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  3. 'Read' and it's past tense are spelled the same. How should they be spelled?

'Read' and it's past tense are spelled the same. How should they be spelled?

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  • I [email protected]

    What about similar oddities in English?
    (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

    radix@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
    radix@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote last edited by
    #20

    Are reed and red taken?

    1 Reply Last reply
    1
    • moondoggie@lemmy.worldM [email protected]

      Pretty sure there’s a chemical element named “lead”

      _ This user is from outside of this forum
      _ This user is from outside of this forum
      [email protected]
      wrote last edited by
      #21

      I heard lead leads in weight.

      1 Reply Last reply
      1
      • I [email protected]

        What about similar oddities in English?
        (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

        pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.deP This user is from outside of this forum
        pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.deP This user is from outside of this forum
        [email protected]
        wrote last edited by
        #22

        Bought, caught, taught, fought, thought, sought, and wrought are all past tense verbs and all rhyme. The present tense forms are buy, catch, teach, fight, think, seek, and work, none of which rhyme.

        capuccino@lemmy.worldC R 2 Replies Last reply
        11
        • I [email protected]

          What about similar oddities in English?
          (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

          jeffool@lemmy.worldJ This user is from outside of this forum
          jeffool@lemmy.worldJ This user is from outside of this forum
          [email protected]
          wrote last edited by
          #23

          You should wrede a book they wrote, and after you've wred the book, write your own.

          1 Reply Last reply
          1
          • I [email protected]

            What about similar oddities in English?
            (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

            lgsp@feddit.itL This user is from outside of this forum
            lgsp@feddit.itL This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote last edited by [email protected]
            #24

            Words in which I can never remember h and g order:

            • length thought tough through

            Inconsistent pronunciation of "ae"

            • steak read bear bleak

            And many more...

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            0
            • G [email protected]

              It's because the people who set the rules for the English language, could barely speak it.

              The first guy to popularize the printing press was Dutch, so the guy who bought England's first one didn't know how it worked and neither did any English speaker

              So he hired a bunch of Dutch who knew how to operate it.

              And they got a bunch of handwritten books and were told to mass reproduce them.

              Sometimes it was a mistake in the original, sometimes the typesetter made a mistake. Sometimes the writer just disagreed with how it should be written, and sometimes even the typesetters who couldn't speak English made choices to change it

              No one gave a fuck about accuracy, it was about pumping out as many books as possible. Because just owning a book was a huge status symbol still from when they were handwritten and crazy expensive.

              But all those books eventually got read, and the people who learned to read them were very proud that they could read. So they insisted that all the random bullshit was intentional and had to be followed to a T by everyone forever.

              Most other languages had a noble class who kept it sensical, but for a long ass time only peasants spoke English, the wealthy in England all spoke French, cuz they were French.

              Anyways, that's why English doesn't make any sense. There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That's why pronunciation doesn't line up with spelling.

              kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
              kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
              [email protected]
              wrote last edited by
              #25

              This also occurred in the middle of the Great Vowel Shift, a period when spoken English pronunciation was changing significantly.

              G 1 Reply Last reply
              1
              • I [email protected]

                What about similar oddities in English?
                (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

                A This user is from outside of this forum
                A This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote last edited by
                #26

                Fast can mean moving with great speed or fixed securely in place (among other things).

                Z 1 Reply Last reply
                8
                • A [email protected]

                  Fast can mean moving with great speed or fixed securely in place (among other things).

                  Z This user is from outside of this forum
                  Z This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #27

                  The alarm went off so i turned it off.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  5
                  • moondoggie@lemmy.worldM [email protected]

                    Pretty sure there’s a chemical element named “lead”

                    L This user is from outside of this forum
                    L This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #28

                    And German has a word for it: Blei

                    G 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

                      Pretty sure the past tense of "lead" is actually "led."

                      Unless of course you're referring to the type of metal, lead, which I guess the meme isn't clear on.

                      C This user is from outside of this forum
                      C This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote last edited by
                      #29

                      I had to look this up.

                      And today I learned ALL my brit friends are spelling it wrong. That's more than two!

                      E 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK [email protected]

                        This also occurred in the middle of the Great Vowel Shift, a period when spoken English pronunciation was changing significantly.

                        G This user is from outside of this forum
                        G This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote last edited by
                        #30

                        Yep...

                        There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That’s why pronunciation doesn’t line up with spelling.

                        kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • G [email protected]

                          Yep...

                          There was also a natural thing happening where vowel pronunciation was changing. So when the typecasters solidified everything, it was already in a state of flux. That’s why pronunciation doesn’t line up with spelling.

                          kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
                          kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksK This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote last edited by
                          #31

                          I missed that, my bad.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

                            Pretty sure the past tense of "lead" is actually "led."

                            Unless of course you're referring to the type of metal, lead, which I guess the meme isn't clear on.

                            leadore@lemmy.worldL This user is from outside of this forum
                            leadore@lemmy.worldL This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote last edited by
                            #32

                            It's not saying anything about past tenses in that meme, it's just saying that each word has two different pronunciations that rhyme with the other.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            5
                            • I [email protected]

                              What about similar oddities in English?
                              (This question is inspired by this comic by https://www.exocomics.com/) (I couldn't find the link to the actual comic)

                              E This user is from outside of this forum
                              E This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #33

                              It's "its," by the way.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              9
                              • C [email protected]

                                I had to look this up.

                                And today I learned ALL my brit friends are spelling it wrong. That's more than two!

                                E This user is from outside of this forum
                                E This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote last edited by
                                #34

                                Brits aren't "spelling it wrong" any more than those in the US are. It's just cultural differences. Do you also claim Germans spell things wrong? Or the Chinese?

                                Y 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • snotflickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

                                  Pretty sure the past tense of "lead" is actually "led."

                                  Unless of course you're referring to the type of metal, lead, which I guess the meme isn't clear on.

                                  I This user is from outside of this forum
                                  I This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #35

                                  It's all about led vs lēd.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • L [email protected]

                                    And German has a word for it: Blei

                                    G This user is from outside of this forum
                                    G This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #36

                                    That would explain why a pencil, which contains a "lead" (actually a polymer or graphite now) is Bleistift

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    1
                                    • pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.deP [email protected]

                                      Bought, caught, taught, fought, thought, sought, and wrought are all past tense verbs and all rhyme. The present tense forms are buy, catch, teach, fight, think, seek, and work, none of which rhyme.

                                      capuccino@lemmy.worldC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      capuccino@lemmy.worldC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      [email protected]
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #37

                                      Spanish is awesome. All its verbs in their regular form do end in "-ar", "-er" and "-ir".

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • E [email protected]

                                        Brits aren't "spelling it wrong" any more than those in the US are. It's just cultural differences. Do you also claim Germans spell things wrong? Or the Chinese?

                                        Y This user is from outside of this forum
                                        Y This user is from outside of this forum
                                        [email protected]
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #38

                                        Also the language is called English. By default, the English are doing it right and anything else is wrong. Maybe better, the argument can go for decades longer, but if anyones wrong its everyone else.

                                        E 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.deP [email protected]

                                          Bought, caught, taught, fought, thought, sought, and wrought are all past tense verbs and all rhyme. The present tense forms are buy, catch, teach, fight, think, seek, and work, none of which rhyme.

                                          R This user is from outside of this forum
                                          R This user is from outside of this forum
                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #39

                                          https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/304867/the-wrought-wreaked-havoc-misunderstanding

                                          Today I learned...

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