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Originally posted by darvlayall languages evolve during time, the written form just slower than the spoken form. so in a couple of hundred years the situation is like in french, in which almost nothing is pronounced as it's written. in languages with relatively new ortography, like finnish, the written form is still very close to the pronunciation.
The word 'compost' is pronounced in the UK with short 'o' sounds, as in 'lost', not with a long 'o' sound, as in 'host', 'most' or, [b]'post'. Why the hell is that?
Do you go to the post office or the post office?
Someone please, in the NAME OF GOD, tell me why you pronounce it 'compost'. I'm sure there's a good reason, I just haven't heard it yet.[/b]
and it's not a long 'o' you have there, but the diphthong 'ou'. a long 'o' would be 'oo', like in 'forced'.
if the same words would finnish words, they'd be:
kompost (compost)
lost (lost)
poust (post)
moust (most)
houst (host)
and 'foost' (forced).
so, to make long story short, with languages like english & french you just have to know. there's some continuity, but also a huge amount of exceptions.
Originally posted by wormwoodInteresting. Sounding these words out, I can't hear much of a difference between the 'ou' sound and the 'oo' sound. However that could just be my thick Korean accent getting in the way.
all languages evolve during time, the written form just slower than the spoken form. so in a couple of hundred years the situation is like in french, in which almost nothing is pronounced as it's written. in languages with relatively new ortography, like finnish, the written form is still very close to the pronunciation.
and it's not a long 'o' you have ...[text shortened]... )
lost (lost)
poust (post)
moust (most)
houst (host)
and 'foost' (forced).
Originally posted by darvlayBecause there are over forty sounds in English but only twenty-six letters to represent them, and that's a prime example of it.
The word 'compost' is pronounced in the UK with short 'o' sounds, as in 'lost', not with a long 'o' sound, as in 'host', 'most' or, [b]'post'. Why the hell is that?
Do you go to the post office or the post office?
Someone please, in the NAME OF GOD, tell me why you pronounce it 'compost'. I'm sure there's a good reason, I just haven't heard it yet.[/b]
Originally posted by darvlayhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/c/c0534300.html
The word 'compost' is pronounced in the UK with short 'o' sounds, as in 'lost', not with a long 'o' sound, as in 'host', 'most' or, [b]'post'. Why the hell is that?
Do you go to the post office or the post office?
Someone please, in the NAME OF GOD, tell me why you pronounce it 'compost'. I'm sure there's a good reason, I just haven't heard it yet.[/b]
i've never heard it pronounced as com-post but there it is --- strange 🙄
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Originally posted by darvlayEnglish is one of the most 'single instances of a rule' kind of language there is, stop worrying about it and enjoy the richness. Pronunciation Nazi!
The word 'compost' is pronounced in the UK with short 'o' sounds, as in 'lost', not with a long 'o' sound, as in 'host', 'most' or, [b]'post'. Why the hell is that?
Do you go to the post office or the post office?
Someone please, in the NAME OF GOD, tell me why you pronounce it 'compost'. I'm sure there's a good reason, I just haven't heard it yet.[/b]
Originally posted by darvlaywere you born in korea? because in that case it might be almost impossible for you to hear the difference between 'oo' and 'ou'. that is, if korean doesn't have both. that kind of things are almost impossible to learn after early childhood. which is also the reason why the japanese have huge problems with 'l' and the chinese with 'r'. (the 'r' I'm talking about is not the soft english 'r', which chinese do have, but the strong hard 'r' you hear from the russians, finns, spanish, japanese etc.)
Interesting. Sounding these words out, I can't hear much of a difference between the 'ou' sound and the 'oo' sound. However that could just be my thick Korean accent getting in the way.
Originally posted by dottewellYou should care, you heartless bastard.
You know what? I have no idea. I have no idea what my point was. I think it was that the word is not simply a compooound of "com" and "post".
But it probably is, in some way. I'm not sure, and I'm not sure I care.