WAEC 2014 English Language · Question 80

casualty — choose the word that has the same consonant sound(s) as the one represented by the letter(s)…

Question

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same consonant sound(s) as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined below. casualty

In the original paper part of this question is underlined. The underline isn't shown here: see the explanation below.

A.lace
B.steal
C.vision
D.lesson

Answer: C. vision

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyzing the question

The underlined letters are not shown in the text, but in "casualty" the only consonant sound that is tricky is the "s" in "-sua-", which is pronounced /ʒ/ (as in "CAZH-oo-al-tee": /ˈkæʒjuəlti/). So we are looking for the option with the /ʒ/ sound.

Concept

The /ʒ/ sound (the voiced palato-alveolar fricative) appears in words like measure, pleasure, treasure, vision, television, usual. It is often spelled "s" or "si" between vowels.

Checking each option

A. lace has /s/. This is not a match.
B. steal has /s/ at the beginning. This is not a match.
C. vision has /ʒ/ (/ˈvɪʒən/). This is a match.
D. lesson has /s/ (/ˈlesən/). This is not a match.

Answer: C. vision. Both "casualty" and "vision" have the /ʒ/ sound.

Tip: If the sound is "s" between two vowels and sounds like "zh", think of pleasure, measure, vision, usual. Compare "lesson", where the double "ss" gives a plain /s/ sound. In these questions, say the word aloud slowly to hear the sound before looking at the spelling.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.