Minimal Pair List Vowels 7 and 15, / ɔ / versus / ɔɪ / 93 pairs


   Minimal pair: Vowels 7 and 15, / ɔ / versus / ɔɪ / 93 pairs

The / ɔ / vowel is usually spelled <or>, <our>, and <oar>, but we also see <al> in tall , <au> in caught , and <aw> in awl . The / ɔɪ / diphthong is spelled <oi> or <oy>.

This is a contrast between a long vowel and a diphthong. The starting positions are close togther in the mouth and there is some potential for confusion, though not associated with any particular group of learners. For speakers of French, which uses a clear -l after vowels, there might be a tendency to confuse pairs like call/coil .

Interesting pairs include:

implore employ
recall recoil

The density figure is high at 11.9%. The set makes 47 semantic contrasts giving a loading of 51%.

all oil		
awl oil
  awls oils
bald boiled
ball boil
  balling boiling
  balls boils
bawd buoyed
boar boy
  boars boys
boar buoy
  boars buoys
bore boy
  bores boys    
bore buoy
  bores buoys
  bored buoyed
brawl broil
  brawled broiled
  brawling broiling
  brawls broils
brawler broiler
  brawlers broilers
call coil
  called coiled
  calling coiling
  calls coils
caught quoit
caw coy
Claud cloyed
clause cloys
claw cloy
  clawing cloying
  clawed cloyed
  claws cloys
corn coign 
  corns coigns 
corn coin
  corned coined 
  corning coining 
  corns coins
corner coiner 
  corners coiners 
court quoit
  courts quoits
Dawley doily
deplore deploy
  deplored deployed
  deplores deploys
fall foil
  falling foiling
  falls foils
faugh Fowey 
for Fowey
fore Fowey
forced foist 
gnaws noise
implore employ
  implored employed 
  implores employs 
jaunt joint
  jaunted jointed
  jaunting jointing
  jaunts joints
jaw joy 
  jawed joyed
  jawing joying
  jaws joys
lauds Lloyd's 
lawn loin
  lawns loins
lords Lloyd's
maul moil
  mauled moiled
  mauling moiling
  mauls moils
pause poise
  paused poised
  pauses poises
  pausing poising
raw Roy 
recall recoil
  recalled recoiled
  recalling recoiling
  recalls recoils
saw soy
soar soy
sore soy
tall toil
taller toiler
tor toy
  tors toys
tore toy