You say Doughnut, I say Donut

Dear Members and Constituents,
Here’s a little exercise to lighten-up the morning. Close your office door and say the following words out-loud:

App | Ant | Ape

As you went down the list did you notice how your facial muscles progressed into a smile in order to pronounce the different variants of the “A” sound? To non-native English speakers like myself, it’s variants like these that make the language rather difficult to master. Why is it that “boo” and “book” have different vocalic sounds even though the only difference between them is a consonant at the end? Of course the “OO” in the middle of both words reminds me of (you guessed it) donuts. This morning Thomas Eng (whose last name has a different vocalic sound than the word "English" despite having the same spelling) makes his final tour of duty as donut boy, delighting us with four dozen LaMar’s donuts (minus two he has already consumed). No matter what language you speak at home, come grab yours and speak the universal language of sweetness.

P.S. If you want to hear me expand on the differences between the written and spoken versions of the English language, I encourage you to stop by the talent show at 12:50 PM.
Happy Friday!

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Friday Donuts

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