JMM: The written and spoken language are both parts of the English language as a whole. ??
is it difficult to speak English?
<= Sander Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:18 pm GMT
Ben,
=>The main thing that makes English quite difficult is that it is one of the most irregular languages EVER!!!!<=
English irregular?
bend - bent - bent
breed - bred - bred
build - built - built
Wow how terribly irregular !Not. =>
drink - drank - drunk
stink - stank - stunk
think - ? - ?
Sorry, but I'd call it irregular.
Ben,
=>The main thing that makes English quite difficult is that it is one of the most irregular languages EVER!!!!<=
English irregular?
bend - bent - bent
breed - bred - bred
build - built - built
Wow how terribly irregular !Not. =>
drink - drank - drunk
stink - stank - stunk
think - ? - ?
Sorry, but I'd call it irregular.
=>What it proves is, that the pronounciation of this 'ough' ending is VERY irregular<=
How can it be irregular if EVERYBODY (according to you) pronounces them them the same? (I don't by the way)
How can it be irregular if EVERYBODY (according to you) pronounces them them the same? (I don't by the way)
Cro magnon, can give me like, oh I don't know, another 15 of those verbs? With the vowel changing every every time? Like in;
stink - stank - stunk
?
stink - stank - stunk
?
<<How can it be irregular if EVERYBODY (according to you) pronounces them them the same? (I don't by the way) >>
He means that every (native) speaker of English pronounces 'through' as 'throo', 'cough' as 'kof', etc, not that the pronunciation of 'ough' is the same in every word.
He means that every (native) speaker of English pronounces 'through' as 'throo', 'cough' as 'kof', etc, not that the pronunciation of 'ough' is the same in every word.
=>He means that every (native) speaker of English pronounces 'through' as 'throo', 'cough' as 'kof', etc,<=
Do you pronounce them this way?! And *lol* for that matter does every native speaker? /:-)
Do you pronounce them this way?! And *lol* for that matter does every native speaker? /:-)
<<Do you pronounce them this way?! And *lol* for that matter does every native speaker? /:-) >>
First question: yes; second question: I wouldn't dare to speak for every native English speaker! :-)
First question: yes; second question: I wouldn't dare to speak for every native English speaker! :-)
=>I wouldn't dare to speak for every native English speaker! :-) <=
That's my girl ;-)
That's my girl ;-)
Finally ;) LOL.
Sander, I'm intrigued, how would you pronounce the words I listed? Just interested.
Sander, I'm intrigued, how would you pronounce the words I listed? Just interested.
Ben,
=>Sander, I'm intrigued, how would you pronounce the words I listed? Just interested. <=
trough = trouh
through = throeh
though = thow
true = throe
Slough = slauw
=>Sander, I'm intrigued, how would you pronounce the words I listed? Just interested. <=
trough = trouh
through = throeh
though = thow
true = throe
Slough = slauw
I would rephrase the question to "Is it difficult to learn how to speak English?". In this case, I would say Yes.
The problem with English is that it is not a phonetic language, which means that the different sounds that is has do not match a limited set of characters to represent such sounds.
The problem arises when you start reading or when you learn the language and you try to find a specific sound that will always be used with a specific character or group of characters.
In a previous post you can see a clear example of this phenomenon:
tough
trough
though
through
The "ou" diphthong in each word has a different phoneme (sound) associated.
Another example would be the diphthong "ea":
break
heart
learn
heat
lead (the metal)
In this case, the diphthong adopts 5 different sounds!!!
Even worse, some words have to be pronounced differently depending on its meaning. "Lead" is pronounced "leed" (like the spanish "i" sound) when it's the verb; but "lead", the metal, is pronounced "led" (like the "e" in "get").
You don't face this kind of problem with other languages like Spanish or Italian, where you learn the sound of each letter (for some of them two sounds) and that's about it.
In those languages if you learn the sounds you will not have problem wondering "how the hell do I pronounce this word??".
In English, it is always a good idea check a dictionary.
Regards
The problem with English is that it is not a phonetic language, which means that the different sounds that is has do not match a limited set of characters to represent such sounds.
The problem arises when you start reading or when you learn the language and you try to find a specific sound that will always be used with a specific character or group of characters.
In a previous post you can see a clear example of this phenomenon:
tough
trough
though
through
The "ou" diphthong in each word has a different phoneme (sound) associated.
Another example would be the diphthong "ea":
break
heart
learn
heat
lead (the metal)
In this case, the diphthong adopts 5 different sounds!!!
Even worse, some words have to be pronounced differently depending on its meaning. "Lead" is pronounced "leed" (like the spanish "i" sound) when it's the verb; but "lead", the metal, is pronounced "led" (like the "e" in "get").
You don't face this kind of problem with other languages like Spanish or Italian, where you learn the sound of each letter (for some of them two sounds) and that's about it.
In those languages if you learn the sounds you will not have problem wondering "how the hell do I pronounce this word??".
In English, it is always a good idea check a dictionary.
Regards