English Is Weird

[AB Editor]

Bumped into this online, and I thought you might enjoy it!

[sandyRoe]

It's gone over my head. What does it mean?

[bibblebub]

404

[AB Editor]

How about now :)

[sandyRoe]

eye sea now :-)
agree it is a funny old language

[Mamyalynne]

Very true.

[pixie373]

Is interesting. I like it.

[FredPuli43]

Additionally, there are some words which change their meaning according to context. 'Quite' is an example. "I was quite pleased to meet you" does not mean "very pleased". But the reply "Quite" to the statement " That is a dreadful situation" means "Absolutely so, I agree fully" and "It was quite dreadful" means "it was utterly dreadful", not " it was a bit dreadful", yet "It was quite frightening" does mean "it was a bit frightening".

No wonder foreigners get confused. And one thing beginners find difficult is that we add just word one to a verb and change the meaning : wash up, wash down, wash over; pull up, pull down, pull over etc

[Quizmonster]

Sanction can mean either to allow some action or penalise one...let usually means allow something to proceed, but in tennis a let is a hindrance to a service proceeding...fast can describe rapid movement or a total lack of movement...cleave can mean to cling to or split apart and so on.
Wonderful, isn't it, that we can often use words to mean exact opposites!

[Octavius]

When people people tell me that my payments are outstanding, I take it as a compliment.

[FredPuli43]

LOL@octavius. The Revenue used to write to say "your tax return is outstanding". I bet you used to thank them for the compliment but you couldn't remember making one

[dr b]

Can I recommend John McWhorter, "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue" as an excellent book on this topic?

Yes, it would seem that I can.

[AB Editor]

bigger version available here: http://editorial.designtaxi.com/news-eng2907/big.jpg

[Quizmonster]

Your 'payments' offering, Octavius, reminded me of the story of the guy who went into his bank - at the time of the financial collapse - to withdraw £100.00. The cashier said, "Sorry, insufficient funds" to which he replied, "Who, you or me?"
Sorry...nothing to do with the thread, I know.

[FredPuli43]

QM, that reminds me of Sir Thomas Beecham, the vastly wealthy heir to the Beecham's pills fortune. His worried accountant told him that there were vast debts run up and owing , to which information he blandly asked "Oh really?To me or from me?"

[vetuste_ennemi]

Dr B - two people divided by a common language.
Fred, again nothing to do with the thread, do you remember "How singular!", "Have you ever conducted Stockhausen?" and "between your legs, madam..."?

[FredPuli43]

I remember the between you legs one; well, I would, to belong on this site; but not the other two, vetuste

[Old_Geezer]

I assumed this would be informative but from what I read a fair bit of it seems just wrong. For example no one pronounces a c by pronouncing a t followed by an sh. I think it's the page that weird.

[emmie]

like the the same sounding word, see, sea, and the some with different meanings, you can be caught out so easily,

[Peter Pedant]

exactly old geezer - c,t is obviously different to (!) sh
and you are asking what is the connection.

Not bad - the morphemes they are talking about are in fact phonemes. - as written they are graphemes - pick pick pick

I will baulk a bit at : there will be no future in English
took me back a bit.
There is no declined Future - which is constructed with 'will' and 'shall'

tell you what - there used to be a future in auncient Gk and NT Gk - just stuff an 's' infront of the present tense endings
but in modern gk it is constructed with 'tha' and a subjunctive which represents a contraction of thelo (I wish) .

Had to tell you that.

[FredPuli43]

Cello ? OG. The C in that sounds pretty much like 'tsh'