OUR QUEER LINGO

 

By Wilfried, an English teacher in Belgium,
August 30, 2010

Following up on Madeleine’s “Random Thoughts on Language.” Teaching English is not necessarily boring, but once in a while "tricky" ! Take a chance and read this poem aloud:

Our Queer Lingo, by Richard Tobin:

When the English tongue we speak
Why is BREAK not rhymed with FREAK
Will you not tell me why it's true
We say SEW but likewise FEW ?
And the maker of a 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 and DOSE and LOSE.
And think of GOOSE and yet of CHOOSE
Think of COMB and TOMB and BOMB?
DOLL and ROLL and HOME and SOME.

And since PAY is rhymed with SAY
Why not PAID with SAID I pray?
Think of BLOOD and FOOD and GOOD
MOULD is not pronounced as COULD.
Why DONE but GONE and LONE?
Is there any reason known?
To sum up all, it seems to me
Sounds and letters don't agree!

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