Dearest creature in creation.

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,

So shall I! Oh, 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's written).

Made has not the sound of bade,

Say said, pay-paid, laid, but plaid.

Now I surely will not plague you

With such words as vague and ague,

But be careful how you speak,

Say break, steak, but bleak and streak.

Previous, precious, fuchsia, via,

Pipe, snipe, recipe and choir,

Cloven, oven, how and low,

Script, receipt, shoe, poem, toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery:

Daughter, laughter and Terpsichore,

Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles.

Exiles, similes, reviles.

Wholly, holly, signal, signing.

Thames, examining, combining

Scholar, vicar, and cigar,

Solar, mica, war, and far.

From "desire": desirable--admirable from "admire."

Lumber, plumber, bier, but brier.

Chatham, brougham, renown, but known.

Knowledge, done, but gone and tone,

One, anemone. Balmoral.

Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel,

Gertrude, German, wind, and mind.

Scene, Melpomene, mankind,

Tortoise, turquoise, chamois-leather,

Reading, reading, heathen, heather.

This phonetic labyrinth

Gives moss, gross, brook, brooch, ninth, plinth.

Billet does not end like ballet;

Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet;

Blood and flood are not like food,

Nor is mould like should and would.

Banquet is not nearly parquet,

Which is said to rime with khaki

Discount, Viscount, load, and broad.

Toward, to forward, to reward.

Right! Your pronunciation's O.K.

Transcription

dɪəɾəst kɾi:tʃə in kɾieiʃən

stʌdi:iŋ ɪŋlɪʃ prənʊnsieiʃən

ai wil ti:tʃ ju: in mai vɜːs

saʊnz laik kɔːps kɔː hɔːs ənd wɜːs

ai wil ki:p ju: suzi bizi

meik jɔː hed wið hi:t ɡɾəʊ dizi:

tiə in ai jɔː dres jəl teə

kwiə feə siə hiə mai preə

prei kənsəʊl jɔː lʌviŋ pəʊət

meik mai kəʊt lʊk nju:w diə səʊ(w) it

ʤʌst kəmpeə ha:t biəd ənd hɜːd

daiz ənd daiət lɔːd and wɜːd

sɔːd ənd swɔːd 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 eigju

bʌt bi: keəfʊl haʊ ju spi:k

sei gʌʃ bʊʃ steik stri:k breik bli:k

pri:viəs preʃəs fʊkʃiə vaiə

resipi: paip stʊnsei kwaiə

wəʊvən ʌvən haʊ ənd ləʊ

skript risi:ts ʃu: pəʊim təʊ

hiə mi: sei divɔid əv trikəri

dɔːtə la:ftə:nd tepsikari

taifɔid mi:zəlz tɒpsəl ailz

eksailz simili:z rivailz

həʊli hɒli signəl sainiŋ

seim iksæminiŋ bʌt mainiŋ

skɒlə vikə bʌt siga:

səʊlə maikə wɔː(r) ənd fa:

frəm dizaiə dəzairəb(ə)l

ədmaiɾəb(ə)l frəm ədmaiə

lʌɱbə plʌmə biə bʌt briər

tɒpʃəm brau(w)əm rinaʊn bʌt nəʊn

nɒliʤ dʌn ləʊn gɒn nʌn təʊn

wʌn ænemoni bælmɒrəl

kitʃin litʃən lɔːndri lɒrəl

gɜːtru:d ʤɜːmən wind ənd maind

si:n melpɒməni mænkaind

tɔːtəs tɜːkwɔiz ʃæmwʌ leðə

ri:diŋ rediŋ hi:ðən heðə

ðis fənetik læbərinθ

givz mɒs grəʊz brʊk brəʊtʃ nainθ plinθ

bilet dʌz nɒt end laik balei

bu:kei wɒlit mælit ʃælei

blʌd ənd flʌd a: nɒt laik wʊd

nɔː(r) iz məʊld laik ʃʊd ənd kud

bænkwit iz nɒt nɪɘli: pa:kei

witʃ dʌzənt igsækli raim wið ka:ki

diskaʊnt viskaʊnt ləʊd ənd brɔːd

təwə:dz tə fɔːwəd tə riwɔːd

rikəʃeid ənd krɒtʃətiŋ krəʊkei

rait jɔː prənʊnsieiʃənz əʊ kei