Why isn't comb pronounced like bomb? And other English Language Blunders...

Maybe it was Gallagher, I woulda sworn it was Carlin. It went something like this:

Off; O F F.
Cough; C O F F? No! C O U G H.
Tough; T O U G H.
Buff; B O U G H? No! B U F F.

After about 2 minutes of inconsistencies, somehow it ended up looping back around to to the beginning.

I was coming to post that. How does ghoti=fish?

Yesterday, I saw yet another florist with a sign advertising “bokays,” and contemplated the word bouquet for a few seconds. In American English, bouquet is pronounced “bo-kay,” just like croquet is pronounced “cro-kay.” However, briquet, as in charcoal, is pronounced “bri-keht.”

Go figure.

Hmmm this post and all of its replies really intrigue me :slight_smile: I love English…but there are still those senseless things about it that confuse me. Once in an English class, a friend of mine asked why there are so many different rules and things we should know about the English language…My teacher responded with “There just are. Learn them. Thats all I can tell you.” :slight_smile:

Also…Is it masseusi or masseuses? Porpoisi or porpoises? sigh

Well, the “gh” is pronounced “f” like in “tough.”

I don’t remember what the “o” is.

The “ti” is pronounced “sh” like in “tuition” (tuishon)

‘o’ is pronounced like “o” in women (wimen).

WARNING

Do not try to make logical sense out of English spelling or pronunciation. This way lies madness!!

This is why I love English. It’s like Xtreme Linguistics.

What I want to know is, why don’t Americans spell “our” “or”?

I like these linguistic things in English…

F_X

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

::Ducks and Runs::

Because it’s not pronounced anything like that?

I mean, I’ve heard it pronounced “ow-er” (rhymes with “shower”), and I’ve heard it pronounced “are,” but I’ve never heard it pronounced “or.”