English Pronunciation and Other Tortures
Those of us raised with English as our first language tend to forget that we have the most difficult language in the world to learn. This is in no small part due to the mess we have made of pronunciation and the lack of any real rules to follow.
I've had a couple of these items posted on my site before, but I keep finding more..... so here is a page devoted to making fun of English. It is amazing that we can communicate at all!
Fun poem about English pronunciation.
(Hear me read the poem!)Vocalization Puzzles (a little difficult, but fun!)
"I hate English", a contribution from Bob Baumann
And for you really strange people out there (You know who you are!),
Here's a link to a collection of 338 Tongue Twisters,
in English, (but from Austria!) I double-dare you!FunTwisters.com has posted this collection of tongue twisters.
Jeff Berkeley of LifeSmith.com has posted a large list of similar material.
Here is an edited version.Howard L. Chace has written a book of common fairy tales and poems,
rearranged by "word/sound substitution", like the Vocalization Puzzles above.
Go here and try your luck at reading them!In another part of my site, I have a description of a curmudgeon,
which is what I have been called. The English it contains is a real test of
comprehension, culture, and vocabulary!Here's a funny collection of material for your advanced students to puzzle over --
It's great discussion fodder. Have fun with Play on Words.Even though the letters are jumbled in this paragraph,
most people have no trouble reading it!
If you have any questions, comments, or additions, you can send e-mail to ron(at)see.org