Choose the word which has a different sound (underlined in the beginning)

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The question asks you to identify the word where the underlined letters 'Ch' produce a different initial sound. In English, the letter combination 'Ch' is highly inconsistent and can represent several sounds, primarily the /tʃ/ sound (as in 'church'), the /ʃ/ sound (as in 'machine'), or the /k/ sound (as in 'school'). The word **Chemistry** is derived from Greek and, like many English words of Greek origin (e.g., 'character', 'chorus'), the 'Ch' is pronounced as the hard /k/ sound. Therefore, the sound at the beginning of 'Chemistry' is /k/. This makes it phonetically distinct from the other options.

The incorrect option is 1:
The word **Cheque** (an alternative spelling of 'check') uses the common 'Ch' pronunciation, which is the voiceless post-alveolar affricate sound, transcribed phonetically as /tʃ/. This is the standard sound for 'Ch' in words like 'chair' and 'chip'.

The incorrect option is 2:
The word **Chain** also uses the very common /tʃ/ sound at the beginning. The 'Ch' combination here consistently represents the same sound found in 'Cheque' and 'Check', which is the /tʃ/ sound.

The incorrect option is 3:
The word **Check** similarly begins with the /tʃ/ sound. Since 'Cheque' and 'Check' are essentially phonetic equivalents (often representing the same concept in different forms of English), they share the same initial /tʃ/ sound, confirming that this sound is different from the /k/ sound in 'Chemistry'.