2782: Sugar: (Why the SH)? Aug 2, 2024

The pronunciation of ‘sugar’ with an initial [ʃ] "sh" sound and a [g] as opposed to [k] sound common in most other languages is a result of internal shifts. In English, the pronunciation deviated from its spelling due to the Great Vowel Shift and other phonological changes during the Middle English period. Unlike French, where "sucre" maintained its straightforward phonetic structure, English underwent shifts where certain "s" sounds followed by a "u" began to be pronounced as [ʃ] "sh," a process seen in other words like ‘sure’ and ‘pressure’. Moreover, while most languages take their words for sugar from Arabic, there was an earlier form that Arabic borrowed from Persian ‘shakar’, so while there would be precedent, this is not relevant.

The [g], as opposed to [k] sound is to do with stress. That is to say, when a syllable is unstressed and at the end of a word, it is the least likely to be in what linguists would call the “area of accuracy” and since the R is voiced (i.e. engages the vocal cords), the [k] also becomes voiced as [g].