# The Sounds of ough **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249 "2016-05-20T18:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/21 "2016-05-21T01:58:03Z")
When I lived in Milton Keynes, I recall there being three districts with three different pronunciations of ‘ough’: Broughton : Same as “brought” Loughton : Same as “lout” Woughton : A dog’s “Woof!” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/22 "2016-05-21T02:14:05Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > cough rhymes with off, and so deserves a line of its own. > > “lough” is pronounced /lɒx/, so that’s another for the list. How about trough? ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/23 "2016-05-21T03:25:28Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Here’s a relevant poem: [_The Chaos_](http://ncf.idallen.com/english.html) (aka _English is Tough Stuff_) Thanks, Xema! I’ll share it with my friends! Maybe we could turn it into a drinking game? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/24 "2016-05-21T05:27:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > How about trough? Trough and cough sound the same to me – off. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/25 "2016-05-21T12:21:00Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slough). It’s an American pronunciation. On the Canadian prairies, we use it to mean a small body of stagnant water. Not a swamp and not connected to a stream. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/26 "2016-05-21T16:23:08Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Trough and cough sound the same to me – off. Right. That’s what I meant. Must have misread your post. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/27 "2016-05-21T18:11:01Z")
Note that all -ough words were originally pronounced the same way and the -gh represents a sound that is no longer part of the language. Given the last, it’s no surprise pronunciations diverged. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/28 "2016-05-21T18:29:41Z")
BTW _hiccough_ is something of a phoney. The word is _hiccup_ and OED says this of the variant. > [@](#): > > Hiccough was a later spelling, apparently under the erroneous impression that the second syllable was cough, which has not affected the received pronunciation, and ought to be abandoned as a mere error. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/29 "2016-05-21T18:46:55Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > BTW _hiccough_ is something of a phoney. The word is _hiccup_ and OED says this of the variant. That’s actually kind of funny. English spelling is so bizarre that the default assumption is that the word must be spelled differently than it sounds.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/30 "2016-05-21T21:03:23Z")
What I have read on the subject suggests that as the gh sound (similar to the German ach) disappeared from all English dialects, each dialect dealt with it in its own consistent way. In some it became -off, while in others it became -oh or -oo. Then these dialects all came together in London and different dialects prevailed for different words. Then there is the name, Fetherstonhaugh (sp?) pronounced Fanshaw. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/31 "2016-05-21T21:49:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slough). It’s an American pronunciation. Thanks Colibri. > [@gigi](#): > > through -oo > […] > slough -ew Are these two different in your dialect? M-W has this pronunciation of slough rhyming with “through”, though maybe some people pronounce it as /slju:/ ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/32 "2016-05-21T21:53:42Z")
One more (though it’s a placename so doesn’t really count: [Cloughjordan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloughjordan) (pronounced like clock jordan; ough = /ɒk/) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/33 "2016-05-21T21:55:34Z")
There’s also the English town of Loughborough (pronounced /lʌfbərə/), where ough is pronounced two different ways in one word. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/34 "2016-05-21T21:55:51Z")
Relating to this thread. Reading a book a couple hours ago, I came across the word “[sough](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sough?s=t)” which I’ve never seen before. As usual, there are two pronunciations. Rhyming with “tough” or “though”. I do crosswords a lot and it still amazed me at the occasional new word that pops up. **Hari Seldon** : Do you consider Scots a dialect of English? They have the “ach” sound as in loch. Or do you consider that a gaining via Gaelic rather than a retaining from old English? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/35 "2016-05-22T00:55:12Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > Thanks Colibri. > > Are these two different in your dialect? M-W has this pronunciation of slough rhyming with “through”, though maybe some people pronounce it as /slju:/ There are two things I think they could mean: one is the slight “ee” sound in ew, as elongated in “Eeeew! That’s gross.” The other is the difference between oo in book and boot. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/36 "2016-05-22T09:40:04Z")
[This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZV40f0cXF4) was the first thing that popped into my head while reading this thread. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/37 "2016-05-22T12:58:40Z")
Edgar Rice Burroughs used a word in A Princess of Mars that fits in this thread. Upon gaining some standing in the Tharkian community he states that Dejah Thoris in under his protection. At the end of his statement he says: “Of one thing let us be sure, whatever your intentions towards this unfortunate young woman, whoever would offer her insult or injury in the future must figure on making a full accounting to me. I understand that you belittle all sentiments of generosity and kindliness, but I do not, and I can convince your most **doughty** warrior that these characteristics are not incompatible with an ability to fight.” I was probably in about the third or fourth grade when I first read ERB’s books, but that word stuck in my head. The pronunciation of this word has the ow sound, but it seems like the word itself fell from common use long ago. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249/38 "2016-05-22T19:28:28Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > BTW _hiccough_ is something of a phoney. The word is _hiccup_ and OED says this of the variant. Thanks for the education! I’m kind of relieved because I do functional system support and people probably think I am uptight when I email them that the system must have hiccoughed. cough -off thought -aw tough/enough/chough/sough -uff bough/plough/doughty -ow dough/though/sough -oh McCullough/Scarborough -uh slough -ew ~ through -oo lough -ɒx same as Cloughjordan? Loughborough the winner so far 🙂 > [@ftg](#): > > I do crosswords a lot and it still amazed me at the occasional new word that pops up. I feel the same way playing Scrabble! We allow open dictionaries (I try not to partake) and one player always comes up with the most obscure words. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sounds-of-ough/755249.md?page=1)