The combination ough can be pronounced in fourteen different ways:

1. awe: thought, bought, fought, brought, ought, sought, nought, wrought

2. uff: enough, rough, tough, slough, Clough, chough

3. ooh: through, slough

4. oh: though, although, dough, doughnut, broughm, Ough, furlough, Greenough, thorough

5. off: cough, trough

6. ow: bough, plough, sough

7. ou: drought, doughty, Stoughton

8. uh: Scarborough, borough, thorough (alt), thoroughbred, Macdonough, Poughkeepsie

9. up: hiccoughed

10. oth: trough (alt)

11. ock: lough, hough

12. oc[h](aspirated): lough

13. ahf: Gough

14. og: Coughlin (also #5)

The following sentence contains them all:

Rough-coated(2), dough-faced(4), thoughtful(1) ploughman(6) John Gough(13) strode through(3) the streets of Loughborough(2+8); after falling into a slough(2) on Coughlin(14) road near the lough(12) (dry due to drought)(7), he coughed(5) and hiccoughed(9), then checked his horse's houghs(11)and washed up in a trough(10).

Thanks for that RDN. I must admit I couldn't remember all 9, and now 14, wow.

Thanks meadish for reminding me of that saying.

Thanks for that RDN. I must admit I couldn't remember all 9, and now 14, wow.

Thanks meadish for reminding me of that saying.

You must mean Snowleopard, Neeraram...?

For those who have troubles distinguishing the sounds naw nuu and ngaw nguu and cannot get the eua diphtong quite right, the Thai word for mermaid should be another hard nut to crack (not as common or necessary as 'sleepy' or 'sweat' though)... นางเงื่อก [M]naang [F]ngeuak ...

I always find words with a short vowel and a falling tone hard to pronounce. I'm OK when the vowel is long and the tone falling but there doesn't seem to be enough time when the vowel is short.

Now will you understand why I never let up on an opportunity to complain about the lack of order in the English spelling system??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't blame you! But I think you should practice the following poem every day until you get it right! :

When the English tongue we speak,

Why is "break" not rhymed with "freak"?

Will you tell me why it's true,

We say "sew" but likewise "few",

And the fashioner of verse

Cannot cap his "horse" with "worse"?

"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 also "choose";

Think of "tomb" and "bomb" and "comb",

"Doll" and "roll" and "some" and "home",

And since "pay" is rhymed with "say",

Why not "paid" and "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?

No in short, it seems to me

Sound and letters disagree.

- 'Our Strange Language' by E.L. Sabin

For those who have troubles distinguishing the sounds naw nuu and ngaw nguu and cannot get the eua diphtong quite right, the Thai word for mermaid should be another hard nut to crack (not as common or necessary as 'sleepy' or 'sweat' though)... นางเงื่อก  [M]naang [F]ngeuak ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Any relation to the nyak of Anacreon in Asimov's Foundation?

Edited to remove '<br /><br />' sequences - it looks like someone's meddling with the forum software!

Now will you understand why I never let up on an opportunity to complain about the lack of order in the English spelling system??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't blame you! But I think you should practice the following poem every day until you get it right! :

When the English tongue we speak,

Why is "break" not rhymed with "freak"?

Will you tell me why it's true,

We say "sew" but likewise "few",

And the fashioner of verse

Cannot cap his "horse" with "worse"?

"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 also "choose";

Think of "tomb" and "bomb" and "comb",

"Doll" and "roll" and "some" and "home",

And since "pay" is rhymed with "say",

Why not "paid" and "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?

No in short, it seems to me

Sound and letters disagree.

- 'Our Strange Language' by E.L. Sabin

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Brilliant.

เงาะ

I have problems with talking Thai being almost tone deaf i.e. can’s sing and I know it. Thai to me is a tonal language. My first wife had high Thai friends being all women, and was under the sentence of castration if I even tried to speak Thai in their company. I did pick up some of the Thai listening to them talk and as they were all female leant how a woman speaks. My wife knew this, the BITCH and didn’t tell me until one day a nephew asked me why I was talking like a woman. My Thai is what a class as ‘Taxi driver speak” I speak like a hick, but can talk my way into and out of trouble.

I have problems with talking Thai being almost tone deaf i.e. can’s sing and I know it. Thai to me is a tonal language. My first wife had high Thai friends being all women, and was under the sentence of castration if I even tried to speak Thai in their company. I did pick up some of the Thai listening to them talk and as they were all female leant how a woman speaks. My wife knew this, the BITCH and didn’t tell me until one day a nephew asked me why I was talking like a woman. My Thai is what a class as ‘Taxi driver speak” I speak like a hick, but can talk my way into and out of trouble.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I nearly had this problem after listening to mg g/f talk with her mother and friends. I wondered why they sometime said "Maak maak!", with the first "maak" going higher and higher pitch until nearly ultrasonic. Fortunately, I got some good advice here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15378

I always cant pronounce 7 perfectly. My Thai friends always laugh at me about it.

I always cant pronounce 7 perfectly. My Thai friends always laugh at me about it.

Se-Ven......hope that helps....

I always cant pronounce 7 perfectly. My Thai friends always laugh at me about it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Se-Ven......hope that helps....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(P.S. 7 = jed)

I always cant pronounce 7 perfectly. My Thai friends always laugh at me about it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Se-Ven......hope that helps....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(P.S. 7 = jed)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I feel I say 'jed'. But my friends dont think so. They think it's quite cute when I speak Thai.

I always cant pronounce 7 perfectly. My Thai friends always laugh at me about it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Se-Ven......hope that helps....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(P.S. 7 = jed)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I feel I say 'jed'. But my friends dont think so. They think it's quite cute when I speak Thai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe you say it like a Westerner? Do you let your tongue fall away from the roof of your mouth at the end of the word, so it sounds more like "jet"? Try to keep your tongue pressed against the roof of your mouth and don't let any air out, and see what they think then (Help from the usual Thai experts urgently required here, I feel Richard W where are you when we need you?)