WAEC 2019 English Language · Question 13

country — Choose the word that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined

Question

Choose the word that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined. country

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

A.around
B.lock
C.tongue
D.talk

Answer: C. tongue

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: The word is "country", and the underlined part is not shown. In "country", the "ou" is the part that is normally underlined. It is pronounced /ʌ/, as in "cup" or "run". So we need the option with the /ʌ/ sound.

Explain the concept: In English, the letters "ou" can be pronounced in different ways:

/aʊ/ as in "around", "house"
/ʌ/ as in "country", "young", "couple"
/uː/ as in "soup"

The letters "o" and "ue" can also give the /ʌ/ sound in some words, such as "son", "come" and "tongue".

Check each option:

A. around: The "ou" is /aʊ/ (a-ROUND). This is different from /ʌ/.
B. lock: The "o" is /ɒ/ (as in "log"). This is different.
C. tongue: The "o" is /ʌ/ (/tʌŋ/, rhymes with "lung"). This matches.
D. talk: The "a" is /ɔː/ (/tɔːk/). This is different.

Answer: The vowel in "country" /ˈkʌntri/ matches the vowel in "tongue" /tʌŋ/. The correct option is C.

Tip: Some words with "o" or "ou" are pronounced /ʌ/, and they are common in exams. Memorize this group: country, young, touch, double, couple, son, love, come, some, money, mother, tongue. If the underlined vowel is "o" or "ou" and the word looks irregular, check whether it belongs to this group.

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