2.10: The Consonant Sound [ch]

Overview of the Consonant Sound [ch]

Three ways of spelling [ch] are <ch>, <t>, and <tch>.

Examples

You can hear the sound [ch] at the beginning and at the end of church.

Review

1. Underline the letters that spell the sound [ch] in each of these words. Sometimes [ch] is spelled <ch>, sometimes <tch>, and sometimes <t>.
   
\begin{align*} &\text{chair} && \text{children} && \text{much} && \text{century}\\ &\text{each} && \text{nature} && \text{kitchen} && \text{which}\\ &\text{picture} &&\text{catch} && \text{lunch} && \text{feature}\end{align*}

2. In the twelve words above:
   Spelling #1: [ch] is spelled _______ six times;
   Spelling #2: [ch] is spelled _______ four times;
   Spelling #3: [ch] is spelled _______ twice.

3. Sort the twelve words into these three groups.

   Words with ...

   Spelling #1	Spelling #2	Spelling #3

Show Answer

1. \begin{align*} & \underline{ch}air  &&  \underline{ch}ildren  &&  mu\underline{ch}  &&  cen\underline{t}ury \\ & ea\underline{ch}  &&  na\underline{t}ure  &&  kit\underline{ch}en  &&  whi\underline{ch} \\ & pic\underline{t}ure  && cat\underline{ch}  &&  lun\underline{ch}  &&  fea\underline{t}ure \end{align*}

2. In the twelve words above:
   Spelling #1: [ch] is spelled <ch> six times;
   Spelling #2: [ch] is spelled <t> four times;
   Spelling #3: [ch] is spelled <tch> twice.

3. Sort the twelve words into these three groups.

   Words with ...

   Spelling #1	Spelling #2	Spelling #3
   chair	picture	catch
   each	nature	kitchen
   children	century
   much	feature
   such
   which

Explore More

Sort the following words into the matrices below to review other consonant sounds.

\begin{align*} &\text{fatter} && \text{hardest} && \text{kinder} && \text{numbers}\\ &\text{opening} && \text{water} && \text{system} && \text{spotter}\\ &\text{started} &&\text{simple} && \text{country} && \text{zipper}\\ &\text{stopping} &&\text{ribbon} && \text{bubble} && \text{suddenly}\\ &\text{middle} &&\text{beginner} && \text{around} && \text{children}\end{align*}

Words with ...

[p] spelled <p>	[p] spelled <pp>	[b] spelled... <b>	[b] spelled <bb>

[t] spelled <t>		[t] spelled <tt>	[d] spelled <d>	[d] spelled <dd>

Show Answer

Words with ...

[p] spelled <p>	[p] spelled <pp>	[b] spelled... <b>	[b] spelled <bb>
opening	stopping	beginner	ribbon
simple	zipper	bubble	bubble
spotter		numbers

[t] spelled <t>		[t] spelled <tt>	[d] spelled <d>	[d] spelled <dd>
started	water	fatter	started	middle
stopping	system	spotter	hardest	suddenly
hardest	country		kinder
			around
			children

Spelling [ch]

About two-thirds of the time [ch] is spelled either <ch> or <tch>, and <ch> is about five times as common as <tch>.

Examples

The sound [ch] is spelled <ch> in the following words: chalk, research, and teacher.

The sound [ch] is spelled <tch> in the following words: itch, watch, and patch.

Review

1. Underline the letters that spell [ch] in the following words:
   
\begin{align*} &\text{chalk} && \text{enchanted} && \text{merchandise} && \text{spinach}\\ &\text{watch} && \text{chimney} && \text{butcher} && \text{dispatch}\\ &\text{charity} &&\text{sketches} && \text{mischief} && \text{purchase}\\ &\text{scratch} &&\text{research} && \text{wretched} && \text{chocolate}\\ &\text{teacher} &&\text{kitchen} && \text{chuckle} && \text{achieve}\end{align*}
2. Sort the words into the following matrix:

   Words in which the [ch] is ...

   	at the end of a free stem and following a stressed short vowel	the only consonant in a VCC string with a stressed short head vowel	located anywhere else in the word
   Words with [ch] spelled <tch>
   Words with [ch] spelled <ch>

3. Among the words in Items 1 and 2, when [ch] comes (a) at the end of a free stem and following a stressed short vowel or (b) in a VCC string, it is spelled ___________; everyplace else it is spelled ___________.

Show Answer

1. \begin{align*} & \underline{ch}alk  &&  en\underline{ch}anted  &&  mer\underline{ch}andise  &&  spina\underline{ch} \\ & wat\underline{ch}  &&  \underline{ch}imney  &&  but\underline{ch}er  &&  dispat\underline{ch} \\ & \underline{ch}arity  && sket\underline{ch}es  &&  mis\underline{ch}ief  &&  pur\underline{ch}ase \\ & scrat\underline{ch}  && resear\underline{ch}  &&  wret\underline{ch}ed  &&  \underline{ch}ocolate \\ & tea\underline{ch}er  && kit\underline{ch}en  &&  \underline{ch}uckle  &&  a\underline{ch}ieve \end{align*}

2. Words in which the [ch] is ...

   	at the end of a free stem and following a stressed short vowel	the only consonant in a VCC string with a stressed short head vowel	located anywhere else in the word
   Words with [ch] spelled <tch>	watch scratch sketches wretched dispatch	butcher kitchen
   Words with [ch] spelled <ch>			chalk chuckle charity spinach teacher purchase enchanted chocolate chimney achieve reasearch merchandise mischief

3. Among the words in Items 1 and 2, when [ch] comes (a) at the end of a free stem and following a stressed short vowel or (b) in a VCC string, it is spelled <tch> ; everyplace else it is spelled <ch>.

Explore More

On the basis of the analysis you've just done, be ready to discuss the following questions:

(i) Why can we say that <tch> behaves like a double <ch>?

(ii) What is unusual about the sounds in front of the <ch> in bachelor and treacherous? What rule did you recently learn that would explain the unusual sound in front of <ch> in these words?

(iii) What is there about the following six words that makes them holdouts to the pattern you've just found and described?

\begin{align*} &\text{attach} && \text{detach} && \text{rich}\\& \text{much} &&\text{such} && \text{which}\end{align*}There is little we can say about these six, except that they are clear holdouts to an otherwise useful and reliable rule and that there are fortunately very, very few of them. 

[ch] Spelled <t>

About two-thirds of the time [ch] is spelled either <ch> or <tch>, and we can practically always tell when to pick <ch> and when to pick <tch>.

About one-third of the time [ch] is spelled <t>. This <t> spelling is very much like the <t> spelling of [sh] and the <d> spelling of [j]. It, too, is due to palatalization.

Examples

The following words are examples of [ch] spelled <t>.

\begin{align*} &\text{culture} && \text{suggestion} && \text{actual} && \text{virtue}\\ &\text{intellectual} && \text{spiritual} && \text{literature} && \text{congestion}\\ &\text{questions} &&\text{situation} && \text{indigestion} && \text{perpetual}\\ &\text{unfortunately} &&\text{mortuary} && \text{ritual} && \text{statue}\\ &\text{naturally} &&\text{eventual} && \text{adventurous} && \text{celestial}\end{align*}You can see that very nearly all the time when [ch] is spelled <t>, the <t> is either followed by an unstressed <u> or it is followed by the suffix -ion and has an <s> right in front of it.

Review

1. Underline the letters that spell [ch] in the following words.
   \begin{align*} &\text{culture} && \text{suggestion} && \text{actual} && \text{virtue}\\ &\text{intellectual} && \text{spiritual} && \text{literature} && \text{congestion}\\ &\text{questions} &&\text{situation} && \text{indigestion} && \text{perpetual}\\ &\text{unfortunately} &&\text{mortuary} && \text{ritual} && \text{statue}\\ &\text{naturally} &&\text{eventual} && \text{adventurous} && \text{celestial}\end{align*}
2. Now sort the words into these two groups.

   Words in which [ch] is followed by ...

   <u>			<i>

3. In these words, which vowel is stressed: the one in front of the [ch] or the one after it? _______. What letter usually follows the <t> that spells [ch]? _______.

   Below you are given prefixes, bases, and suffixes to combine. In each case you should produce a word that contains [ch] spelled <t> due to palatalization. Show any changes.

   Prefixes, Bases, and Suffixes	Words with [ch] Spelled <t>
   4. dis + gest + ion
   5. spirit + ual
   6. quest + ion + er
   7. act + ual + ly
   8. ad + vent + ure + ous
   9. script + ure + al
   10. liter + ate + ure
   11. virtue + ous
   12. com + gest +ion
   13. celest + ial
   14. per + pete + ual
   15. sub + gest + ion + s

Show Answer

1. \begin{align*} & cul\underline{t}ure  &&  sugges\underline{t}ion  &&  ac\underline{t}ual  &&  vir\underline{t}ue \\ & intellec\underline{t}ual  &&  spiri\underline{t}ual  &&  litera\underline{t}ure  &&  conges\underline{t}ion \\ & ques\underline{t}ions  && si\underline{t}uation  &&  indiges\underline{t}ion  &&  perpe\underline{t}ual \\ & unfor\underline{t}unately  && mor\underline{t}uary  &&  ri\underline{t}ual  &&  sta\underline{t}ue \\ & na\underline{t}urally  && even\underline{t}ual  &&  adven\underline{t}urous  &&  celes\underline{t}ial \end{align*}

2. Words in which [ch] is followed by ...

   <u>			<i>
   culture	situation	ritual	questions
   intellectual	mortuary	adventurous	suggestion
   unfortunately	eventful	virtue	indigestion
   naurally	actual	perpetual	congestion
   spiritual	literature	statue	celestial

   3. In these words, which vowel is stressed: the one in front of the [ch] or the one after it? The one in front of it. What letter usually follows the <t> that spells [ch]? <u>.

   Prefixes, Bases, and Suffixes	Words with [ch] Spelled <t>
   4. di e + gest + ion	digestion
   5. spirit + ual	spiritual
   6. quest + ion + er	questioner
   7. act + ual + ly	actually
   8. ad + vent + ur e + ous	adventurous
   9. script + ur e + al	scriptural
   10. liter + at e + ure	literature
   11. virtu e + ous	virtuous
   12. co e + n + gest + ion	congestion
   13. celest + ial	celestial
   14. per + pet e + ual	perpetual
   15. su e + g + gest + ion + s	suggestions

[ch] Spelled <c>, <cc>, and <tsch>

There are three rare spellings of [ch] that are found only in a few Italian and German words that still have their Italian and German spellings. In Italian [ch] is regularly spelled <c> or <cc>, and in German it is regularly spelled <tsch>.

Examples

[ch] = <c>: In the Italian words cello, concerto, vermicelli, and the greeting ciao [ch] is spelled <c>.

[ch] = <cc>: In the Italian words capriccio and cappuccino, [ch] is spelled <cc>.

[ch] = <tsch>: In the German words kitsch and putsch, [ch] is spelled <tsch>.

According to some dictionaries the <c>s and <s>s in words like financial and mansion spell [ch]. Most dictionaries show them as spelling [sh], but Merriam-Webster's big unabridged dictionary is one that has it [ch]. It is a case of the experts disagreeing about what they hear. You might listen to your own pronunciation of these words and those of your friends. What happens is that some people tend to put a [t] sound in between the [n] and [sh], and the [tsh] actually equals [ch]. Either pronunciation is correct.

Review

1. Sort the words into the groups, depending on whether you think you pronounce them with [sh] or [ch]. There is room here for honest differences of opinion, so we've given you extra blanks:
   
\begin{align*} &\text{financial} && \text{expansion} && \text{concerto} && \text{comprehension}\\ &\text{apprehension} && \text{dimension} && \text{kitsch} && \text{dissension}\\ &\text{transient} &&\text{cello} && \text{vermicelli} && \text{cappuccino}\\ &\text{condescension} &&\text{capriccio} && \text{ancient} && \text{suspension}\end{align*}  

[ch]		[sh]

2. Now sort the words again, this time on the basis of how the [ch] (or [sh]) is spelled. Write them into the proper groups below and in the columns marked ‘[ ]’ write in the pronunciation of the <c>, <cc>, or <s>.

   <c>	[ ]	<cc>	[ ]	<s>	[ ]
   		cappuccino	[ch]

3. The three most common ways to spell [ch] are _____, _____, and _____.

Show Answer

1. Words pronounced with ...

   [ch]		[sh]
   financial	vermicelli	apprehension	ancient
   cello	cappuccino	transient	comprehension
   capriccio		condescension	dissension
   concerto		expansion	suspension
   kitsch		dimension

2. <c>	[ ]	<cc>	[ ]	<s>	[ ]
   financial	[ch]	cappuccino	[ch]	apprehension	[sh]
   cello	[ch]	capriccio	[ch]	transient	[sh]
   concerto	[ch]			condescension	[sh]
   vermicelli	[ch]			expansion	[sh]
   				dimension	[sh]
   				ancient	[sh]
   				comprehension	[sh]
   				dissension	[sh]
   				suspension	[sh]

3. The three most common ways to spell [ch] are <ch>, <tch>, and <t>.