The Chaos
“The Chaos” (/ðə keɪ(j)ɒs/) is a humorous poem by Gerard Nolst Trenité that highlights irregular spelling and irregular pronunciation in English.[1]
Originally published in 1920, the poem evolved through time, with Trenité adding verses. It also acquired the status of a meme that was copied and passed around by English language learners.
The original version consisted of 146-lines;[2] the last "full" 274 version consisted of 274 lines[3]
There are various videos on YouTube of people reading it, e.g. in nice Received Pronunciation[4] or General American [5]
The start of the text (to give an idea of its nature):
Text | IPA |
---|---|
Dearest creature in Creation, |
/ˈdɪərəst 'kri:tʃər ɪn kri:'eɪʃən |