Topic: English is a strange language
uk1971's photo
Thu 08/02/07 11:25 AM
Why is it?

There is no egg in eggplant or ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England nor french fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So, one moose, 2 meese? One index, two indices? Is cheese the plural of choose? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? =20

In what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another? When a house burns up, it burns down. You fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm clock goes off by going on. When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it? Now I know why I flunked English. It's not my fault-the silly language doesn't quite know whether it's coming or going.

jwaddy's photo
Thu 08/02/07 11:33 AM
lol... me and a friend had the whole goose --> geeze and moose --> meese thing going a long time ago.

this is a lot of good stuff here drinker

justbnice's photo
Thu 08/02/07 12:07 PM
LOL so true :)

Tonyssa's photo
Thu 08/02/07 12:17 PM
This is giving me second thoughts on being an English as a Second Language teacher.......... hmm........

justbnice's photo
Thu 08/02/07 12:52 PM
take it easy Tonyssa LOL

photofreek's photo
Thu 08/02/07 09:46 PM
laugh laugh laugh so true Tom


damn the English language

rivame's photo
Thu 08/02/07 10:14 PM
Australian is a lot easier to speak

Photoflowerforyou

photofreek's photo
Thu 08/02/07 10:27 PM
can you give me some private lessonshappy :wink: