The English Language

[snowyangel]

Does it make sense?

When the English tongue we speak
Why is break not rhymed with freak?
Will you tell me why it's true
that we say sew but likewise few?
And that make of the verse
Cannot cap his horse with worse?
Beard sounds not the same as heard;
Cord is different from word;
Cow is cow but low is low
Shoe is never rhymed with foe;
Think of hose and whose and lose
And think of goose and yet of choose
Think of comb and tomb and b*mb
Doll and roll and home and some;
And since pay is rhymed with say,
Why not paid with said, i pray?
We have blood and food and good,
Wherefore done but gone and lone?
Is there any reason known?
And, in short, it seems to me
Sounds and letters dissagree.

Winch et al 2001. Literacy: Reading, writing and children's literature, Sydney, Oxford university press p. 238

 

[Arfie]

Does to me, being English and all

Arfie

 

[andywg]

When one considers that the English language has its roots in Viking, Latin, German, French and pretty much every language that preceeded it one can see why similar looking words have very different pronunciations.

 

[Arfie]

I like this one, I think it's the one they used to hammer into me at school

When the English tongue we speak,

Why is 'break' not rhymed with 'freak'?

Will you tell me why it's true

We say 'sew' but likewise 'few'

And the maker of a verse

Cannot cap his 'horse' with 'worse'?

'Beard' sounds not the same as 'heard';

'Cord' is different from the 'word';

'Cow' is 'cow' but 'low' is 'low';

'Shoe' is never rhymed with 'foe'.

Think of 'hose' and 'whose' and 'lose',

And think of 'goose' and yet of 'choose',

Think of 'comb' and 'tomb' and 'bomb',

'Doll' and 'roll' and 'home' and 'some',

And since 'pay' is rhymed with 'say',

Why not 'paid' with 'said' I pray?

We have 'blood' and 'food' and 'good',

Wherefore 'done' but 'gone' and 'lone'?

Is there any reason known?

And in short, it seems to me

That sounds and letters disagree.


I take it you already know

Of tough and bough and cough and dough?

Others may stumble but not you,

On hiccough, thorough, lough and through?

Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,

To learn of less familiar traps.


Beware of heard, a dreadful word

That looks like beard and sounds like bird,

And dead: it's said like bed not bead,

For goodness sake, don't call it deed!

Watch out for meat and great and threat

(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).


A moth is not a moth in mother

Nor both in bother, broth in brother,

And here is not a match for there

Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,

And then there's dose and rose and lose -

Just look them up- and goose and choose,

And cork and work and card and ward,

And font and front and word and sword,

And do and go and thwart and cart -

Come, come, I've hardly made a start!

A dreadful language? Man alive!

I'd mastered it when I was five![font="Arial color#000000"] [/font]

Arfie

 

[snowyangel]

You copier!