Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 10:36:45 -0700

From: Peter McGraw pmcgraw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]LINFIELD.EDU

Subject: ough



From one of those "Did you know..." lists that bounce around the Internet,

followed by a comment from my son:



The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways.

The

following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced,

thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after

falling

into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."



Whough pronounces "slough" differently from "through"? They sound

like they rhyme to me. "Dough" vs. "Scarborough" also seems pretty

debatable.



1) Are there parts of the country where "slough" (i.e., the body of

water) is pronounced other than [slu:]?



2) I presume that on the East Coast "Scarborough" has a schwa rather than

an [o] as its final vowel, yes?



Peter McGraw

In the wilds of Orygun