English language test

[Mycernius]

Let's see how many of you can say this phrase right first time, including native English speakers, without looking at the answers first:-

A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.

Saw it in a book thought I'd post it, as it shows how crazy this language is.
Answers below-
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The Answers:-
Rough as in 'Puff', Dough as in 'Oh', Thoughtful as in 'Port', Ploughman as in ' Thou', Through as in 'too', Scarborough as in 'Curragh', Slough as in 'Buff', Coughed as in 'Soft' and Hiccoughed as in 'Cup'

[enix_fan]

The Answers:-
Rough as in 'Puff', Dough as in 'Oh', Thoughtful as in 'Port', Ploughman as in ' Thou', Through as in 'too', Scarborough as in 'Curragh', Slough as in 'Buff', Coughed as in 'Soft' and Hiccoughed as in 'Cup'

lets see I said these correctly:

Rough as in 'Puff'
Dough as in 'doughnut' or 'donut' or 'doh'
Thoughtful as in 'Port'?
Ploughman as in 'Thou'
Through as in 'too'
Coughed as in 'Soft'

incorrectly:

Scarborough as in 'Curragh
Slough as in 'Buff'
Hiccoughed as in 'Cup'

[lexico]

A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.

I got these as in your answers; (but that doesn't mean we sound alike, both sounds may have shifted! )
Rough as in 'Puff',
Dough as in 'Oh',
Ploughman as in ' Thou',
Through as in 'too',
Coughed as in 'Soft',
and Hiccoughed as in 'Cup'

These I got different answers;
Thoughtful as in 'Port' --> mine still retains the /r/ sound
Scarborough as in 'Curragh' --> mine was /scar-burrow/, I wasn't too sure to begin with, but Simon and Garfunkle had is sung that way. How do you exactly read Curragh ? My dictionary gives me 3 different readings...

This I got the same answer, but... my dictionary says Slough is /slau/.??
Slough as in 'Buff',

[Mycernius]

In England it is like burra. My Canadian cousins say burrow. The 'ow' must be a north american way of saying it. I think the port sound is the same reason. Slough can be said both ways. There is a town in England called Slough as rhymes with plough. The slough, as in puff, in when a snake sloughs its skin. Hope that clears it up for you.

[Lina Inverse]

Let's see how many of you can say this phrase right first time, including native English speakers, without looking at the answers first:-

A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.

Rough as in 'Puff', Dough as in 'Oh', Thoughtful as in 'Port', Ploughman as in ' Thou', Through as in 'too', Scarborough as in 'Curragh', Slough as in 'Buff', Coughed as in 'Soft' and Hiccoughed as in 'Cup'

Ok, here's my version:
rough with ou as in grow or oh (rhyming with dough)
dough eith ou as in grow
thoughtful with long o as in port
ploughman with au as in now
through with long u as in too
scarborough as in borrow
slough with au as in now - it should'nt be as in buff, I checked my dictionary. With that pronunciation, it has a completely different meaning
cough with af as in enough (e.g. an animal shedding its skin)
hiccough - never heard this weird word before... I think it means "hiccup"

[Mycernius]

Ok, here's my version:
rough with ou as in grow or oh (rhyming with dough)
dough eith ou as in grow
thoughtful with long o as in port
ploughman with au as in now
through with long u as in too
scarborough as in borrow
slough with au as in now - it should'nt be as in buff, I checked my dictionary. With that pronunciation, it has a completely different meaning
cough with af as in enough (e.g. an animal shedding its skin)
hiccough - never heard this weird word before... I think it means "hiccup"

Hiccough is the correct way of spelling hiccup or an alternative way. You will usually find older people in England spelling hiccough this way