Be Excellent To Each Other

So it's apparently World Nursery Rhyme Day on Friday, and my daughter's school is having a thing where they can dress up as a character from any nursery rhyme (not just classic ones, but new ones as well, even made up ones).

So, my daughter wants to go as a Tiger, and we couldn't find any decent ones on line, but I saw one that I thought started well, so I adapted it.

This is a link to the original: http://www.ac-clermont.fr/ia63/personne ... -Tiger.pdf

And here is my adaption:



I wanted to get in a line about teeth, but I couldn't think of anything to go with it (unless it's name is Keith or something)

I should be ok to use it, shouldn't I?

Malc

'Claw' and 'roar'?

I guess I'm posher than you...

Malc

There's really no pronunciation of those two words that makes them rhyme.

They work for me.

raw and roar are homophones

Malc

It's similar to why the pause button in lemmings is a set of paws.

Malc

Do you rhyme raw and door? Or jaw and soar? You're still wrong if you do but I'm curious now.

One ends in an 'r' sound and the other doesn't, their only homophones if you're missing syllables out.

Yes. Everyone does... Apart from you it seems.

I would normally say both words with one syllable, but I can equally imagine both of them with 2, with some guy from Bolton saying them.

Malc

You went out and asked everyone? That was really quick, Grim should totally hire you.

Any way, if you wrote that poem, would you be annoyed that some scrote on the internet thought he could do better and rewrote it for his daughter to dress up as a tiger (as she's seen too many Katy Perry videos)

Malc

Raw is r-or and roar is also r-or?

Only if I knew about it, and I'm never going to actually found out let's face it.

Self selecting sample, everyone so far asked does, until somebody else pipes up I'm sticking with my statement

Well... yes.

Hoe else would you do it? I'm genuinely struggling to imagine how you pronounce them now.

What Dave said, to both.

Mongrel Northern accent concurs. Claw and Roar rhyme well enough

I can't make them not rhyme.

Trying to describe it in a textual medium is likely to be an exercise in futility as any comparisons I draw with other words won't work as you'll be pronouncing those wrongly as well. The way I pronounce the 'aw' and 'oa' vowel sounds in the middle of claw and roar are different though. One is the hard vowel sound of 'o' and the other is, well, 'aw' (as in what you might say if you see a cute something).

That aside, the bit I really can't get with it malc saying the two words are homophones. One ends with an 'r' sound and the other doesn't; how can they possible sound exactly the same unless you're adding a non-existent 'r' to the end of claw or failing to pronounce the 'r' at the end of roar? Add/missing out entire letters can't be a regional thing surely?

oar, ore, or awe, aw, aur

all of those are homophones.

Malc

Yeah, Claw, Door, Roar, Fore, Bore, Raw (is ) War all rhyme. Anywun who sez they dunna, dunna spake the Quaynes English, duck.

I do.

When does a nursery rhyme stop being a poem?

Only if you ignore the lack of 'r' sound in some of them.

Welcome to the english language, many words have silentish letters. And vowel shifts. and silent letters that affect other letters. Which makes it much fun for non natives.

for me or = oar. both of which the r mainly signifies an extended and altered vowel sound rather than any of the r sounds.

Unless you say moo-uh instead of moor, then a lion would roo-uh

That's even more mind boggling that you don't think there a proper 'r' sound at the end of 'or'.

We all adore a Kia-Ora.

There was a very haughty, too good for the rest of us, posh lady swearing about all of the bloody Kia-Ora in the fridge today as there was nowhere to store (rhymes with roar) the soya milk!

Bad times.

Maybe she wasn't posh, maybe she was vegan or lactose intolerant?

I think vegans and lactose-intolerant can enjoy the fruity flavours of Kia-Ora.

And she's a very rude person, always.

I can only saw roar in one way. Bamba, why don't you upload an MP3 of you saying it because I can't get my head around it.

haha

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8346&hilit=rhyme

Malc

When it has a tune?

Lots of them have tunes though. Baa baa black sheep, Twinkle twinkle little star, Humpty Dumpty etc...

Unless they want a cup of tea, or cereal or something.

Horts.

As a slightly flippant answer, if there was, Japanese people would have problems pronouncing it.

They don't.

Thar.

First is normal, second is, um, not.

Well, they do because they miss the 'r' sound off the end which is rather my point. A point we're obviously not going you agree on.

Say round, orangutan, radish and so on, compare the to the 'r' at the end of or, they're quite différent.

ending r's after vowels have more of a modification on the vowel sound rather than a patticular r sound has been my general finding.

Although as a native English speaker, it's somehow hard to separate the rather strange spelling of words with the sounds.

Except they don't. I think I would know.

or perhaps the word awe also contains an r.

The alphabet should surely be changed so that the letters match the sounds.

Imagine how long it would take to relearn everything!

Malc

I don't know the correct terms, but it depends on where you pronounce the r from. R can be pronounced with the tongue against the roof of the mouth, like to roll your rs. Alternatively, and possible more comon, is to use the lips to approximate this, like you might with a w. I think the method Bamba is using is the former, Bamba, are you Scottish/Irish/Welsh at all? I think the latter is the lazy English way.

Its been done in many languages. To a limited extent it was done in america.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_orthography has some interesting background.

edit: to malc, obv.

I think awe and or are pronounced differently; you don't. You having Japanese friends has no bearing on that. I'm not sure why you think it would.

But do you think awe and oar are pronounced differently? And do I care? ONLY I NO.

Hang on. Bamba, are you Scottish?