T O P I C ��� R E V I E W
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targetemployee
Member # 217
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posted
Last Monday, the teacher I have for Business English 101 asked the students in her class to translate a word. She said this word is real and this is how the word is spelled. The word is "Ghoupteibtough".After a very frustrating week, I learned the word is of the Shavian language from another business instructor at the college I attend. This is a fictional language created at the behest of G.B. Shaw in 1950. The language is phoenetic. I have grown weary of this exercise, and I just want the answer. What is the definition of this word? Thank you. -Colin
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TSN
Member # 31
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posted
Weird. I was just talking to a friend of mine about this tonight.George Bernard Shaw pointed out the silliness of English spelling w/ the following famous example: "fish" can be spelled "ghoti". "Gh" makes an 'f' sound in such words as "cough" and "enough". "O" makes a short 'i' sound in "women". "Ti" makes an "sh" sound in word ending w/ "-tion". So, "gh" + 'o' + "ti" = 'f' + 'i' +"sh". That said, w/ a little work, I found that "ghoupteibtough" is as follows: GH < hiccouGH == 'p' OU < thOUgh == 'o' PT < PTomaine == 't' EI < nEIgh == 'a' BT < deBT == 't' OUGH < thOUGH == 'o' So, "ghoupteibtough" == "potato". Although the site I found this at shows it spelled "ghoughpteighbteau", derived from "hiccouGH", thOUGH", "PTomaine", "nEIGH", "deBT", and "burEAU". This version seems to make more sense to me...
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Michael_T
Member # 144
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posted
Oh my god... my 11th grade English teacher asked my class for a week on what does GHOTI mean. We kept on saying it's the mob guy from New York City, or that it means Get Hot Oversexed Titillation Implants- she basically went nuts that week.
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The Red Admiral
Member # 602
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posted
For these very reasons English can be a nightmare to learn for speakers of other languages. I'm so grateful I grew up in an English speaking country.
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Bernd
Member # 6
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posted
My English teacher asked us to pronounce "GHOTI" many years ago. When he revealed the surprising solution I objected that the pronounciation as "FISH" was anything but consequent because "GH" is only possible to be pronounced like "F" if there's "OU" in front of it, "women" is a singularity, and "TI" is only "SH" if there's a vowel following. Aside from a couple of words that are really strange, English is rather easy to pronounce although there are no real rules.
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Bernd
Member # 6
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posted
-Double post removed-[ August 25, 2001: Message edited by: Bernd ]
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The Red Admiral
Member # 602
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posted
Yes I see that, but there are so many variables and strange inconsistencies that it is this which makes it difficult. Whereas 'GH' can be 'F' when following 'OU', it can also be so when followed by 'AU' as in 'LAUGH', although I do believe that to be the exception. It can also be silent as in 'THOUGH', 'HIGH' 'WEIGH' and 'DOUGH' etc.
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Nimrod
Member # 205
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posted
The p in hiccough must be considered very rare since the original word must've hinted at 'cough', as a hiccough is a variation of a cough. Duuh.
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targetemployee
Member # 217
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posted
Thanks, guys, for the help.
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Aethelwer
Member # 36
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posted
Shavian is an orthography (with a flawed premise), not a language.I agree with much of what Bernd said.
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targetemployee
Member # 217
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posted
I agree that Shavian is not a language. I have cause to place this language in a box I name fictional construct. There are many other languages in this box-Esperanto, Ebonics, and Klingonese.
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Da_bang80
Member # 528
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posted
Musta been a slow week. i guess i didn't miss much.
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