POEM

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, streak, 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, topsails, aisles

Exiles, similes, reviles.

Transcription

dɪəɾəst kɾiːtʃə in kɾieiʃən

stʌdiːiŋ ɪŋlɪʃ prənʌnsiˈeiʃən

ai wil tiːtʃ juː in mai vɜːrs

saʊndz laik kɔːps kɔː hɔːs ənd wɜːs

ai wil kiːp juː suzi bizi

meik jǝr hed wið hiːt ɡɾəʊ diziː

tiə in ai jɔː dres jəl teə

kwiǝ feǝ siǝ hiə mai preə

prei kənsəʊl jǝr lʌviŋ pəʊət

meik mai kəʊt lʊk njuːw diə səʊ it

ʤʌst kəmpeə haːt biəd ənd hɜːd

daiz ənd daiət lɔːd and wɜːd

sɔːrd ənd swɔːrd ritein ənd britən

maind ðə lætə haʊ it iz ritən

meid həz nɒt ðə saʊnd əv bæd

sei sed pei leid bʌt nɒt plæd

naʊ ai ʃɔːli wil nɒt pleig ju

wið sʌtʃ wɜːdz əz veig ənd eig

bʌt biː keəfʊl haʊ ju spiːk

sei gʌʃ bʊʃ steik striːk breik bliːk

priːviəs preʃəs fʊkʃiə vaiə

resǝpi paip stʊnsei kwaiǝ

wəʊvən ʌvən haʊ ənd ləʊ

skript risiːts ʃuː pəʊim təʊ

hiə miː sei divɔid əv trikəri

dɔːtə laːftəˑr ǝn tepsikari

taifɔid miːzəlz tɒpsəl ailz

eksailz similiːz rivailz