• Treczoks@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    63
    ·
    5 months ago

    As someone who has learned the English language primarily by reading thousands of books, I wholeheartedly agree. On the other hand, English pronounciation sucks big time.

    • elvith@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      61
      ·
      5 months ago

      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 the verse,
      Cannot rhyme his horse with worse?
      Beard is 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, dose,and lose
      And think of goose and yet with choose
      Think of comb, tomb and bomb,
      Doll and roll or home and some.
      Since pay is rhymed with say
      Why not paid with said I pray?
      Think of blood, food and good.
      Mould is not pronounced like could.
      Wherefore done, but gone and lone -
      Is there any reason known?
      To sum up all, it seems to me
      Sound and letters don’t agree.

    • Welt
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      5 months ago

      *pronunciation. So, spelling too ;)

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        5 months ago

        You got me there. Im a very systemic person, and pronunciation is higly asystemic, even in the English language.

    • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      5 months ago

      Like, how THE FSCK would I know that a geoduck is pronounced gooey-duck? Also geo-duck sounds like a Pokémon, so that’s gotta be right.

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        5 months ago

        geoduck

        Hey, at least it is a nice, short word. In German, it is an “Elephantenrüsselmuschel” (elephant trunk clam). At least there is absolutely no question how it is pronounced, so that’s that.

        • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          5 months ago

          German pronunciation rules are awesome. If only you could get rid of some of your consonants, I’d be able to pronounce any German word.

          • Treczoks@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            5 months ago

            If only you could get rid of some of your consonants, I’d be able to pronounce any German word.

            You probably dislike the German variants of “ch” as much as the Germans loathe the English “th” ;-)

            • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              5 months ago

              Out of Rohrbacherstrasse, I could pronounce Ro, ba, and strasse. German has like 5 different R sounds and I can pronounce 2 of them. And yet most of you can’t pronounce the vibrating R in my name.

              And I hate English’s TH as well, both sounds of it, and especially the insistence in using it next to S. How am I supposed to pronounce “clothes” with any grace or dignity left?

              No, my mother tongue isn’t Germanic, but Celtic-Latin with a lot of Banto and Tupi thrown in for mellowing.