Can You Spot All the Homographs in These Sentences?

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SUMMARY

This forum discussion centers on the humorous complexities of English homographs, illustrated through a series of playful sentences. Participants share examples such as "The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert" and "The bandage was wound around the wound," showcasing the language's quirks. The conversation also touches on regional dialects, particularly Yorkshire expressions, and the challenges of English pronunciation for non-native speakers. Overall, the discussion highlights the intricacies of English language and its regional variations.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of homographs and their meanings.
  • Familiarity with English phonetics and pronunciation challenges.
  • Knowledge of regional dialects, specifically Yorkshire English.
  • Basic grasp of language humor and puns.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the concept of homographs in linguistics.
  • Explore English phonetics and common pronunciation pitfalls.
  • Study regional dialects of the UK, focusing on Yorkshire English.
  • Investigate the use of puns and wordplay in English literature.
USEFUL FOR

Language enthusiasts, linguists, educators, and anyone interested in the nuances of English language and its regional dialects.

  • #61
Brilliant!

Type in "it isn't in the tin"!

Hours of fun! We could make this into a quiz...
 
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  • #62
brewnog said:
Eeeeeee, tha'rra cheeky ol' bugger, tha nus. Tha'd better wetch what tha sez orrals ah'll belt thee one! Ah will, ah tell thee! Gee'or wiya messin lad, orrals yer in for a claatin.
I grieves me to admit that I had no trouble understanding that (unlike your 'song').
 
  • #63
matthyaouw said:
They saw fit to give him subtitles...
I've seen that done here with people from rural Ireland, English speaking people from Africa and the Indian subcontinent, and with Carribean people.
 
  • #64
Danger said:
I grieves me to admit that I had no trouble understanding that (unlike your 'song').

Well.
It roughly translates to:

Where have you been, since I last saw you?
On Ilkley Moor? WITHOUT A HAT?!

And so on.

Following verses ("tha's bin a-courten Mary Jane", "tha's bahn to cetch tha de'th o' cowd", "then we'shll av to bury thee", "then t'weerms'll cum'n eaat thee up" etc) tell the story of a man who goes out with his missus on a cold, windy moor. His friends tell him he's likely to die of cold, then need to be buried, then be eaten by worms, then have those worms eaten by ducks, then have those ducks eaten by his friends, all because he didn't wear a hat on Ilkley Moor.
 
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  • #65
matthyaouw said:
I can look rather fetching when I try :wink:
Have you been introduced to Smurf?

matthyaouw said:
And I understood every word of that song :D
Not something to be bragging about...:-p

matthyaouw said:
Is Yorkshire really that bad an accent? I was watching an American TV program the other day, and there was a man with a very mild Yorkshire accent. They saw fit to give him subtitles...
Are you kidding? They can't even understand us. Now if only more of them could read, subtitles might be effective.
 
  • #66
brewnog said:
Well.
It roughly translates to:

Where have you been, since I last saw you?
On Ilkley Moor? WITHOUT A HAT?!

And so on.

Following verses ("tha's bin a-courten Mary Jane", "tha's bahn to cetch tha de'th o' cowd", "then we'shll av to bury thee", "then t'weerms'll cum'n eaat thee up" etc) tell the story of a man who goes out with his missus on a cold, windy moor. His friends tell him he's likely to die of cold, then need to be buried, then be eaten by worms, then have those worms eaten by ducks, then have those ducks eaten by his friends, all because he didn't wear a hat on Ilkley Moor.
I'm SOOOOOO pleased that you posted this, I was never sure whether I'd made up the lyrics or not, I'm so glad they're real. 'Then worm's'll come and eat oop thee... On Illllkelllly Mooooor Bah T'aaaat...' Yay!
 
  • #67
Danger said:
Are you kidding? They can't even understand us. Now if only more of them could read, subtitles might be effective.
We can understand you perfectly well. The trouble is, we can't hold back from laughing long enough to catch a whole sentence.
 
  • #68
A friend of mine picked up a temp job at an office once where everyone was from Canada. They would go up to her and ask her to say things like 'house' 'about' and 'spaghetti' then laugh at the way she said them.
 
  • #69
Oi'll ave yew know me gramp was a Yorkshireman. Got the Dalesman 'til the day he died.
But, believe it or not, such accents are remnants of the older usages and can be considered a purer form of English. If you want to hear something that is even closer to the original Anglo-Saxon, go to Frisia.
 
  • #70
kleinjahr said:
If you want to hear something that is even closer to the original Anglo-Saxon, go to Frisia.
Where is Frisia?
 
  • #71
matthyaouw said:
Is Yorkshire really that bad an accent? I was watching an American TV program the other day, and there was a man with a very mild Yorkshire accent. They saw fit to give him subtitles...
:smile: I always laugh when they do that! I'll be watching, and someone's speaking perfectly fine English, but with a British or Scottish accent, and there are subtitles underneath!

brewnog said:
Although I don't really speak with that much of an accent, I've always found Yorkshire a pretty easy accent to understand. Just try and sound like a bit of a cretin, and you're half way there. Most other accents don't bother me too much either. But if you ever need to converse with a plasterer from Derbyshire, well tha ant gorra carrin ell's chance!
Just wait until you do that cross-country trip through the U.S.! Take the southern route (oh, and invite me along, because I want to watch you talking to someone there with a Yorkshire accent and see who is looking more confused about what's being said). :smile:

I can't believe I've missed this thread all day!

Here's my funny sentence for the thread:
Do does buck bucks?
 
  • #72
Moonbear said:
Do does buck bucks?
I'm quite sure there's something else they do with them. ;-p
 
  • #73
TheStatutoryApe said:
I'm quite sure there's something else they do with them. ;-p
Despite the fact that it rhymes, that wouldn't have quite fit with the theme of the thread, and I'm pretty sure it would have shown up as a row of asterisks. :smile: Good tongue twister to get people saying in a bar, or as a drinking game though (the version I can't write here). :biggrin:
 
  • #74
Moonbear said:
Here's my funny sentence for the thread:
Do does buck bucks?
Afsolutely.
 
  • #75
kleinjahr said:
Oi'll ave yew know me gramp was a Yorkshireman. Got the Dalesman 'til the day he died.

Ahhhh, the Dalesman. My favourite thing in the Dalesman is the "what is this?" page, much like the "what was it" thead which has recently been revived, but with more pictures.

But, believe it or not, such accents are remnants of the older usages and can be considered a purer form of English.

Indeed so, this is why I'm always quick to pounce on anyone who tries to tell me that a received pronunciation accent is more valid as a means of communication than Yorkshire (or whatever).
 
  • #76
brewnog said:
Indeed so, this is why I'm always quick to pounce on anyone who tries to tell me that a received pronunciation accent is more valid as a means of communication than Yorkshire (or whatever).

I have a Northern Midlands accent and teach in a very posh Independent school in the South East of England. The kids think my accent is very funny - especially when I say graph, path, plug, etc. They put extra 'r's in everything:

Me - Them
Graff - Grarph
baff - barff
Plug - plag
glass - glarss
cup - cap
tongue - tangue?

etc.

The weird thing is they just do not believe that 'they' can possibly have an accent - they talk normal and I talk odd!

ho hum... back to the Midlands soon for me I think.
 
  • #77
Adrian Baker said:
The weird thing is they just do not believe that 'they' can possibly have an accent - they talk normal and I talk odd!
Strictly speaking, they're right.

If you start in Maine and travel down the East coast of the US you encounter nothing but thick regional accents that morph slowly as you travel south ending in Florida.

As a kid, I had a pronounced NH accent. We all did, of course. A young, naive teacher came to our school from Baltimore, Maryland, and was shocked to find everyone in southern NH "mispronounced" just about everything. Thing is, her Baltimore accent was invisible to her, she never realized she was as guilty as we were.

At any rate, if you're "not from around these parts" you're the one with the accent, not the locals.
 
  • #78
zoobyshoe said:
Strictly speaking, they're right.

...At any rate, if you're "not from around these parts" you're the one with the accent, not the locals.


:cry: :cry:

now even t'internet diss's me...
 
  • #79
Adrian Baker said:
:cry: :cry:

now even t'internet diss's me...
Now, now. As they say dean undah :"No, worries, mate!"
 
  • #80
Danger said:
Have you been introduced to Smurf?

Yes, and I did what he's best known for long before him :P

Danger said:
Are you kidding? They can't even understand us. Now if only more of them could read, subtitles might be effective.

Was that directed at Americans or Yorkshire folk? *glare*
 
  • #81
Zooby, Frisia is on the North Sea coast of Europe, not sure if it is now a part of Holland or Germany. Basically it is where the Anglo-Saxons came from.

Brewnog, Ayup, the Dalesman was interesting. As a wee lad I used to try and translate the jokes and stories done in dialect.

Interesting book on the evolution of English is "The Journey of English" or maybe it was "The Voyage...". I believe they made one of those BBC miniseries out of it.