[IPA Sounds] Minimal Pair List Diphthong /oɪ/ versus null, 17 pairs

The /oɪ/ sound is spelled with <oi> or <oy>.

As /oɪ/ is fairly rare, only occurring in 784 words in the dictionary, this was a fairly easy list to work out manually. The /oɪ/ sound is usually stressed, which means that removing it rarely leaves a free-standing word. A number of pairs arise from -ing forms of verbs, such as foiling/fling . Notice how both cloying and coiling come down to cling when the /oɪ/ is deleted. The pair coyote/coat only works for the two-syllable pronunciation of coyote .

The density value is 2.1%. The set makes 14 semantic distinctions, giving a loading of 82%.

 	
alloy Al
annoy an
boiling bling
borzoi bores
carboy carb
cloying cling
coiling cling
coyote coat
  coyotes coats
doyenne den
  doyennes dens
foiling fling   
foyer fey
gargoyle gargle
  gargoyles gargles
soiling sling
toying ting 

John Higgins

John Higgins retired in 2000, having spent the bulk of his career as a British Council English Language Officer working in Thailand, Turkey, Egypt and Yugoslavia and the last fifteen years in lectureships at Bristol University and then running an M.Sc. programme at Stirling University. His main field was EFL, with a special interest in CALL (computer-assisted language learning) in which, together with Tim Johns of Birmingham, he was responsible for important developments in methods and materials. His publications include A Guide to Language Laboratory Material Writing, Universitetesforlaget, 1969, Computers and Language Learning, Collins, 1984, Language Learners and Computers, Longman, 1988, and Computers in English Language Learning, Intellect Press, 1992, together with numerous papers, reviews and pieces of software. He maintains a web page on minimal pairs and homographs for teachers of English pronunciation skills.