Posted on 01/09/2011 5:13:33 AM PST by Mayr Fortuna
And spelling – I was trying to help a young lady learn English. She thought I was messing with her when I told her how to pronounce “telephone”. When she sounded it out she said “tele pa ho ne”.
ROFL, thanks for that.
Well, honey, we all have trouble with him.
Well, honey, we all have trouble with him.
For the same reason boot doesn't rhyme with foot.
If you ever figure it out, let me know. 58 years old and still wondering about my native language. It does keep crossword puzzles interesting because you can never be sure which pronunciation/meaning of a word is being used.
I had better shut up now....
where are the zot kitties???
As an example of how much our language has changed over the years, read Washington’s Rules of Civility (1744)
>>11th Shift not yourself in the Sight of others nor Gnaw your nails.
12th Shake not the head, Feet, or Legs rowl not the Eys lift not one eyebrow higher than the other wry not the mouth, and bedew no mans face with your Spittle, by approaching too near him when you Speak.
13th Kill no Vermin as Fleas, lice ticks &c in the Sight of Others, if you See any filth or thick Spittle put your foot Dexteriously upon it if it be upon the Cloths of your Companions, Put it off privately, and if it be upon your own Cloths return Thanks to him who puts it off.<<<
http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/rules-of-civility-by-george-washington-1744.html
It indeed is amazingly amusing isn´t it?
However, what throws me off is when we try to incorporate foreign words into our language. An amusing example for me is hors d'oeuvres which means appetizers in English. Well because I read the word in books and never heard how it is pronounced, I always figured it was pronounced like "Whores Dovers". So in my younger years when I mentioned we were having Whores Dovers at a party I was having, everybody figured that prostitutes would be there instead of scallops wrapped in bacon.
After that experience, it always did annoy me to see people dropping foreign words into their conversations. I think they do that to come across as "classy" and "educated" but they should really just stick to using English words and leave those fancy sounding words in Europe where they belong.
Never heard of it? It was a late scientific technique developed in USA and sold for us in Brazil as the "most amazing scientific new discover" and by the time I was a kid 15 yo. only that was crediting science a lot...
Anyway, I was young, credulous and eager to learn, and that was when I begun learning English, which I am proud to know a bit and be able to read and exchange with some of you...
Yes, very.
I read your comment; I hope others read it also.
Ref post #13.
Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed it.
“If the word has a suffix but a single consonant followed by a vowel drop the vowel and double the consonant except in words that have two or more syllables and one of the double letters would be sounded with the second syllable if the word had no suffix. If the word has two more syllables and the last single consonant would NOT be sounded with the second or last syllable then double that last consonant and drop the last vowel before adding the suffix UNLESS there is only one syllable in the word and it has a double consonant and NO vowel, in which case simply add the suffix. There are exceptions to this simple rule and they are many.
For example, “piling vs. pilling” and slang words and words of foreign origin.
The above applies in cases of vowel SOUNDS following the second con........
Just use Spellcheck and take your chances.
I learned to read at an early age. My parents taught me to read before kindergarten. I never had a problem with such words as To, Two and Too. But my spelling has always been terrible. As you notice my grammar still needs some help.
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