The joys of English pronunciation

[emsr2d2]

http://www.tickld.com/x/90-of-people-cant-pronounce-this-whole-poem

:-D

 

[Roman55]

I am familiar with this poem.

I don't know where it originated but I came across it last year on a different web site with exactly the same introductory and final comments.

I enjoy it a lot although I have some reservations about it. I honestly believe that far less than 90% of native English speakers could correctly pronounce every word. This is due in part to the inclusion of a number of characters from Greek mythology and a few words verging on the obsolete, not to mention those with more than one accepted pronunciation.

Another problem with it is the fact that not all native English speakers speak with the same accent. I speak RP and I imagine that the rhymes work best with that form of pronunciation, but perhaps that's not so.

Nevertheless, anyone with an education should be able to manage most of it, and it is a lot of fun.

 

[emsr2d2]

I honestly believe that far less than 90% of native English speakers could correctly pronounce every word.

I agree that far fewer than 90% of native English speakers could pronounce all these words, but the piece says:

"If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world."

So it's stating that 90% of native English speakers probably can't pronounce all of them correctly and I agree with that. Of course, you're right that regional variations in pronunciation make a difference to some of the words.

It is fun and it certainly shows how illogical English pronunciation is for learners.

 

[Roman55]

I see what you mean. I think I totally misread that sentence.

As for your gentle reminder about less and fewer, I had in mind the percentage, not the number of people, hence the use of less.