Dearest Creature in creation

studying English pronunciation,

I will teach you in my verse

Sounds like corpse, corps, horse and worse.

I will keep you, Susy, busy,

Make your head with heat grow dizzy;

Tear in eye your dress you'll tear;

Queer, fair seer, hear my prayer.

Pray, console your loving poet,

Make my coat look new, dear sew it!

Just compare heart, beard and heard,

Dies and diet, Lord and word,

Sword and sward, retain and Britain

(Mind the latter how it is written);

Made has not the sound of bade,

Say, said, pay, laid but not plaid.

Now I surely will not plague you

With such words as vague and ague,

But be careful how you speak,

Say gush, bush, steak, steak, break, bleak,

Previous, precious, fuchsia, via,

Recipe, pipe, studding-sail, choir,

Woven, oven, how and low,

Script, receipts, shoe, poem, toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,

Daughter, laughter, and terpsichore

Typhoid, measles, topsail, aisles

Exiles, similes, reviles,

'dɪərɪst 'kri:tʃər ɪn kri:'eɪʃən

'stʌdɪŋ ‘ɪŋglɪʃ prə'nʌnsɪ'eɪʃən

aɪ wɪl ti:tʃ ju: ɪn maɪ vɜ:s

saUndz laɪk kɔ:ps kɔ:r hɔ:rs ən wɜ:rs

aɪ wɪl kɪp ju: sʊzi: 'bɪzi:

meɪk jər hed wɪθ hi:t grəʊ ‘dɪzi

tɪər ɪn aɪ jər dres ju:l teər

kwɪər feəsɪər hɪər maɪ preər

preɪ kən'səʊl jUər 'lʌvɪŋ ‘pəʊɪt

meɪk maɪ kəʊt lʊk nju: dɪər səʊ ɪt

dʒʌst kəm'pər hɑ:t bɪəd ən hərd

daɪz ən 'daɪət lɔ:d ənd wɜ:rd

sɔ:d ən swɔ:d rə'teɪn ənd 'brɪtən

maɪnd ðə ‘lætə haʊ ɪt ɪz 'rɪtən

meɪd hæz nɒt ðə saUnd əv bæd

seɪ sed peɪ leɪd bʌt nɒt plæd

naʊ aɪ 'ʃʊəlɪ wɪl nɒt pleɪg ju:

wɪð sʌtʃ wɜ:dz æz veg ənd ‘eɪgju:

bʌt bi 'kerfəl haʊ ju: spi:k

seɪ gʌʃ bʊʃ steɪk stri:k breɪk bli:k

'pri:vɪəs ‘preʃəs 'fju:ʃə vaɪə

'resɪpɪ paɪp stənzəl 'kwaɪə

'wɒvən 'əvən haʊ ən ləʊ

skrɪpt rɪ'si:tz ʃu: 'pəʊəm təʊ

hɪər mɪ seɪ dɪ’vɔɪd əv 'trɪkəri

'dɔ:tər 'læftər ən tɜ:p’sɪkəri:

'taɪfɔɪd ‘mi:zlz 'tʌp'sel aɪlz

'eksaɪlz 'sɪməlɪz rɪ'vaɪlz