Did that get your attention? It ought to because hundreds of commonly used English words end with the SHUN sound. Now for the fun part. Believe it or not, there are ten different ways to spell that sound.
Take a look at “fraction”, “convulsion”, “expression”, “magician”, “Dalmatian”, “Asian”, “crucifixion”, “suspicion”, “fashion”, and “ocean”.
We have tion, sion, ssion, cian, tian, sian, xion, cion, shion, and cean. All of which sound more or less like “shun”. But surprise! surprise! – there is only one commonly used word that is actually spelled “shun”. That word is “shun”.
Confused? Just remember that the most common “shun” ending is the “tion” spelling. Next is the “sion” spelling which is actually a variation of “tion”.
When I went to school in England, many decades ago, we had to differentiate the sounds when we pronounced the words. That meant that the “on’ ending had to sound different from the “an’ ending. Today the ten “shuns” all sound the same. That’s progress?
There are about fifty words that end in “cian”, which is an ending reserved for people who do something and have a trade, skill, or profession. Examples are “politician”, “diagnostician”, “physician”, “beautician”, and “electrician”. So…should I call myself a writician?
These endings are all explained in Chapter 39 of The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules.
Take a look at “fraction”, “convulsion”, “expression”, “magician”, “Dalmatian”, “Asian”, “crucifixion”, “suspicion”, “fashion”, and “ocean”.
We have tion, sion, ssion, cian, tian, sian, xion, cion, shion, and cean. All of which sound more or less like “shun”. But surprise! surprise! – there is only one commonly used word that is actually spelled “shun”. That word is “shun”.
Confused? Just remember that the most common “shun” ending is the “tion” spelling. Next is the “sion” spelling which is actually a variation of “tion”.
When I went to school in England, many decades ago, we had to differentiate the sounds when we pronounced the words. That meant that the “on’ ending had to sound different from the “an’ ending. Today the ten “shuns” all sound the same. That’s progress?
There are about fifty words that end in “cian”, which is an ending reserved for people who do something and have a trade, skill, or profession. Examples are “politician”, “diagnostician”, “physician”, “beautician”, and “electrician”. So…should I call myself a writician?
These endings are all explained in Chapter 39 of The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules.
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