# I'm looking for English words in which the digraph "sh" respresents a phoneme other than /ʃ/.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 14, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925 "2011-11-14T19:26:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/1 "2011-11-14T19:26:26Z")

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In case anyone doesn’t know, /ʃ/ is the consonant at the beginning and end of _shush_, and in the middle of _machine_. That sound is not a combination of /s/ and /h/, but a different consonant entirely.

To be clear, I am NOT looking for words in which /ʃ/ is spelled in a way other than “sh.” _ **Ch** __andelier, mi **ss** ion, ac **ti** on_ and the aforementioned _ma **ch** ine_ are useless for this purpose. I’m only looking for words in which _sh_ represents a different sound.

No proper names, please.

Thanks in advance.

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**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/2 "2011-11-14T19:29:22Z")

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You mean like “asshole”?

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**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/3 "2011-11-14T19:32:15Z")

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Does “hogshead” count? I’m not sure if that counts as a true digraph because the letters are split between syllables.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/4 "2011-11-14T19:33:59Z")

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If **robert\_columbia** ’s example is valid, Bellshill (it’s a town’s name, so I don’t know whether you’ll count it as a proper name or not). You can tell people are new to the area because they pronounce it as bell-shill instead of bell’s-hill.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/5 "2011-11-14T19:36:30Z")

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> [@robert\_columbia](#):
>
> Does “hogshead” count? I’m not sure if that counts as a true digraph because the letters are split between syllables.

It’s not what I would think of as a “true” digraph, but it is one of the definitions:

1: a group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single sound (as ea in bread or ng in sing) or whose value is not the sum of a value borne by each in other occurrences (as ch in chin where the value is \ + \sh)  
\*\*2: a group of two successive letters \*\*  
3: ligature 4  
— di·graph·ic \dī-ˈgra-fik\ adjective  
— di·graph·i·cal·ly -fi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

–m-w.com

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**Author:** ![Blkshp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blkshp/32/7135_2.png) [@Blkshp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blkshp)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/6 "2011-11-14T19:37:51Z")

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Mishandle?

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/7 "2011-11-14T19:41:13Z")

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> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#):
>
> It’s not what I would think of as a “true” digraph, but it is one of the definitions:
> 
> 1: a group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single sound (as ea in bread or ng in sing) or whose value is not the sum of a value borne by each in other occurrences (as ch in chin where the value is \ + \sh)  
> \*\*2: a group of two successive letters \*\*  
> 3: ligature 4  
> — di·graph·ic \dī-ˈgra-fik\ adjective  
> — di·graph·i·cal·ly -fi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
> 
> –m-w.com

**Earl** and everybody, I should have been more specific in my OP. I’m only looking for words in which the “sh” has a single phonetic value, as in _shine_ or _rush_, not words in which they appear adjacent to one another but each has a separate value, as in the above mentioned _hogshead_\*, mishandle\*, \*\*and _asshole_. Sorry for any confusion. To put it a different way, consider that the default pronounciation of “ch” is /tʃ/, the sound at the beginning and end of _church_, which is not a combination of either /s/ & /h/ or /k/ & /h/; and yet in many common English words, “ch” represents /k/ (as in chorus) or /ʃ/ (as in machine).

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/8 "2011-11-14T19:43:51Z")

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Disheartened

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/9 "2011-11-14T19:54:04Z")

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> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> Disheartened

See my earlier post.

Let me again rephrase the question. Can anyone think of any English words (excepting proper names) in which “sh” represents /tʃ/ (as in _ **ch** __ur **ch** ), /s/ (as in **sass** )_, /z/ (as in _ **z** oo__s_\*) \*or /ʒ/ (the consonant in the middle of _measure_ and _Asia_, or at the end of _massage_)?

Also, if anybody can think of instances of “sh” representing /tʃ/, please don’t bother with any words in which the digraph is immediately preceded by “t.” A close reading of the above paragraph may reveal why.

Thanks in advance.

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**Author:** ![merrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@merrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrick)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/10 "2011-11-14T20:12:52Z")

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Depending on dialect, you might have _pshaw_ or _shnazzy_.

I’m sure there are words where sh before another consonant is pronounced as /s/, but I can’t think of a way to search for them.

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/11 "2011-11-14T20:41:48Z")

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> [@merrick](#):
>
> Depending on dialect, you might have _pshaw_ or _shnazzy_.
> 
> I’m sure there are words where sh before another consonant is pronounced as /s/, but I can’t think of a way to search for them.

Me either.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/12 "2011-11-14T20:53:44Z")

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> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#):
>
> Me either.

FWIW, here is one way to semi-automate the search - try this URL:

[http://worddetector.com/q/\*shb\*/](http://worddetector.com/q/*shb*/)

This looks for words with “shb” anywhere in it (remove the first asterisk for words that start with shb).

Continue your search down the consonants by changing the _b_ to your consonant of choice …

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/13 "2011-11-14T20:56:37Z")

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What makes you think there are any?

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/14 "2011-11-14T21:13:13Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> What makes you think there are any?

Rhymers thirst for all knowledge. You should know that. Sometimes I think I wrote the RhymerFaq for nothing. 🙂

My curiosity is idle. It just seemed odd that the related “ch” can represent either two or three different phonemes (/k/ is iffy, as one might say that it’s the “c” that represents the /k/, and the “h” is simply silent), while “sh” would have but a single function. Of course it’s not unique that way; I cannot think of any instances of “ph” representing anything other than /f/ or /p/+/h/.

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**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/15 "2011-11-14T21:25:30Z")

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Here’s a quick search of the CMU pronunciation dictionary for all words spelled with a \<sh\>, excluding those with a \<tsh\>, which do not include the phonemic sequence /ʃ/ or /ʃh/:

```auto

$ fgrep SH cmudict.0.7a |fgrep -v ' SH'|fgrep -v 'S HH' | fgrep -v 'TSH'
ALLSHOUSE AO1 L Z HH AW2 S
CASHMERE K AE1 ZH M IH0 R
CASHMERES K AE1 ZH M IH0 R Z
CHISHOLM CH IH1 Z AH0 M
CLOTHESHORSE K L OW1 Z HH AO2 R S
DISHON D IH1 S AH0 N
DISHONEST D IH0 S AA1 N AH0 S T
DISHONESTLY D IH0 S AO1 N AH0 S T L IY0
DISHONESTY D IH0 S AA1 N AH0 S T IY0
DISHONG D IH1 S AO0 NG
DISHONOR D IH0 S AA1 N ER0
DISHONORABLE D IH0 S AA1 N ER0 AH0 B AH0 L
DISHONORED D IH0 S AA1 N ER0 D
FRASHIER F R EY1 ZH Y ER0
FRESHOUR F R EH1 S AW0 R
GAYSHILL G EY2 Z HH IH1 L
HOLLINGSHEAD HH AA1 L IH0 NG Z HH EH2 D
HOLLINSHEAD(1) HH AA1 L IH0 N Z HH EH2 D
HUISHMAN HH UW1 S M AH0 N
KHRUSHCHEV K R UW1 S CH EH2 V
KHRUSHCHEV(1) K R UW1 S CH AO2 F
KHRUSHCHEV'S K R UW1 S CH EH2 V Z
KHRUSHCHEV'S(1) K R UW1 S CH AO2 F S
KLIXSHAVICH K L IH0 K S AE1 V IH0 CH
MOSHER M OW1 ZH ER0
MOTHERSHEAD M AH1 DH ER0 Z HH EH2 D
NEWSHOUR N UW1 Z AW2 R
RUCKELSHAUS R AH1 K AH0 L Z HH AW2 S
WELSH W EH1 L CH
WERDESHEIM W ER1 D Z HH AY2 M

```

So it looks like, among the relatively common English words with aren’t proper names, your answer is as follows: cashmere, cashmeres, dishonest, dishonestly, dishonesty, dishonor, dishonorable, dishonored, newshour, and welsh.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/16 "2011-11-14T21:28:18Z")

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> [@psychonaut](#):
>
> Here’s a quick search of the CMU pronunciation dictionary for all words spelled with a \<sh\>, excluding those with a \<tsh\>, which do not include the phonemic sequence /ʃ/ or /ʃh/:
> 
> ```auto
> 
> $ fgrep SH cmudict.0.7a |fgrep -v ' SH'|fgrep -v 'S HH' | fgrep -v 'TSH'
> ALLSHOUSE AO1 L Z HH AW2 S
> CASHMERE K AE1 ZH M IH0 R
> CASHMERES K AE1 ZH M IH0 R Z
> CHISHOLM CH IH1 Z AH0 M
> CLOTHESHORSE K L OW1 Z HH AO2 R S
> DISHON D IH1 S AH0 N
> DISHONEST D IH0 S AA1 N AH0 S T
> DISHONESTLY D IH0 S AO1 N AH0 S T L IY0
> DISHONESTY D IH0 S AA1 N AH0 S T IY0
> DISHONG D IH1 S AO0 NG
> DISHONOR D IH0 S AA1 N ER0
> DISHONORABLE D IH0 S AA1 N ER0 AH0 B AH0 L
> DISHONORED D IH0 S AA1 N ER0 D
> FRASHIER F R EY1 ZH Y ER0
> FRESHOUR F R EH1 S AW0 R
> GAYSHILL G EY2 Z HH IH1 L
> HOLLINGSHEAD HH AA1 L IH0 NG Z HH EH2 D
> HOLLINSHEAD(1) HH AA1 L IH0 N Z HH EH2 D
> HUISHMAN HH UW1 S M AH0 N
> KHRUSHCHEV K R UW1 S CH EH2 V
> KHRUSHCHEV(1) K R UW1 S CH AO2 F
> KHRUSHCHEV'S K R UW1 S CH EH2 V Z
> KHRUSHCHEV'S(1) K R UW1 S CH AO2 F S
> KLIXSHAVICH K L IH0 K S AE1 V IH0 CH
> MOSHER M OW1 ZH ER0
> MOTHERSHEAD M AH1 DH ER0 Z HH EH2 D
> NEWSHOUR N UW1 Z AW2 R
> RUCKELSHAUS R AH1 K AH0 L Z HH AW2 S
> WELSH W EH1 L CH
> WERDESHEIM W ER1 D Z HH AY2 M
> 
> ```
> 
> So it looks like, among the relatively common English words with aren’t proper names, your answer is as follows: cashmere, cashmeres, dishonest, dishonestly, dishonesty, dishonor, dishonorable, dishonored, newshour, and welsh.

I think cashmere (with a French-ish zh) might be what you are looking for, but doesn’t this come from a proper noun, the region of Kashmir? So, is it OK if the word isn’t a proper noun, but comes from one?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/17 "2011-11-14T21:30:58Z")

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> [@psychonaut](#):
>
> So it looks like, among the relatively common English words with aren’t proper names, your answer is as follows: cashmere, cashmeres, dishonest, dishonestly, dishonesty, dishonor, dishonorable, dishonored, newshour, and welsh.

Thanks!

I’m not counting the /s/+/h/ combos, but _cashmere_ and _welsh_ are exactly what I had in mind. I can’t recall hearing the latter pronounced with a /tʃ/ and the end, but both the Oxford English Dictionary & Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary have that as an acceptable alternate.

ETA: **robert** , the OED & MW both say that cashmere comes from the region. But that doesn’t matter to me, because _cashmere_ is used as a common noun. Anyway, I asked to disregard proper names because I am sure that someone somewhere has coined a name for her or his child in which “sh” is pronounced in some 'flicted way. I blame the Welsh. 😉

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/18 "2011-11-14T21:38:27Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> It just seemed odd that the related “ch” can represent either two or three different phonemes (/k/ is iffy, as one might say that it’s the “c” that represents the /k/, and the “h” is simply silent),

Does /k/ represent the sound generally produced by K in English? Because that’s not quite the same sound as in, say, “loch”. So I’d say that “ch” can represent at least three or four different phonemes.

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**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/19 "2011-11-14T21:40:30Z")

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sure  
sumac  
sugar

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925/20 "2011-11-14T21:43:55Z")

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“Shibboleth” is sometimes pronounced with an initial “s” sound instead of a “sh”. You can often tell where people are from by which pronunciation they use.

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-english-words-in-which-the-digraph-sh-respresents-a-phoneme-other-than/602925.md?page=2)