Pronunciation Poem

PUBLIC_FLAG_#{@journal.pf_int} RSS feed of Neogetz's latest journal entries Mar 25th 2011 01:21
I stumbled across this poem today. It's a good demonstration of how English is not a phonetic language.
Have a read through the poem below and see if you know the correct pronunciations for it.

I take it you already know
of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
on hiccough, thorough, laugh 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 --
and 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 the 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.
Mar 25th 2011 12:07 mikaringo7

Long long time no see, how have you been? おひさしぶりですね。
This is not a Japanese journal so I will not correct it.
Have you kept on studying Japanese?
May 15th 2011 10:45 Neogetz
Hi, Sorry I didn't reply,my internet was playing up.
I've been continuing to study Japanese though I've been trying to focus on being able to speak without stuttering, rather than learning new mateerial.
How have you been?

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