Tongue twisting English

[absquatulation]

A related thread started me thinking, English is a rich language full of hidden silent letters and strange pronunciations.

Can you pronounce this poem?

"Farming with the Goughs

In long lazy sweeps, the crow-like chough
Returns to nest across the lough.
The farmer, with asthmatic cough
Walks down the pathway,
Sometimes through a valley,
Where the wind may sough its music,
Over many a bough.
His wife prepares the Sunday dough
While Bert, their son, whose hands are rough
Gets ready to hitch up the plough."

This is a exercise on how the words "ough" change. OUGH is one of those words where you either know the pronunciation or you don't.

Gough = Goff
Chough = Chuff
Lough = Lock
Cough = Coff
Sough = So
Bough = Bow (as in bow down)
Dough = Doh (!)
Rough = Ruff
Plough = Plow

Any more?

 

[kgkev]

I think Lough is an Irish word I would tend to use Loch Which is a Scottish word. Or Lake.


I once heard of an American getting in a taxi and asking to go to

loogerberooger.

can you guess where he wanted to go??

 

[Norie]

Eh, Lufbra?

 

[kgkev]

spot on


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loughborough&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

What a mental way of spelling it though.

 

[DonkeyOte]

Norie, are you on holiday downunder ?

 

[PaddyD]

In a simliar vein, George Bernard Shaw once noted that, given the weirdness of English, 'fish' may as well be spelt 'ghoti':

'gh' pronounced 'f' as in rough
'o' pronounced 'i' as in women
'ti' pronounced 'sh' as in nation

 

[SydneyGeek]

Gough = Goff
Chough = Chuff
Lough = Lock
Cough = Coff
Sough = So
Bough = Bow (as in bow down)
Dough = Doh (!)
Rough = Ruff
Plough = Plow

Through
Thought

In a simliar vein, George Bernard Shaw once noted that, given the weirdness of English, 'fish' may as well be spelt 'ghoti':

'gh' pronounced 'f' as in rough
'o' pronounced 'i' as in women
'ti' pronounced 'sh' as in nation

... and someone had fun with potato, too.

p = hiccough
o = dough
t = receipt
a = eight
t = burette
o = bureau

giving the final

ghoughpteightteeau

Denis
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[Stormseed]

Wonderful I always look forward to learn these type of stuff ! Very useful !!

 

[riaz]

T as in phthisis
UR as in colonel
N as in gnat
ER as in myrrh

Turner = phtholognyrrh

 

[absquatulation]

As you are getting the hang of this, perhaps you would like to try to have a go that this one.


That rough bough we saw as we passed through Lough Neagh - do you remember, you had hiccoughs - ought to be made into a trough for kneading dough thoroughly.