Ough (combination)

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Ough is a combination 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. [oʊx] or [uːx]. It is by far the group of letters with the most unpredictable pronunciation, having six in North American English and over ten in British English. A few of the more common are:

/u/ as in "through" (cf. boo).
/ɔ/ as in "thought" (cf. taut).
/oʊ/ as in "though" (cf. toe).
/ɒf, ʌf/ as in "cough" (cf. off).
/ʌf/ as in "rough" (cf. ruffian).
/aʊ/ as in "plough" (Commonwealth spelling; cf. plow).
/ʌp/ as in "hiccough" (now uncommon variant of hiccup; cf. up)

Contents

[edit] Full list of pronunciations

Pronunciation Example Comment
[ʌf] tough, enough, Hough, slough Compare 'wuff'
[ɒf] or [ɔf] cough, trough, Trough is pronounced like 'troth' by some speakers of American English
[aʊ] bough, plough Pronounced like the word 'Ow'
[əʊ] or [oʊ] though, dough
[ɔː] or [ɒː] thought, bought Regularly used before /t/
[uː] through, slough Slough is pronounced as 'slew' or to rhyme with "bough" or to rhyme with "tough" by some American English speakers, in British English it rhymes with "bough" (esp. the town) or "tough"
[ə] thorough, borough Both pronounced as 'OH' [oʊ] in American English
[ʌp] hiccough Variant spelling of "hiccup", though the latter form is recommended in both British and US
[ʌk] or [ɒk] hough More commonly spelled "hock" from the 20th Century onwards
[ɒx] lough A lake; Irish analogue of Scots "loch"

Note that "slough" has two pronunciations corresponding to two different definitions: "sloo" (as in, "a whole slough of problems") and "sluff" (as in, "to slough off"). The city of Slough is pronounced to rhyme with "bough".

Other pronunciations can be found in proper nouns, many of which are of Celtic origin (Irish, Scottish, or Welsh) rather than English. For example the surname Coughlin is sometimes pronounced [kɔglɪn].

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]). Thus the present confusion resulted.

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 – 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.

A comparable group is the -omb group, which can be pronounced in at least three ways: bomb, comb, and tomb.

[edit] Augh

augh is a variant on ough, and is similar in its sound.

  • /æf, ɑf/ as in "laughter".
  • /ɔ/ as in "daughter"

[edit] Spelling reforms

Because of such unpredictability of the combination, many spelling reformers have proposed to eliminate it, 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 States and less so in the Commonwealth.

[edit] Already standard

  • "hiccup" instead of folk etymology "hiccough"
  • "not" or "naught" instead of archaic "nought"
  • "hock" instead of "hough"

[edit] 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 Canada)
  • "plow" instead of "plough" (uncommon but accepted in Canada)
  • "sluff" instead of "slough" (uncommon in much of the United States)
  • "donut" instead of "doughnut"

[edit] Common informal

  • "thru" instead of "through"- drive thru
  • "tho" instead of "though"

However, both of these are considered unacceptable in British English, and in formal American English.

[edit] Rare informal

  • "coff" instead of "cough"
  • "laff" instead of "laugh"
  • "enuff" or "enuf" instead of "enough"
  • "tuff" instead of "tough"
  • "ruff" instead of "rough"

[edit] See also