Final answer:
The word 'meningocele' has a hard 'g' sound, not a soft 'g' as in 'ginger', because the soft 'g' typically occurs when followed by an 'e', 'i', or 'y', while 'meningocele' does not follow this pattern.
Step-by-step explanation:
The pronunciation of the word "meningocele" should indeed feature a hard sound, similar to that in the word "gum." This is because, although a soft , which sounds like [j], is generally indicated by an e, i, or y immediately following the , this is not an absolute rule. Examples like "get," "together," "hunger," "give," and "girl" demonstrate where we expect a soft due to the following e or i, yet pronounce it with a hard instead. In the case of "meningocele," the is followed by an o, which does not signal a soft pronunciation.