Ough (combination)
Encyclopedia
Ough is a letter sequence often seen in words in the English language
. In Middle English
, where the spelling arose, it was probably pronounced with a back rounded vowel and a velar fricative, e.g., oːx or [uːx]. It is by far the sequence of letters
with the most unpredictable pronunciation, having at least six pronunciations in North American English
and over ten in British English
. A few of the more common are these:
Note that "slough" has three pronunciations according to meaning: (as in, "slogging through a slough of mud") (as in "to slough off") the town of Slough
in Berkshire in England or the Slough of Despond
Other pronunciations can be found in proper nouns, many of which are of Celtic
origin (Irish, Scottish, or Welsh) rather than English. For example ough can represent /ɔːk/ in the surname Coughlin
, /juː/ in Ayscough
and even /iː/ in the name Colcolough (/koʊkliː/) in Virginia http://www.jstor.org/pss/534017.
The original pronunciation in all cases except hiccough was the one of lough. However the /x/ sound has disappeared from most modern English dialects. As it faded, different speakers replaced it by different near equivalents in different words (namely, /f/, /w/ → /ʊ/, /ː/, or /k/).
The two "ough"s in the English place name Loughborough
are pronounced differently, resulting in Luffburruh. Additionally, three parishes of Milton Keynes
--Woughton
/ˈwʌftən/, Loughton
/ˈlaʊtən/ and Broughton
/ˈbrɔːtən/--all have different pronunciations of the combination.
Tough, though, through, and thorough are formed by adding an additional letter each time, yet none of them rhymes with another.
Some humorous verse has been written to illustrate this seeming incongruity:
augh is visually rather similar to ough but admits much less pronunciation variation. as in "laughter" as in "daughter"
and less so in the Commonwealth
.
In April 1984, at its yearly meeting
, the Simplified Spelling Society adopted the following reform as its house style
:
However, both of these are considered unacceptable in British English and formal American English.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. In Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
, where the spelling arose, it was probably pronounced with a back rounded vowel and a velar fricative, e.g., oːx or [uːx]. It is by far the sequence of letters
Letter (alphabet)
A letter is a grapheme in an alphabetic system of writing, such as the Greek alphabet and its descendants. Letters compose phonemes and each phoneme represents a phone in the spoken form of the language....
with the most unpredictable pronunciation, having at least six pronunciations in North American English
North American English
North American English is the variety of the English language of North America, including that of the United States and Canada. Because of their shared histories and the similarities between the pronunciation, vocabulary and accent of American English and Canadian English, the two spoken languages...
and over ten in British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
. A few of the more common are these:
- /oʊ/ as in "though" (cf. toe).
- uː as in "through" (cf. true).
- /ʌf/ as in "rough" (cf. ruffian).
- /ɒf/ as in "cough" (cf. coffin).
- /ɔː/ as in "thought" (cf. taut).
- /aʊ/ as in "bough" (cf. to bow).
Full list of pronunciations
| Pronunciation | Example | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| /ʌf/ | tough, enough, hough | Compare "huff" |
| /ɒf/ | cough, trough | Trough is pronounced /trɒθ/ by some speakers of American English |
| /aʊ/ | bough, plough | Pronounced like the word 'Ow |
| /oʊ/ | though, dough | |
| /ɔː/ | thought, bought | Regularly used before /t/, except in drought /draʊt/ |
| /uː/ | through, brougham | |
| /ə/ | thorough, borough | Both pronounced /oʊ/ in American English |
| /ʌp/ | hiccough | Variant spelling of "hiccup", though the latter form is recommended in both British and US |
| /ɒk/ | hough | More commonly spelled "hock" from the 20th Century onwards |
| /ɒx/ | lough | A lake; Irish analogue of Scots Scots language Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted... "loch" |
Note that "slough" has three pronunciations according to meaning: (as in, "slogging through a slough of mud") (as in "to slough off") the town of Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
in Berkshire in England or the Slough of Despond
Slough of Despond
The Slough of Despond is a deep bog in John Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, into which the character Christian sinks under the weight of his sins and his sense of guilt for them...
Other pronunciations can be found in proper nouns, many of which are of Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
origin (Irish, Scottish, or Welsh) rather than English. For example ough can represent /ɔːk/ in the surname Coughlin
Coughlin
Coughlin is a surname, and may refer to:* Bill Coughlin* Father Charles Coughlin, radio political commentator of the 1930s* Con Coughlin* Daniel Coughlin* Jack Coughlin** Jack Coughlin, retired U.S...
, /juː/ in Ayscough
Hannah Ayscough
Hannah Ayscough was the mother of Sir Isaac Newton.-Early life:Hannah was born in Market Overton in Rutland in 1623. Her parents were James Ayscough and his wife Margery Blythe.-Motherhood:...
and even /iː/ in the name Colcolough (/koʊkliː/) in Virginia http://www.jstor.org/pss/534017.
The original pronunciation in all cases except hiccough was the one of lough. However the /x/ sound has disappeared from most modern English dialects. As it faded, different speakers replaced it by different near equivalents in different words (namely, /f/, /w/ → /ʊ/, /ː/, or /k/).
The two "ough"s in the English place name Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
are pronounced differently, resulting in Luffburruh. Additionally, three parishes of Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
--Woughton
Woughton
Woughton is a civil parish in south central Milton Keynes, ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. It takes its name from the original ecclesiastic parish of Woughton and its original village, Woughton on the Green....
/ˈwʌftən/, Loughton
Loughton, Milton Keynes
Loughton is an ancient village, modern district and civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The village spreads between Watling Street and the modern A5 road, to the west of, and about 1 mile from, the city centre....
/ˈlaʊtən/ and Broughton
Broughton, Milton Keynes
Broughton is a historic village in North Buckinghamshire that has been a constituent element of Milton Keynes since the latter's designation in 1967; a civil parish; and modernly a suburb and new district of the 'city'.-History and Location:...
/ˈbrɔːtən/--all have different pronunciations of the combination.
Tough, though, through, and thorough are formed by adding an additional letter each time, yet none of them rhymes with another.
Some humorous verse has been written to illustrate this seeming incongruity:
- O-U-G-H by Charles Battell Loomis
- Ough, a Phonetic Fantasy by William Thomas Goodge
- I take it you already know unattributed
Similar combinations
A comparable group is omb, which can be pronounced in at least four ways: bomb /bɒm/ (rhymes with Tom), comb /koʊm/ (rhymes with home), sombre /ˈsɒmbə/, and tomb /tuːm/ (rhymes with gloom).augh is visually rather similar to ough but admits much less pronunciation variation. as in "laughter" as in "daughter"
Spelling reforms
Because of the unpredictability of the combination, many English spelling reformers have proposed replacing it with more phonetic combinations, some of which have caught-on in varying degrees of formal and informal success. Generally, spelling reforms have been more widely accepted in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and less so in the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
.
In April 1984, at its yearly meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
, the Simplified Spelling Society adopted the following reform as its house style
Style guide
A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field...
:
- Shorten 'ough' to 'u' when it is sounded as /uː/ – through→thru.
- Shorten 'ough' to ‘o’ when it is sounded as /oʊ/ – though→tho (but doh for dough).
- Shorten ‘ough’ to ‘ou’ when it is sounded as /aʊ/ – bough→bou, plough→plou, drought→drout.
- Change 'ough' to ‘au’ when it is sounded as /ɔː/ – ought→aut, bought→baut, thought→thaut.
- Change 'ough' to 'of' or 'uf' (depending on pronunciation) when there is the sound /f/ – cough→cof, enough→enuf, tough→tuf.
Already standard
- "hiccup" instead of folk etymology "hiccough"
- "hock" instead of "hough" (word is rare in the United States)
Already varyingly formal
These spellings are generally considered unacceptable in most of the Commonwealth, but are standard in the United States.- "draft" instead of "draught" (standard in the United States and Canada, with "draught" being used occasionally for draft beer)
- "naught" instead of "nought" (standard in the United States, although the word is only used in the phrase "all for naught") – some archaic uses of "nought" have been replaced with "not"
- "plow" instead of "plough" (standard in the United States and Canada, with "plough" being occasionally used to distinguish a motored plow from a horsedrawn plow)
- "slew" or "sluff" instead of the two corresponding pronunciations of "slough" (the former is very common in the United States, the latter much less so, with slough being retained in most cases)
- "donut" instead of "dough-nut"
Common informal
- "thru" instead of "through"- drive thru
- "tho" and "altho" instead of "though" and "although" (sometimes contractedContraction (grammar)A contraction is a shortened version of the written and spoken forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters....
as tho' and altho' )
However, both of these are considered unacceptable in British English and formal American English.
Rare informal
- "coff" instead of "cough"- Koffing
- "laff" instead of "laugh" (British comic variant "larf") – Laffy TaffyLaffy TaffyLaffy Taffy is a brand of taffy manufactured by Nestlé and sold under their Willy Wonka Candy Company brand. Laffy Taffy is a brand of candy first produced in the 1970s. The candies are small individually wrapped taffy available in a variety of artificial fruit flavors, as well as a chocolate...
- "enuff" or "enuf" instead of "enough" – Tuff EnuffTuff EnuffTuff Enuff is a 1986 studio album by Texas-based Blues Rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds which pointed the band in a more mainstream direction. The single, "Tuff Enuff" was featured in the films Gung Ho, Tough Guys, as was the follow-up single "Wrap It Up". It has also been played a number of...
- "tuff" instead of "tough"- Tuff Enuff, Tuff Shed
- "ruff" instead of "rough" (seldom used because it often refers to an onomatopoeia for a dog's bark)