B.E.D.A 2018: Day Ten

Hello again everyone, and welcome to part 10 of BEDA 2018.

Our language: Pronunciation

As part of my continued look at the English language, I wanted to look today at pronunciation.

Most regular languages have uniform rules when it comes to how to pronounce words which are usually very strict. They rarely deviate from what you expect, and this makes learning said languages much easier to learn.

English is not like this at all.

There are often multiple ways of pronouncing the same letters, and multiple sets of letters which can be pronounced the same way.

I think this is perhaps why, despite its global desirability as a language to learn, English is seen as one of the most difficult languages to learn. How on Earth can you learn a language if there are such complicated rules surrounding pronunciation? Below, I’ve put some examples of pronunciation problems in English.

PEAR rhymes with PAIR and not FEAR

ONE rhymes with FUN, not CONE, and is pronounced the same way as WON

TWO, TO, AND TOO are all pronounced the same

THERE, THEY’RE, AND THEIR

And just look at how many ways there are to pronounce ‘-ough’

TOUGH (rhymes with CUFF)

TROUGH and COUGH (rhyme with OFF)

THOROUGH and BOROUGH (pronounced urra)

BOUGH (rhymes with COW)

THROUGH (rhymes with NEW)

THOUGH (rhymes with GO)

BOUGHT (rhymes with COURT)

HICCOUGH (pronounced hick-up)

No wonder it can be such a struggle to learn this language of ours when there don’t seem to be any fixed rules on how words are meant to be said.

It is always a good idea to remember that everyone is good at something.

It doesn’t matter if it’s sport, art, languages, or anything else, there is something out there that each of us is talented in. We should always try to remember that just because others are not gifted or interested in the same subjects as us, it does not mean they have no talent. It simply means they have a gift in something else.

Don’t put people down because they can’t do what you can do. Praise them for what they can do instead.

SONGS OF 2008

Now it’s time to find out which two songs sit just outside of my top 40 tracks from 2008.

At 42, it’s Gabriella Cilmi, who was only 16 at the time this song became a worldwide smash. This is Sweet About Me.

At 41, only just outside the top 40, I have put The Ting Tings. This was their SECOND smash hit (the first one is yet to appear on this list) and I remember hearing this and singing along in the car ten years ago. Here is Shut Up and Let Me Go.

42	Gabriella Cilmi Sweet About Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvuyYj5ROmk
41	The Ting Tings Shut Up and Let Me Go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tolm-07if3c

My next post will be up tomorrow. Until then, keep positive, keep smiling, and above all, keep believing!