ending <-ogue> US spelling has <-og>, which is simpler in the stem forms but means that in, e.g., cataloging the first <g> (less regularly) spells /g/ before <i>, a problem which the spelling with <u> avoids. The only word in which final <g, u, e> are all separate graphemes is segue /ˈsegweɪ/
2-phoneme graphemes For all of these see Notes
/gz/ 4%
(1) spelt <x> only in some polysyllabic words of Latin origin, namely anxiety pronounced/æŋˈgzaɪjɪtiː/ (also pronounced/æŋˈzaɪjɪtiː/), auxiliary, exact, exaggerate, exalt, exam(ine), example, exasperate, executive, executor, exemplar, exemplify, exempt, exert, exigency, exiguous, exile, exist, exonerate, exorbitant, exordium, exuberant, exude, exult, plus exotic from Greekand a few more rare words; also in Alexandra, Alexander and becoming frequent in exit pronounced /ˈegzɪt/
(also pronounced /ˈeksɪt/). For anxiety see also under /ŋ/ in section 3.8.2
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 1: Consonants 29
(2) spelt <xh> only in about 7 polysyllabic words of Latin origin: exhaust(ion), exhibit, exhilarat-e/ion, exhort, exhume – but
in some derivatives <xh> spells /eks/, e.g. exhibition, exhortation, exhumation
/gʒ/ spelt <x> only in luxuriance, luxuriant, luxuriate, luxurious
NOTES
In blackguard (also spelt blaggard), guarantee, guard the <u> is technically redundant because <ckg, g> would spell (and be pronounced) /g/ without it. But in all the other words with <gu> the <u> has to be there in order to prevent the <g> appearing to spell (and be pronounced) /ʤ/. It’s because guild, guy must be analysed this way that I analyse build, buy (and by extension buoy) as having /b/ spelt <bu> (see section 3.5.1, and cf. <cu>
under /k/, section 3.7.1).
The regular 2-grapheme spelling of /gz/ is <gs>, e.g. dogs. The sequence <gz> seems to occur only in zigzag.
The 2-phoneme sequence /gʒ/ seems to occur only in the four words listed above and to have no 2-grapheme spelling.
The 2-phoneme sequence /gw/ is almost always spelt <gu>, e.g. in anguish, distinguish, extinguish, guacamole, guano, guava, iguana, language, languish, linguist, penguin, sanguine, segue, unguent. Exception:
wigwam. The converse does not hold – most occurrences of <gu> are pronounced either as /g/ or as 2 phonemes (/g/ plus a vocalic pronunciation of <u>) – see section 9.15.
For <go> in allegory, category see section 6.10.
3.5.4 /m/ as in my
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <m> 96% e.g. sum Other frequent graphemes (none)
Doubled spelling <mm> 3% medially, does NOT occur before final /əl/ spelt
<-le>; medial examples include comma, commune, cummerbund, hammock, hummock, immense, plummet, rummage, slummock, summit and some derived forms, e.g.
dia/pro-grammatic, immodest – see sections 4.3.4 and 4.4.5-6;
never word-final
THE REST
Doubled spelling + <e> <mme> now only in oriflamme and (non-computer) programme since gram and its derivatives are no longer spelt
*gramme, etc.
Oddities (all word-final only) <1% in total
<gm> only in apophthegm, diaphragm, epiphragm, paradigm, phlegm, syntagm. /g/ surfaces in some derivatives: paradigmatic, phlegmatic, syntagma(tic) – see section 7.2
<mb> only in dithyramb, lamb; climb, limb; aplomb, bomb, catacomb, comb, coomb, coxcomb, coulomb, hecatomb, rhomb, tomb, womb; crumb, dumb, numb, plumb, rhumb, succumb, thumb and a few more very rare words. /b/ surfaces in some derivatives: dithyrambic, bombard(ier), bombast(ic),
rhomb-ic/us, crumble and supposedly, according to some authorities, in thimble – see section 7.2
<mbe> only in buncombe (‘nonsense’; also spelt bunkum), co(o)mbe (‘short valley’; also spelt coomb); and contrast flambe /ˈflɒmbeɪ/, where
<m, b, e> are all separate graphemes
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 1: Consonants 31
<me> never initial; mainly word-final and there only in become, come, some, welcome and the adjectival suffix /səm/ spelt <-some>, e.g. handsome (contrast hansom); medially only in camera, emerald, omelette, ramekin pronounced /ˈræmkɪn/ (also pronounced /ˈræmɪkɪn/)– see section 6.10 – and Thames
<mn> only in autumn, column, condemn, contemn, damn, hymn, limn, solemn.
/n/ surfaces in some derivatives:
autumnal, columnar, columnist, condemnation, contemner, damnable, damnation, hymnal, solemnity – see section 7.2
<nd> only in sandwich pronounced /ˈsæmwɪʤ/ (also has a ‘regular’
spelling pronunciation /ˈsændwɪʧ/)
2-phoneme grapheme /əm/
spelt <m>
only word-final, e.g. chasm, enthusiasm, orgasm, phantasm, pleonasm, sarcasm, spasm, several
words ending in –plasm (e.g.
ectoplasm), chrism, prism, schism and all the many derived forms ending in –ism, macrocosm, microcosm, abysm, aneurysm (also spelt aneurism), cataclysm, paroxysm, algorithm, rhythm and a few other very rare words; also in film pronounced /ˈfɪləm/ in some Irish accents. See Note
NOTE
In all but the last three of the words just listed with word-final /əm/ spelt <-m>
the preceding phoneme is /z/ spelt <s>, so the regular spelling of word-final /zəm/ is <-sm> (only exception: bosom). This is one of only a handful of
cases where the spelling of a final syllable is more predictable as a whole than from its separate phonemes, which here would predict (for example) *chasam,
*prisom, etc. However, word-final /əm/ with other preceding phonemes has various2-grapheme spellings in, e.g., alyssum, balsam, besom, fathom (but contrast the 1-grapheme spelling in algorithm, rhythm), gypsum, hansom, lissom, opossum, ransom, transom and all the adjectives ending <-some>.
3.5.5 /n/ as in nigh
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <n> 97% e.g. tin Other frequent
graphemes
(none)
Doubled spelling <nn> <1% medially, does NOT occur before final /əl/ spelt <-le>; medial examples
include anneal, annual, annul,
biennale, binnacle, Britannic, cannibal, chardonnay, cinnabar, cinnamon, ennui, innocent, punnet, tannic, tinnitus, tintinnabulation, zinnia – see sections 4.3.4 and 4.4.5-6; word-finally, only in Ann, djinn, Finn, inn – on Ann, inn see
section 4.3.2
THE REST
Doubled spelling + <e> <nne> only word-final and only in Anne, cayenne, comedienne, cretonne, doyenne, tonne and a few other rare words
Oddities 3% in total
<dne> only in Wednesday
<gn> word-initially, only in gnarl, gnash, gnat, gnaw, gneiss, gnome, gnosis, Gnostic and gnu analysed as /n/ spelt <gn> plus /juː/ spelt <u>; medially, only in cognisance (also pronounced with /gn/), physiognomy, recognise pronounced /ˈrekənaɪz/
(usually pronounced /ˈrekəgnaɪz/); word-finally, only in align, arraign, assign, benign, campaign, coign, condign, consign, deign, design, ensign, feign, foreign, impugn and a few other very rare words in –pugn, malign, reign, resign, sign, sovereign, thegn; also phonemically word-final in champagne, cologne wherethe final written <e> is part of a split digraph with the letter before the <g> spelling a diphthong. /g/ surfaces in some derivatives:
agnostic, diagnosis, prognosis, malignant, pugnacious, repugnant, assignation, designation, resignation, signal, signature – see section 7.2
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 1: Consonants 33
<gne> only word-final and only in cockaigne, epergne, frankalmoigne /kəˈkeɪn, ɪˈpɜːn, ˈfræŋkælmɔɪn/
<kn> 1% never word-final; medially, only in acknowledge, knick-knack; otherwise only word-initial and only in knack(er(s)), knap, knave, knead, knee, knell, knew, knick(er(s)), knickerbocker, knick-knack, knife, knight, knit, knob, knobbly, knock, knoll, knot, know(ledge), knuckle and a few more very rare words
<mn> only word-initial and only in mnemonic, mnemonist.
/m/ surfaces in amnesia, amnesty – see section 7.2
<nd> only in grandfather, Grandma (hence the frequent misspelling *Granma – cf. section 4.4.7 on Gran(d)dad), handsome (cf. hansom (cab)), landscape
<ne> non-finally, only in vineyard (and even there it’s stem-final), vulnerable pronounced /ˈvʌlnrəbəl/
- see also Notes and section 6.10 (I refuse to analyse the alternative pronunciation /ˈvʌnrəbəl/
with loss of the first /l/ because it would add an otherwise not-needed grapheme <lne> to the inventory); otherwise only word-final and only in about 35 words, namely borne, bourne, bowline, Catherine, clandestine pronounced /klænˈdestɪn/ (also pronounced /ˈklændəstaɪn/), cocaine, compline, crinoline, demesne,(pre)destine, determine, discipline, engine, ermine, examine, famine, feminine, genuine, gone, groyne, heroine, hurricane pronounced /ˈhʌrɪkən/ (also pronounced /ˈhʌrɪkeɪn/), illumine, intestine, jasmine, marline, masculine, medicine, migraine, moraine, none, peregrine, ptomaine, saccharine, sanguine, scone pronounced /skɒn/ (also pronounced /skəʊn/), shone, urine, vaseline, wolverine. In all these words
the <e> is phonographically redundant, in that its removal would not affect the pronunciation.
However, without <e> done, none would become don and the prefix non- (and changing their spellings to dun, nun would cause other confusions). Also, the <e> keeps borne, heroine visually distinct from born, heroin
<ng> only in length, lengthen, strength, strengthen pronounced /lenθ, ˈlenθən, strenθ, ˈstrenθən/. See also under /k, ŋ/, sections 3.7.1, 3.8.2
<nt> only in croissant, denouement, rapprochement
<nw> only in gunwale
<pn> only word-initial and only in words derived from Greek πνευ̑μα pneuma (‘breath’)or πνεύμων pneumon (‘lung’),e.g. pneumatic, pneumonia 2-phoneme graphemes /ən/
spelt <n>
only in Haydn (I mention him in memory of Chris Upward of the Simplified Spelling Society) and most contractions of not with auxiliary verbs, i.e. isn’t, wasn’t, haven’t, hasn’t, hadn’t, doesn’t, didn’t, mayn’t, mightn’t, mustn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t, oughtn’t, usedn’t, some of which are rare to the point of disuse, plus durstn’t, which is regional/comic; in all of these except mayn’t the preceding phoneme is a consonant. Other contractions of not with auxiliary verbs (ain’t, aren’t, can’t, daren’t, don’t, shan’t, weren’t, won’t), i.e. all those with a preceding vowel phoneme (except mayn’t) are monosyllabic (though some Scots say /ˈdeərənt/ with a preceding consonant and linking /r/ and therefore two syllables).
Curiously, innit, being a contraction of isn’t it, reduces isn’t to a single syllable. See Notes /nj/
spelt <gn>
see under /j/, section 3.8.8
NOTES
/ən/ has several 2-grapheme spellings, e.g. in cotton, ruffian, written. For <ne> in confectionery, generative, stationery, vulnerable see section 6.10.
3.5.6 /p/ as in pie
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <p> 95% e.g. apt Other frequent
graphemes
(none)
Doubled spelling <pp> 5% medially, regular before final /əl/ spelt
<-le> after a short vowel spelt with one letter, e.g. apple: other medial examples
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 1: Consonants 35
include apply, apprehend, cappuccino, dapper, frippery, hippodrome,
hippopotamus, guppy, opponent, oppose, opposite, scupper, supper, supply, support – see sections 4.3.4 and 4.4.5-6;
word-finally, only in Lapp
THE REST
Doubled spelling + <e> <ppe> only in grippe, steppe
Oddities <1% in total
<b> only in presbyterian pronounced /prespɪˈtɪəriːjən/ (also pronounced /prezbɪˈtɪəriːjən/)
<bp> only in subpoena /səˈpiːnə/
<gh> only in misspelling of hiccup as *hiccough
<pe> only in canteloupe, troupe, plus opera in rapid speech – for <pe> in opera see section 6.10
<ph> only in diphtheria, diphthong, naphtha,
ophthalmic and shepherd. The first four also have pronunciations with /f/ – e.g. /ˈdɪfθɒŋ/ versus /ˈdɪpθɒŋ/
2-phoneme graphemes (none)
3.5.7 /t/ as in tie
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <t> 96% e.g. rat Other frequent
grapheme
<ed> (not counted in percentages) See Notes
Doubled spelling <tt> 3% medially, regular before final /əl/ spelt
<-le> after a short vowel spelt with one letter, e.g. rattle; other medial examples include attention, attract, attribute,
battalion, battery, butter, button, buttress, chitterlings, falsetto, glutton, jitter(s), mattress, rattan, smattering, tattoo, tittup – see sections 4.3.4 and 4.4.5-6; word-finally, only in bott, boycott, butt, matt, mitt, mutt, nett, putt, watt. See also Notes
THE REST
Doubled spelling + <e> <tte> only word-final and only in about 23 stem words, namely baguette, brunette, cassette, coquette, corvette, croquette, epaulette, etiquette, garrotte, gavotte, gazette, maisonette, omelette, oubliette, palette, pipette, pirouette, roulette, serviette, silhouette, toilette, vignette, vinaigrette, and a few derived forms, e.g. cigarette, launderette, rosette, statuette, suffragette, and some other rare words. In latte <tt, e> represent separate phonemes, as do <u.e, tt> in butte
Oddities 1% in total
<bt> only in debt, doubt, subtle. /b/ surfaces in debit, indubitable, subtility – see section 7.2
<ct> only in Connecticut, indict, victualler, victuals. /k/ surfaces in indiction – see section 7.2
<dt> only in veldt
<phth> only in phthisic, phthisis pronounced /ˈtaɪsɪk, ˈtaɪsɪs/
<pt> only in Deptford, ptarmigan, pterodactyl (Greek,
= ‘wing finger’), pterosaur (Greek, = ‘wing lizard’), Ptolem-y/aic, ptomaine, receipt and a few more very rare words. /p/ surfaces in archaeopteryx, helicopter (Greek, = ‘ancient wing, spiral wing’), reception, receptive – see section 7.2
<te> mainly word-final and in that position in at least 120 words, namely
- ate pronounced /et/ (also pronounced /eɪt/, which requires a different analysis: /t/ spelt <t>
and /eɪ/ spelt <a.e>), Bacchante, composite, compote, confidante, debutante, definite, detente, dirigiste, enceinte, entente, entracte, exquisite, favourite, granite, hypocrite, infinite, minute
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 1: Consonants 37
(‘sixtieth of an hour’), opposite, perquisite, plebiscite, pointe, requisite, riposte, route, svelte -about 30 nouns/adjectives in /ət/ spelt <-ate>
where the verbs with the same spelling are pronounced with /eɪt/, e.g. advocate, affiliate, aggregate, alternate (here with also a difference in stress and vowel pattern: noun/ adjective pronounced /ɔːlˈtɜːnət/, verb pronounced /ˈɔːltəneɪt/), animate, appropriate, approximate, articulate, associate, certificate, consummate (here with also a difference in stress and vowel pattern: adjective pronounced /kənˈsʌmət/, verb pronounced /ˈkɒnsjəmeɪt/), coordinate, curate (here with also a difference in meaning and stress: noun (‘junior cleric’) pronounced /ˈkjʊərət/, verb (‘mount an exhibition’) pronounced /kjʊəˈreɪt/), degenerate, delegate, deliberate (here with also a difference in syllable structure: adjective /dɪˈlɪbrət/ with three syllables and an elided vowel – see section 6.10;
verb /dɪˈlɪbəreɪt/ with four syllables), designate, desolate, duplicate, elaborate, estimate,
expatriate, graduate, initiate, intimate, legitimate, moderate, pontificate (here with unrelated (?) meanings: noun (‘pope’s reign’) pronounced /pɒnˈtɪfɪkət/, verb (‘speak pompously’)
pronounced /pɒnˈtɪfɪkeɪt/), precipitate (but here only the adjective has /ət/; the noun as well as the verb has /eɪt/), predicate, separate (here too with a difference in syllable structure: adjective /ˈseprət/ with two syllables and an elided vowel – see section 6.10; verb /ˈsepəreɪt/ with three
syllables), subordinate, syndicate, triplicate. In the verbs and the many other nouns and adjectives with this ending pronounced /eɪt/, the
<e> is part of the split digraph <a.e> spelling /eɪ/ and the /t/ is spelt solely by the <t>
- a further set of at least 60 nouns/adjectives (some of which are derived forms) in /ət/ spelt
<-ate> with no identically-spelt verb, e.g.
accurate, adequate, agate, appellate, celibate, chocolate, climate, collegiate, conglomerate, (in)considerate, consulate, delicate, desperate, (in)determinate, directorate, disconsolate, doctorate, electorate, episcopate, extortionate, fortunate, illegitimate, immaculate, immediate,
inanimate, in(sub)ordinate, inspectorate, intricate, inviolate,(bacca)laureate, legate, (il)literate, novitiate, obdurate, palate, particulate, (com/dis-)passionate, private, profligate, proletariate (also spelt proletariat), (dis)proportionate, protectorate, proximate, roseate, senate, surrogate, (in)temperate, triumvirate, ultimate, (in)vertebrate (a few of these words do have related but not identically-spelt verb forms with <-ate> pronounced /eɪt/:
animate, legitimate, mediate, subordinate, violate) - possibly just one word where both noun and
verb have <-ate> pronounced /ət/: pirate - <te> spelling /t/ also occurs medially in a few
words in rapid speech, e.g. interest, literacy, literal, literary, literature, sweetener, veterinary – see section 6.10
In all cases where /ət/ is spelt <-ate> the <e> is phonographically redundant (that is, it does not indicate a ‘long’ pronunciation of the preceding vowel letter and could therefore be omitted from the spelling without altering the pronunciation;
In all cases where /ət/ is spelt <-ate> the <e> is phonographically redundant (that is, it does not indicate a ‘long’ pronunciation of the preceding vowel letter and could therefore be omitted from the spelling without altering the pronunciation;