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Vowels 6 and 7, /ɒ/ versus /ɔ/    174 pairs      

The /ɒ/ vowel is usually spelled <o> but we also find <a> after <w> in Wally and wand, and unusually <oCe> in scone. The /ɔ/ vowel is spelled <or>, <aw>, <au>, or <ar> after <w> in warn.

This contrast is between a short and a long vowel, both rounded and quite close together in the mouth. It is a recognised problem for Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Farsi, Arabic, Chinese, and Swahili speakers, and may be a source of confusion for others too.

The only taboo word pair is cock/cork.

Interesting pairs include:

cosset corset
offal awful
often orphan
wobble warble

The often/orphan pair is featured prominently in the dialogue of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Pirates of Penzance. In the nineteenth century the words would have been closer to being homophones.

The density value is 3.76%. The pairs make 102 semantic contrasts, giving a loading of 58.6%.

Boche borsch
bod bawd 
  bods bawds
bod board	
  bods boards
bod bored  
bodied boarded 
body bawdy 
Bonn bourne
botch bortsch 
box balks 
chock chalk 
  chocked chalked 
  chocking chalking 
  chocks chalks 
choler caller 
  cholers callers 
clod Claud 
cobble corbel
cobbles corbels
cock cork 
  cocks corks
  cocked corked 
cocker corker
  cockers corkers
cocking calking 
cod cawed
cod chord
  cods chords
cod cored
cod cord 
  codded corded
  codding cording
  cods chords 
col call 
  cols calls 
con corn
  conned corned
  conning corning
  cons corns
Connie corny
cop Corp 
cops corpse
copses corpses
coral choral 
cos coarse 
cosset corset 
  cossets corsets 
cost coursed
cot caught 
cot court
  cots courts
docking Dorking 
Dolly Dawley 
don dawn 
  donned dawned 
  donning dawning 
  dons dawns 
folly Fawley 
fond fawned 
fosse force 
  fosses forces 
fox forks 
god gaud
  gods gauds 
hock hawk 
  hocked hawked 
  hocking hawking 
  hocks hawks 
hod hawed 
  hods hoards 
holly Horley 
Hon horn
knot naught
  knots naughts
knotty naughty
  knottier naughtier
  knottiest naughtiest
Lodz lauds
Mod Maud 
moll maul 
  molls mauls 
Molly Morley
moss Morse 
mottle mortal 
  mottles mortals 
nod gnawed 
notch nautch 
  notches nautches 
ob orb
odd awed 
  odder order
offal awful
often orphan
ox auks 
oz awes 
pock pork
pod pawed 
poll pall
  polls palls 
pond pawned 
poppa pauper
  poppas paupers 
popper pauper
  poppers paupers
pot port 
  pots ports 
  potted ported 
  potting porting 
pothole porthole 
  potholes portholes 
pottage portage 
  pottages portages 
potter porter 
  potters porters 
rod roared
rotten Wroughton 
scone scorn
  scones scorns
scotch scorch 
  scotched scorched 
  scotches scorches
  scotching scorching 
shod shored
shone shorn
shot short 
  shots shorts
Shotton shorten
snot snort 
snotty snorty 
  snottier snortier 
  snottiest snortiest 
sod soared 
sod sword
  sods swords
sot sort
  sots sorts 
spot sport 
  spots sports 
  spotted sported 
  spotting sporting 
stock stalk 
  stocked stalked 
  stocking stalking 
  stocks stalks 
stockpot Stockport 
swan sworn
topper torpor
  toppers torpors
tot tort 
  tots torts 
totter tauter 
wad ward
  wadded warded
  wadding warding
  wads wards
Wally Warley
wan warn
wand warned
was wars 
watt wart 
  watts warts
what wart  
whop warp 
  whopped warped 
  whopping warping 
  whops warps 
wobble warble 
  wobbled warbled 
  wobbles warbles 
  wobbling warbling 
wobbler warbler 
  wobblers warblers 
yon yawn

Credit: John Higgins