Rod,
you seem to be mixing language and idioms. All languages have idioms - the other examples you hit on are usage of certain verbs originating in the mists of time and the English/French mix.
Ozzie
The English language is so goofy! Can you think of some?
by Rod P 23 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
ljwtiamb
Ozzie: I suppose that is what happens when you take an early Germanic dialect, mix it up with Latin and Norman French, then take it all over the world picking up more vocabulary.
Fe203: you seem to be mixing language and idioms. All languages have idioms - the other examples you hit on are usage of certain verbs originating in the mists of time and the English/French mix.
Excuse me, but from which Awake! article did you two get these facts? This thread makes my head hurt ... I'm going back to the kh & let someone else do the thinking for me!
-
ozziepost
ljwtiamb:
You've mixed up your quotes!!!
This thread makes my head hurt
Your posting name doesn't help!
Ozzie
-
iggy_the_fish
Why is the word "dyslexia" so hard to spell?
ig.
-
Golden Girl
How about some words that are spelled the same frontwards or backwards?
Snoozy...
-
ChrisVance
One moose; two moose
goose;geese
mongoose;mongooses
-
BrendaCloutier
English is a royal pain in the arse. I'd hate to have to learn it as a second language.
Hard vowels vs soft vowels vs dipthongs. The german dipthong - 2nd vowel pronounced hard, the english dipthong first vowel pronounced hard. And then i before e except.....
-
Sith
Why aren't buildings called "builts"?
-
Pole
It's not my first language, so I sometimes make goofy mistakes if I let my guard down.
I was once discussing a project with an English professor. The project involved inputting a lot of language data into a computer and then processing it. The professor asked me if I knew someone who could do all this boring typing work which could not be automated programmatically. I said - "sure I know a good student who would be willing to do this hand job, urrrrm I mean hand work for us".
Pole -
Rod P
Ozzie,
But I had no intentions of limiting the question as to the peculiarities of the English language, whether they be idioms or whether they be word usage. Both serve to illustrate the fact that English has it's idiosyncrasies. The reasons why and how these arose are an interesting study in itself. But we are simply pointing out what is, regardless of influence or origin.
Rod P.