So you think you’ve got problems learning another language…

If you’re a native English speaker and think that learning a foreign language is difficult, spare a thought for those trying to get to grips with our pronunciation rules. For instance, the letters “ough” in a word might well cause some to scratch their heads in bafflement!

Imagine our overseas friends, in the early stages of learning English, being faced with “cough” in a piece of text; then at a later point they come across “enough”. Well, so far, so good – no real problems there either in recognising the slight difference in pronunciation, or during dictation.

But further on in their linguistic travels, consider what they might make of these words:

  • through
  • though/dough
  • bought/thought/ought
  • plough
  • rough/tough
  • trough

Hmmm.

Please help out a stranger in distress!