Identify the consonants in the underlined words : Chin, Sketch, Chair

Question

Accepted Answer

Option 3 (tʃ) is correct because the underlined words "Chin," "Sketch," and "Chair" all begin with the same consonant sound, which is represented phonetically as /tʃ/. This sound is a voiceless postalveolar affricate.

Here's why the other options are incorrect:

*   **Option 1 (j):** The sound /j/ is the consonant sound at the beginning of words like "yes" or "yellow." This is a palatal approximant and is clearly different from the initial sound in "Chin," "Sketch," and "Chair."

*   **Option 2 (dʒ):** The sound /dʒ/ is the consonant sound at the beginning of words like "judge" or "gem." This is a voiced postalveolar affricate. While similar to /tʃ/, it is voiced, meaning the vocal cords vibrate during its production. The initial sound in "Chin," "Sketch," and "Chair" is voiceless.

*   **Option 4 (ʃ):** The sound /ʃ/ is the consonant sound at the beginning of words like "she" or "shoe." This is a voiceless postalveolar fricative. While it shares a similar place of articulation with /tʃ/, it is a fricative (produced by forcing air through a narrow channel) rather than an affricate (which begins as a stop and releases as a fricative). The words "Chin," "Sketch," and "Chair" all start with an affricate sound, not a fricative.

Therefore, only Option 3, /tʃ/, accurately represents the consonant sound at the beginning of the underlined words.