The English Language

A friend at work was trying to teach me a little Mandarin yesterday. Oh man! It's tough to learn a new language at %^&*@ years old! My mouth isn't used to making those kinds of sounds. Let's just say we had a lot of laughs and I hope I didn't offend him with some of my awful pronumciations.

It did get me thinking though of this great poem that I heard on the radio over 10 years ago. Still love it! Give it a try and see how you do. :o)

The English Language

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough;
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, thought 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
To say it right is quite a deed!

Watch out for meat and great and threat
They rhyme with suite and stright and debt
A moth is not a moth in mother
Nor both in bother, nor 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
Then look these up - goose and choose.

And cork and work, and cord and word
And font and front, and word and sword
And do and go, and wart and cart,
Come, come we've hardly made a start!

A dreadful language? Man Alive!
You mastered it when you were five!

A. Nonimous