Vowel 7, /ɔ/, versus null, 88 pairs.     [orloplop.html]

The contrasts in this list are either from a deleted initial, such as auto/toe, a deleted final open syllable, such as mentor/meant, or from a closed syllable whose consonants permit clustering, such as calling/cling. In the third of these cases an unstressed component may move up to acquire stress, so that the contrast is not strictly minimal, though in cases where the /ɔ/ is unstressed the contrast is more truly minimal, such as carport/carped.

There are 69 semantic contrasts in the list, giving a semantic loading of 78%.

    audibility debility 
    august gust 
    austere steer 
    auto toe 
      autos toes 
    auto tow 
      autos tows 
    bailor bail 
      bailors bails 
    bailor bale
      bailors bales 
    battledore battled 
    before biff 
    boric brick 
    boring bring 
    bylaw bile 
    calling cling 
      callings clings 
    cantor cant 
    carport carped 
    cawing king
    centaur cent 
    centaur scent 
    centaur sent 
    clawing cling 
    concourse conks 
    condor conned 
    deport dipped 
    discourse discs 
    eyesore ice 
    falling fling 
    fallout flout
    folklore focal 
    footsore foots 
    forelock flock 
    forelocks flocks 
    forelocks phlox 
    fretsaw frets 
    hacksaw hacks 
    Hawick hick 
    landau land 
      landaus lands
    lessor less 
    matador mattered 
    mentor meant 
    milord milled 
    Nepal nipple 
    orate rate 
      orated rated 
      orates rates 
      orating rating 
    orbit bit 
      orbits bits
    orchestral kestrel 
    orchid kid 
      orchids kids 
    orchis kiss 
      orchises kisses
    ordain Dane 
      ordains Danes 
    ordain deign 
      ordained deigned 
      ordaining deigning
      ordains deigns 
    ordeal deal 
      ordeals deals 
    oriel real 
    Orleans liens 
    orlop lop
      orlops lops 
    orotund rotund 
    pawing ping 
    pitsaw pits 
    rapport rap 
    rapport wrap
    recourse ricks 
    report ripped 
    restore wrist 
    ripsaw rips 
    sawing sing 
    seaport seeped 
    seesaw cease 
      seesawing ceasing 
    sorting sting 
    storing string 
    strawing string 
    thawing thing 
    warrantor warrant 
    

John Higgins, Stirling, February 2001, updated Chiang Mai, 2024