OUR STRANGE LANGUAGE.
When the English tongue we speak, Why is " break " not rhymed with " freak" ? Will you tell me why it's tiue We all say " sew," but likewise " few," And the maker of a verse Cannot cap his " horse " with " worse " 9 " Beard " sounds 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 of " goose "—and yet of " choose." Think of " comb" and " tomb" and " bomb," " Doll " and "role," and " home" and "some." And since " pay " is rhymed with " say," Why not " paid " with " said," I pray ? We have " blood " and " food " and good " ; " Mould " is not pronounced like " could." Wherefore " done," but " gone" and " lone" ? Is there any reason known ? And, in short, it seems to me Sound and letters disagree.
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Bibliographic details
Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 131, 3 January 1903, Page 16
Word Count
145OUR STRANGE LANGUAGE. Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 131, 3 January 1903, Page 16
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