• Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    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
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      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.

    • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
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      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
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        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
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          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
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            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
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              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.