Ghoti
famous George Bernard Shaw example of irregular English spelling, rejected by academic linguists
Ghoti is an artificial word used to illustrate irregularities in English spelling. It is a respelling of the word fish: i.e., it is supposed to be pronounced /ˈfɪʃ/. It is made of these phonemes:
- gh, pronounced /f/ as in tough /tʌf/;
- o, pronounced /ɪ/ as in women /ˈwɪmɪn/; and
- ti, pronounced /ʃ/ as in nation /ˈneɪʃən/.
Using the same method, ghoti can be a silent word, where:
- gh as in though; the bold letters are not pronounced here and in the next examples.
- o as in people;
- t as in ballet or mortgage;
- I as in business or plaid
Ghoti is likely to be spontaneously pronounced [goʊtaɪ] or [gəʊtaɪ] (like "go" + "tie"), or [goʊti] ("go" + "tea"), but certainly not like "fish" since gh is never pronounced [f] (cf. "ghost") at the beginning of a word neither ti is pronounced [ʃ] at the end of a word.
Spelling in English is discussed in orthography.