The English language pronunciation thread

[Quackers]

How do you say cool Whip America?

 

[Mirc]

son - sun
knight - night
knit - nit
crews - cruise
white - wight

and a couple of hundred more homophones depending on your dialect. and this is just a tip of one single iceberg that float in the oceans of not-making-sense that is the English pronounciation.

He probably means that English spelling made a lot of sense back when its foundations were laid, since in that time, the language actually used to be pronounced in a more phonetic manner, closer to the way it was written. For example, the silent K in the "Kn" group used to be there, a while ago. Compare the English "knee" with the German "Knie". You do read the K in German, and it used to be read in English too, but the pronounciation underwent massive changes while the spelling stayed mostly the same, which is why today's English spelling is so screwed up. And that's how you end up with silent Ks like the one in "knee".

That is no excuse however, and I certainly don't think it makes it any better. It's still a screwed up spelling.

 

[Bill3000]

How do you say cool Whip America?

/kul wɪp/

 

[Arwon]

"Whens-day"