Transcribe the following excerpt from Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism into the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as it would be pronounced in Standard American English.

Then, write a short paper (3-5 pages) in which you analyze the sounds in the excerpt.  Are there any interesting patterns of consonant sounds?  Are there interesting patterns of vowel sounds?  What sounds and patterns of sound in the lines make some lines easy to read aloud and others difficult?  Why do some lines read quickly and others slowly?  How do the sounds in the excerpt reflect or complement the meaning of the lines?  Does "[t]he sound . . . seem an echo to the sense"?

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learned to dance.
'Tis not enough no harshness gives offense,
The sound must seem an echo to the sense:
Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows,
And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows;
But when loud surges lash the sounding shore,
The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar;
When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw,
The line too labors, and the words move slow;
Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain,
Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main.
Hear how Timotheus' varied lays surprise,
And bid alternate passions fall and rise!

Use the Oxford English Dictionary and/or other sources to research the history and linguistic properties of a single English word.  Where and when did the word originate?  When did it come into English usage?  How has it evolved over the centuries?  What words have been derived from it and when?  In about 5 pages, trace its semantic, phonological, orthographic, and morphological changes from its origins (as far back as we know) to the present.

Choose a word that you like, but look for a word with an interesting and/or long history, such as a word with Indo-European roots or a word that has changed radically in usage over time.