Talk:għul

The claim made on the Miklem page that the word should be pronounced /uːl/ rather than the usual /ɔwl/, because the initial consonant is Arabic غ is false. First of all, غ triggers the same diphthongisation as ع, as seen in words like bergħud, żgħir, etc. Secondly, Miklem bases the claim on obsolete children's rhymes where għul rhymes with ful. But this is meaningless. The rhyme is obviously very old and goes back to a time when the diphthongisation after ع/غ simply hadn't happened yet. In Middle English the words great, meat, threat all rhymed. That doesn't mean we should now pronounce all of them with the same vowel. 2.202.159.25 15:48, 15 February 2021 (UTC)