The Great Vowel Shift. English writing was sensible in the early 14th century around the time of Chaucer, but then shit got out of whack speaking-wise and the writing system was never adjusted to reconcile the difference. So you can blame the Black Death I guess.
The last point resonates with me! 😭 all other European languages are actually write-as-you-speak. Why, English, why???
NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 19 hours ago
Eq0@literature.cafe 19 hours ago
It’s not only vowels, but consonants disappearing or just having a different flavor of sounds in each word. Like word, sword, swan…
FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 18 hours ago
Danish has entered the chat. They don’t pronounce anything the way it’s written either. And French consists of 80 percent silent letters or thereabouts. It’s not just English in Europe.
Eq0@literature.cafe 18 hours ago
I don’t know Danish, but French is at least consistent in what is pronounced and what is not. So seeing a word will tell you how to pronounce it even if it’s the first time you encounter it.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Incorrect
Eq0@literature.cafe 16 hours ago
Can you give me an example?