Isn't English Grand

[SurfD]

http://grammar.about.com/od/alightersideofwriting/a/chaosverbpoem.htm

How good is your pronunciation?

[Tale]

I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't the kid for whom the advanced spelling and grammar class-of-one was created, who grew up into the type of editor who corrects other journalists, I'd be really confused by that, particularly if English was my second language. But I can't work out what it would be like, because I suck at mathematics and science.

[Der Helm]

Damm it. That comes to late.

A few minutes ago I gave a presentation about English pronunciation.

Old ,Middle and Early Modern English to be specific.

This woud have been a terrific example of the English language fucking with its spelling/pronunciation.

Damm you, Great Vowel Shift, damm you to hell. 

 

[stray]

I wasn't too confused, but I know this stuff drives foreigners nuts.

On the other hand, it's because of foreigners that English is so complex to begin with!  


edit: On a side note, there's a good TV show that shows up on the History channel occasionally.. simply called "The English Language". More interesting than it sounds.

[Jeff Kelly]

It's a nice little poem that even got me thinking about one or two things.
It's all over the place however so it must be thouroughly confusing to most people.

"Make my coat look
new, (ˈnü)
dear,
sew (ˈsō)
it!"

Good example. Most foreigners that have heard and read the word sew independently wouldn't even recognize that both ˈsō and sew are the same word.

"Made (ˈmād)
has not the sound of
bade (ˈbād)"

Does not compute. Merriam Webster seems to disagree with the poem writer

It's nice and a bit of a puzzler but not the be all and end all of grammatical excersies.

[NowhereMan]

That's because it's British English and bade and bad have the same pronunciation (unless I'm going mad ) Of course things like this always leave me thinking I've got it right but not 100% sure. I think there was one or two words that I really wasn't sure about but this would be an awesome poem for teaching an advanced lesson on pronunciation, especially bits like
But it is not hard to tell
Why it's pall, mall, but Pall Mall.

[Jeff Kelly]

That's because it's British English and bade and bad have the same pronunciation (unless I'm going mad ) Of course things like this always leave me thinking I've got it right but not 100% sure.

I think the poem would sound completely different if it was recited by an englishman, british canadian or american or even if it was read by someone from Essex or with a cockney accent.

[Der Helm]

That's because it's British English and bade and bad have the same pronunciation (unless I'm going mad ) Of course things like this always leave me thinking I've got it right but not 100% sure.

I think the poem would sound completely different if it was recited by an englishman, british canadian or american or even if it was read by someone from Essex or with a cockney accent.

We should get Endie to read it aloud and post it on youtube. 

[ezrast]

He cheated! Terpsichore and Melpomene are not even English.

Made me realize I didn't know how to pronounce a couple things, though. And I'm gonna have to incorporate "inveigle" into my working vocabulary.

[K9]

That's because it's British English and bade and bad have the same pronunciation (unless I'm going mad )

Bade is the past tense of bid, and isn't pronounced the same as bad; so I agree with Jeff Kelly. Bade and made use the same form of pronunciation, the author swung and missed there.

Gas, alas, and Arkansas.

This is not the fault of the British!

And I'm gonna have to incorporate "inveigle" into my working vocabulary.

I would incorporate it right after you dispose of 'gonna' 

[K9]

On a related note, some completely counter-intuitive surnames:

Beachamp
Caius
Featherstonehaugh
Marjoribanks
St. John
Woolfardisworthy

[Tale]

That's because it's British English and bade and bad have the same pronunciation (unless I'm going mad )

Bade is the past tense of bid, and isn't pronounced the same as bad; so I agree with Jeff Kelly. Bade and made use the same form of pronunciation, the author swung and missed there.

Actually, like he said, the British English pronunciation of bade is pretty much the same as bad.

[K9]

Bade has a long vowel sound and bad has a short vowel sound though; I don't know how to represent that phonetically but it's different; made and mad share the same difference in enunciation. If the poet was contrasting bade with bad, or made with mad then it would make sense. The pair as presented doesn't though.

Made has not the sound of bade

That's the line which caused the dispute.

[Der Helm]

Made and mad is exactly the same.

The a sound of made is articulated higher and more front than the a sound of mad. Maybe even diphtongized.

[NowhereMan]

Actually Oxford dictionary has the pronunciation listed as /bayd, bad/ so it's either/or. I'm guessing that's due to a US influence though maybe it's a /scon, scoan/ situation. I've never heard bade pronounced like made though, although it's hardly a common verb.

[Soln]

"pwn"  how should it be pronounced?


back in my DAoC days it was "own".  Agree?   Cartman and today's kids say "pown".

[NowhereMan]

I always thought of it was pown, pronouncing it without a p just seemed weird. But then suddenly I discovered I was the weird one for pronouncing it differently in my head from most other UO era people. I feel history will vindicate me.

[K9]

Made and mad is exactly the same.

The a sound of made is articulated higher and more front than the a sound of mad. Maybe even diphtongized.

Bad grammar on my behalf sorry, fixed it now.

"pwn"  how should it be pronounced?


back in my DAoC days it was "own".  Agree?   Cartman and today's kids say "pown".

I could never decide between 'own' or 'poon'.

[Trippy]

"pwn"  how should it be pronounced?


back in my DAoC days it was "own".  Agree?   Cartman and today's kids say "pown".

I never say it out load but in my head I say "pee own".

[CmdrSlack]

I could never decide between 'own' or 'poon'.

I have never had a hard time choosing poon.