Minimal Pair List Diphthong /əʊ/ versus dark /l/, 17 pairs
I was asked by David Potter to supply a list of minimal pairs for /əʊ/ versus dark /l/, which he tells me is a problem for Chinese learners. I was unable to run a full check,
but I found the following words with final /əʊ/ and I doubt whether the contrast occurs other than finally.
barrow barrel
credo cradle
deco decal
in toto in total
inferno infernal
jumbo jumble
lento lentil
loco local
meadow medal
NATO natal
radio radial
recto rectal
sorrow sorrel
tango tangle
tempo temple
unco uncle
widow widdle
.
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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.
