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Oh my brain: English Pronunciation by G. Nolst Trenite


Robin M
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I stumbled upon this pronunciation poem  this morning, and just had to share.  My mouth and brain are tired now.

 

 

"If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he’d prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud.

 

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.

I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.



English Pronunciation by G. Nolst Trenité

 

 

English Pronunciation by G. Nolst Trenité.   Here's the original with some explanation.

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I'll admit to being stumped by Melpomene. I've never heard of it. Also fe0ffer. Is that a typo?

 

No, Feoffer isn't a typo. According to the dictionary it's a middle english word which means to invest with a fief or fee.

 

Melpomene is the muse of tragedy.

 

I had to look up a few things myself.

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No, Feoffer isn't a typo. According to the dictionary it's a middle english word which means to invest with a fief or fee.

 

Melpomene is the muse of tragedy.

 

I had to look up a few things myself.

Okay, the way I see it on my iPad is f-e-0 (as in zero)-f-f-e-r. As opposed to the way it looks in the post I quoted. That is why I asked it it was a typo.

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