The same letter combination ough appears repeatedly throughout the sentence, but the sounds are different every time.

Though I coughed roughly and hiccuped throughout the lecture, I still thought I could plow through the rest of it.

This incredible inconsistency can make English really to master for non-native speakers.

But what if English were phonetically consistent?

Let's consider the letter A.

The letter A can represent a number of different sounds.

Even ignoring its combined sounds like "ar" or "aw," you can get such diverse sounds as "father," "ape," and "apple."

Let's take the first of these: "ah" as in "father."

Now, "A" is not alone in having different options for how it can be pronounced.

Let's consider the vowel "E".

Neglecting combination sounds like "er," we can still produce some strange, different pronunciations such as: "rewrite," "elk," and "one."

Let's take the first of these again: "E" as in rewrite.

Of course, this means that silent Es at the end of words will now also be vocalized.

Moving on, let's consider the vowel "I."

Ignoring combination sounds like "ir" or "ing," this vowel can produce sounds: "like," "igloo," and "deviate."

Again, taking the first of these, we'll pronounce "I" as in "like."

Let's now turn our attention to the vowel "O."

Without combination sounds, we can still get a few options: "pony," "on," and "one."

Let's the select the first one of these: O as in "pony."

Having now made these selections, we are left with only one vowel "u."

The vowel "U" can sound like this: "rule," "run," and "put".

While I will again remind the listener that this is somewhat arbitrary,

we will select the first of these: "oo" as in "rule."

Putting all these together, we can hear how English would sound if it were consistent in the pronunciation of vowels.

Let's consider a passage from a Shakespearian Soliloquy.

To be or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing, end them. To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause: there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life;

Thank you for listening.

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