It's a pity that English is not phonetic! In
some languages, you can look at a word and know immediately how to
pronounce it. But in English you need to be a little more
careful.
Take the letters "ough", for example. They occur in
many words, but they do not always sound the same.
1. though (like o
in go)
2. through (like oo in too)
3. cough (like off in
offer)
4. rough (like uff in suffer)
5. plough (like ow in
flower)
6. ought (like aw in saw)
7. borough (like a in
above)
So how do you know the pronunciation of a word?
Well, fortunately "ough" is an extreme example. English words are not
always that difficult. But in general, when you learn a new word, you should
also make sure you know its pronunciation. If you do not have a teacher or
someone to say the word for you, you can look in a dictionary. All
good dictionaries give the pronunciation for each word, often with special
symbols. So it's a good idea to look at your dictionary carefully and learn
the pronunciation symbols. After that, you'll always be able to find the
pronunciation of any word, easily. Try it with the 7 "ough" words
above.
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