144

'Choose' rhymes with 'lose'? I mean c'mon, someone did that shit on purpose 👀

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 15 points 2 days ago

They never did. Their spelling, meaning, and pronunciation are the same as they have always been.

[-] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 41 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

The bigger problem is that lose should rhyme with pose or close. Loose is fine.

[-] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago

Don't get me started on ough and ead.

The lead soldier kneaded dough in the bough brush while they read the book that they previously read while taking a furlough in the rough.

I read this and all I could think of was "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo"

[-] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

How can the soldier knead anything if they're made of lead?

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (43 replies)
[-] vaper@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Loose rhymes with noose. I can't think of a word that's spelled and pronounced like lose so you have me there.

choose lose cruise booze

all rhyme lol

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] jimmy90@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

english is a very silly language that's evolved so you can do almost anything with it

it's a risky strat but it seems to have worked

[-] emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 2 days ago

I mean yeah 'loose' could probably be pronounced like 'choose' and it would still make sense, but it absolutely wouldnt make sense for 'lose' to be pronounced like 'moose' or 'goose'. Im not sure what you even mean when you say they switched meanings either because thats just false.

[-] ohwhatfollyisman@lemmy.world 18 points 3 days ago

they are very different in my mind. perhaps because i first came across them in their respective contexts through reading.

even when speaking, to me, lose rhymes with booze and loose rhymes with goose.

this has never been a problem for me, personally.

[-] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 7 points 3 days ago

And here's me, another non-native speaker, just learning that booze doesn't rhyme with goose.

[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

So did you think "goose" was pronounced like "choose?" Understandable.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] corvett@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] NorthWestWind@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

May as well combine words with the same pronunciation into one word and call it Simplified English (/s)

Honestly tho, this is one of the features of Simplified Chinese, which created the infamous "fuck vegetables" (干菜类).

It's meant to say "dried vegetables" (乾菜類 in TC), but 乾→干. Meanwhile, there exists 幹→干 as well, which means "fuck".

fuck vegetables

[-] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago

So this is where I find cucumber?

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] db2@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

They didn't, except among the ignorant and autocorrect.

[-] cholesterol@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 days ago

It's a miracle I know it, and having to teach someone how to read and spell was an eye opener for me trying to explain "this is like this except for this one word because... Reasons and sometimes there's a variation like this because...reasons" so many times.

[-] absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 8 points 2 days ago

Agreed, I am teaching my second son to read.

I am having the same conversations as when I taught my first to read.

"ok, this word is a 'sight word' because it doesn't make the sounds you expect. It says won, but it looks like it says on-e"

[-] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago

Mostly the "reasons" just boil down to etymology. We spell things the way the languages we stole them from spelled them.

[-] teft@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Having to explain to my spanish speaking friends why an english word is spelled one way but pronounced another entirely different way gave me the same experience. So many times i have to tell them: “i don’t know english is just weird.”

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] can@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 days ago

What about the words that are only different in tone.

Content and content

[-] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

It is read like lead, not read like lead.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] over_clox@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

There's ~~too~~ ~~to~~ two different ways to pronounce and spell many words.

Fuck, that's three!

Steady up over ~~their~~ ~~they're~~ there.

[-] Badland9085@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago

Those three sound completely different to me, as far as how I’ve been pronouncing them goes. “Their” doesn’t have the extra lagging e sound (as in the e in err) in “there” where I curl my tongue upward at the end. “They’re” preserves the ey sound in “they”, just concatenated with an r as in err sound.

When I say, “They’re there,” people can make out what I’m saying, though as more people seem to tell me that these are just homophones, maybe they’ve just been relying on context.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Jerb322@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

Trust me, it is equally frustrating for most Americans...or almost, anyway.

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

English is idiosyncratic as hell. Didn’t someone famous call it “not a language but 3 languages in an overcoat.”

Adding to this specific instance is that even native speakers spell things wrong. They loose their keys, etc.

[-] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago

Are you familiar with “The Chaos” by Gerard Nolst Trenité?

Deep breath:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chaos

[-] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 6 points 2 days ago

I believe the generally accepted scientific term for the English language is "clusterfuck".

load more comments (5 replies)
[-] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Wait, if they swapped meanings and then swapped spellings then doesn't that mean they're the same as before?

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 2 points 2 days ago

Grrr! English strikes again!

[-] sepi@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago

Lose lips think chips

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2024
144 points (90.0% liked)

Showerthoughts

29525 readers
518 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. Avoid politics
    • 3.1) NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
    • 3.2) Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
    • 3.3) Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS