Benct Philip Jonsson wrote:
[snip]
>
> The Longman Pronouncing Dictionary (JC Wells) gives /jQg/ or /joug/.
Interesting. Chambers definitely gives a short 'o' and the final sound
as [x]. It would seem the dictionaries themselves are not agreed, which
surely is an indication that there is no single widely accepted
pronunciation.
>
> I believe that if the Middle English word /jox/ had survived
> it would have been pronounced /jou/ or /jau/, or maybe /jQf/.
Yes - it would now be spelled 'yough' and whether 'twas /jou/ or /jQf/
would depend upon which of the competing dialect pronunciations made its
way into standard English for that particular word. But /au/ (and /Vf/)
surely derive from those spellings of -ough which represented /ux/
rather than /ox/.
> I'm afraid any pronunciation with /G/ is entirely unhistorical
> since ME |gh| spelled /x/; /G/ had become /j/ or /w/ already in
> late Old English times.
Quite so. I assume those modern pronunciations with [G] are spelling
pronunciations ;-)
--
Ray
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