And we wonder why non-American people have trouble with our language
Apr 22, 2022 19:11:20 #
Steve DeMott
Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)
Just Shoot Me wrote:
A zookeeper is ordering new animals. As he fills out the forms, he types
“two mongeese.”
That doesn’t look right, so he tries
“two mongoose,”
then “two mongooses.”
Giving up, he types,
“One mongoose, and while you’re at it, send another one.”
“two mongeese.”
That doesn’t look right, so he tries
“two mongoose,”
then “two mongooses.”
Giving up, he types,
“One mongoose, and while you’re at it, send another one.”
Apr 22, 2022 19:13:24 #
Apr 22, 2022 19:25:37 #
Apr 22, 2022 19:33:54 #
Steve DeMott wrote:
If the plural of Goose is Geese, Why isn't Mongoose, Mongeese instead of Mongooses
About that, my sister used to say, "If the plural of mouse is mice, why isn't the plural of house hice? If the plural of goose is geese shouldn't the plural of moose be meese? What about the plural of ox, it is oxen shouldn't the plural of fox be foxen?" She had more that I cannot remember now.
Apr 22, 2022 19:41:43 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Most difficult languages to learn -
Mandarin Chinese...
Mandarin Chinese...
I met a Chinese speaker 5 years ago and married her 4 years ago. After that amount of time I know 5 words in Chinese. Hi, Bye, Yeah, Nope, Thanks.
Apr 22, 2022 19:45:23 #
Steve DeMott
Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)
robertjerl wrote:
American cars have a trunk instead of a boot - a boot is worn on the feet in conditions too rough for ordinary shoes.
"England and America are two countries separated by the same language." and then we have the fun of tossing in the Canadians, Kiwis and Aussies.
"England and America are two countries separated by the same language." and then we have the fun of tossing in the Canadians, Kiwis and Aussies.
We have friends in England & Australia. Mick our British friend was born in London and has a very strong Cockney Accent. He’s ok until he gets excited after a few beers. At that time we all holler at Mick; “Speak English, Mick”. “I am you bloody yanks and it’s your turn to me a lager!”.
A German friend ask me one day to recite the American vowels; “A, E, I, O, U” I said. He looks at me and asks “Why is not Mississippi pronounced my-siy-siy-pie”.
Apr 22, 2022 19:55:00 #
Steve DeMott
Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)
DirtFarmer wrote:
I met a Chinese speaker 5 years ago and married her 4 years ago. After that amount of time I know 5 words in Chinese. Hi, Bye, Yeah, Nope, Thanks.
My wife and I have been around the world a few times and what I found is that most people will/can speak English. especially if you try to speak their language. I our travels we make it a point to learned a few words, even if you mispronounce it's a sign of respect for their country and language. In the process we have made some great friends along the way.
Apr 22, 2022 20:08:39 #
If you would like to increase your vocabulary I recommend the following:
https://tomlehrersongs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/the-love-song-of-the-physical-anthropologist.pdf
Some of you older guys may remember Tom Lehrer. He wrote songs about all sorts of things. He recently placed all his songs into the public domain so you can copy them freely. https://tomlehrersongs.com
The link is a valentine sort of thing which uses unfamiliar words (unless you're a physical anthropologist). I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to come up with meanings for the words you haven't come across before. (A lot of greek roots in the words. I got most of them through Google).
https://tomlehrersongs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/the-love-song-of-the-physical-anthropologist.pdf
Some of you older guys may remember Tom Lehrer. He wrote songs about all sorts of things. He recently placed all his songs into the public domain so you can copy them freely. https://tomlehrersongs.com
The link is a valentine sort of thing which uses unfamiliar words (unless you're a physical anthropologist). I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to come up with meanings for the words you haven't come across before. (A lot of greek roots in the words. I got most of them through Google).
Apr 22, 2022 20:24:15 #
Apr 22, 2022 20:29:16 #
There is a story that a French man spent years learning English pronunciation. When he felt he had mastered it, he visited England for the first time. He went out of his hotel for a walk and saw a review for a play. It said, "Hamlet, pronounced success." He went back to his hotel and shot himself.
Apr 22, 2022 20:30:17 #
Steve DeMott wrote:
We have friends in England & Australia. Mick our British friend was born in London and has a very strong Cockney Accent. He’s ok until he gets excited after a few beers. At that time we all holler at Mick; “Speak English, Mick”. “I am you bloody yanks and it’s your turn to me a lager!”.
A German friend ask me one day to recite the American vowels; “A, E, I, O, U” I said. He looks at me and asks “Why is not Mississippi pronounced my-siy-siy-pie”.
A German friend ask me one day to recite the American vowels; “A, E, I, O, U” I said. He looks at me and asks “Why is not Mississippi pronounced my-siy-siy-pie”.
Because Mississippi isn't English. It is an American English spelling of the word "Messipi" - the French version for either the Ojibwe or Algonquin name for the river, "Misi-ziibi," meaning "great river."
Apr 22, 2022 20:47:41 #
Thank you very much for this link. It brought back many, many memories. I saw Tom Lehrer perform in Cambridge (England) in, I think, 1958 or 1959. I have never heard so much laughter in any performance as a did that night. Thanks once again.
Apr 22, 2022 21:07:52 #
Schoee wrote:
Mandarin cannot be too hard, 2yr old kids in China speak it :)
That list is only for English speakers with no exposure to other languages.
That list is only for English speakers with no exposure to other languages.
Exposure is only part of it... You have to LIVE the language and NOT interpret it.
Apr 22, 2022 22:17:53 #
Apr 23, 2022 00:24:23 #
jerryc41 wrote:
I've read that Icelandic is nearly impossible to learn.Most difficult languages to learn -
Mandarin Chinese
Arabic
Vietnamese
Finnish
Japanese
Korean
https://www.rosettastone.com/languages/hardest-language-to-learn
Mandarin Chinese
Arabic
Vietnamese
Finnish
Japanese
Korean
https://www.rosettastone.com/languages/hardest-language-to-learn
Finely crated English may be difficult, but workaday English is not. English is very subject to being "pidginized" and great damage to the grammar can be made and still be understood.
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