Choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol /ʃ/

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word containing the sound /ʃ/, the "sh" sound as in ship or wish.

Explain the concept: The sound /ʃ/ is a voiceless palato-alveolar fricative. It can be spelled in different ways: sh (shoe), ch (in words borrowed from French, such as machine), ti (nation), or ssi (mission). So you should listen to the sound, not just look at the spelling.

Solution: check each option

• A. charade is pronounced /ʃəˈreɪd/ (or /ʃəˈrɑːd/). The "ch" here comes from French and is pronounced /ʃ/. ✔
• B. fist is pronounced /fɪst/. It has the sounds /f/, /s/ and /t/, but no /ʃ/. ✘
• C. charm is pronounced /tʃɑːm/. The "ch" here is the affricate /tʃ/ as in church, not /ʃ/. ✘
• D. measure is pronounced /ˈmeʒə/. The "s" is the voiced sound /ʒ/, which is the voiced partner of /ʃ/. ✘

Answer: The correct option is A. charade.

Tip: Words with "ch" that come from French (chef, machine, chauffeur, charade, parachute) usually take /ʃ/. Native English "ch" words (church, chair, charm) take /tʃ/. Also remember that /ʃ/ is voiceless and /ʒ/ is voiced. Put your fingers on your throat: for /ʒ/ (measure) you feel a vibration, but for /ʃ/ you do not.