G (letter): Difference between revisions
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'''g''' is pronounced in the throat, a voiced '''k''' as in '''kíng''' (compare '''gâte''' and '''Kâte''': the accents show stress and pronunciation: see [[English phonemes]]); or it is pronounced like '''j''' in '''Jûne''' (d followed by the zh sound). | '''g''' is pronounced in the throat, a voiced '''k''' as in '''kíng''' (compare '''gâte''' and '''Kâte''': the accents show stress and pronunciation: see [[English phonemes]]); or it is pronounced like '''j''' in '''Jûne''' (d followed by the zh sound). | ||
Hard '''g''', the voiced k: '''goòd''', dóg, guàrd, gúm, ágony, guést, bíg, píg, wríggle, squíggle, égg, flág, ság, Péggy, regâle. | Hard '''g''', the voiced k: '''goòd''', dóg, guàrd, gúm, ágony, guést, bíg, píg, wríggle, squíggle, égg, flág, ság, Péggy, 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 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, 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. | ||
Revision as of 15:18, 27 November 2008
G is the seventh letter of the English alphabet. Its name is pronounced gee as in gee up.
Use in English
For GH in English see GH
g is pronounced in the throat, a voiced k as in kíng (compare gâte and Kâte: the accents show stress and pronunciation: see English phonemes); or it is pronounced like j in Jûne (d followed by the zh sound).
Hard g, the voiced k: goòd, dóg, guàrd, gúm, ágony, guést, bíg, píg, wríggle, squíggle, égg, flág, ság, Péggy, 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, 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 is rarely doubled: exággerate.
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), gíddy, begín.
g has the zh sound only in the name of the former French colony Nigér (*Nìzhér). Compare the name of the river and delta, also spelt Nîger, and the former British colony Nigêria, both of which have the normal soft j sound of g - and a different î sound.
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, Wrágg and Hógg, cf. the animal hóg.
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) resîgn, desîgn, impûgn, dèign, rèign monarch (= râin wet), campâign, and after an unstressed vowel in fóreign; and sometimes, from French, -gne: champâgne, colôgne.
In the French ending -gue, the -ue is silent: lêague, intrìgue, plâgue, vâgue, Hâgue (similarly with -que).
It also combines to form the eccentric digraph gh.