Cs in in the Pacific Ocean

Can this really be true?

Saying the words out loud demonstrates that it is. But how can that be?

Let’s look at the individual sounds and find out what’s going on. English spelling is a strange thing so we’re going to need to write the words out using the International Phonetic Alphabet:

Pacific Ocean - /pəˈsɪfɪk ˈəʊʃ(ə)n/

So the three Cs, with examples, are:

/s/
cell
sell

/k/
call
economy
music

/ʃ/
crash
expression

There are many more words that use these sounds, and with a variety of spellings that might surprise you. From an English native to all of you English learners: I’m sorry for the confusion.

Perhaps you have some interesting examples and can share here :nerd_face:.

10 Likes

HAHAHA. This is perfect.

2 Likes