What sound does the digraph 'ng' represent as in 'sing'?

What sound does the digraph 'ng' represent as in 'sing'?

• A. /ŋ/
• B. /n/
• C. /g/
• D. /ng/

Answer: (A)

Digraphs can represent a single sound rather than two separate sounds. In the word sing, the letters ng together make one sound: the velar nasal, written /ŋ/. This sound is produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the soft palate while the air escapes through the nose, so it’s a nasal stop rather than an /n/ followed by a /g/. That single phoneme /ŋ/ is distinct from both /n/ (an alveolar nasal) and /g/ (a velar stop). So the sound you hear at the end of sing is /ŋ/.

Digraphs can represent a single sound rather than two separate sounds. In the word sing, the letters ng together make one sound: the velar nasal, written /ŋ/. This sound is produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the soft palate while the air escapes through the nose, so it’s a nasal stop rather than an /n/ followed by a /g/. That single phoneme /ŋ/ is distinct from both /n/ (an alveolar nasal) and /g/ (a velar stop). So the sound you hear at the end of sing is /ŋ/.