Pronunciation (3)
Some quirks found in the pronunciation of modern English
Why it's hard to pronounce English
The verbs in English are a fright.
How can we learn to read and write?
Today we speak, but first we spoke;
Some taps leak, but never loke.
Today we write, but first we wrote;
We bite our tongues, but never bote.
Each day I teach, for years I taught,
And preachers preach, but never praught.
This tale I tell; this tale I told;
I smell the flowers, but never smold.
If knights still slay, as once they slew,
Then do we play, as once we plew?
If I still do as once I did,
Then do cows moo, as they once mid?
See 'Crazy English' (New York Pocket Books, 1990) by Richard Lederer for the complete poem
