In a Manner of Speaking

The most famous example: Words containing o-u-g-h, like through, thought, cough, though, bough (as in the bough of a tree), enough. You heard me pronounce the o-u-g-h completely differently in each word. Six different vowels [u, ɒ, ɑ, oʊ, aʊ, and ʌ]! Six different pronunciations of the same letters! And then there’s thorough [θʌɹoʊ] or [θʌɹə] as Brits pronounce it, the older spelling of hiccup, h-i-cc-o-u-g-h [hɪkʌp] – was it once [hɪkkɑf]? – maybe nine different pronunciations of o-u-g-h!