Why is English so Messy???

Comments: 29

J W. Mar 10, 2008, 1:38pm EDT

this is so cute

Sandy (back in Ohio...blah!) Mar 10, 2008, 2:07pm EDT

Yes, the English language can be confusing.
That is why typo's don't bother me. But people typing in nothing but caps do bug me. Thats just laziness in my opinion.

reply to this comment

sheila ~the hapless housewife~ j. Mar 10, 2008, 2:15pm EDT

cute!

reply to this comment

Col. George W. Mar 10, 2008, 2:22pm EDT

No translation necessary, I understood it very well.

reply to this comment

~Lady Neeetah of California~Obama #44 W. Mar 10, 2008, 2:33pm EDT

Heh heh heh heh heh.

As the English teacher of La La, I give you an "A"! Very, very good!

Heh heh heh heh heh.

reply to this comment

~Lady Neeetah of California~Obama #44 W. Mar 10, 2008, 2:34pm EDT

What excellent mischief.

Now, where is that story on Catholic school days, huh?

Hop to it!

reply to this comment

Rachel D. Mar 10, 2008, 2:49pm EDT

It is really quite confusing sometimes. That quality makes it difficult to learn too.

reply to this comment

Vivian P. Mar 10, 2008, 2:56pm EDT

cute Carol

reply to this comment

Vana R. Mar 10, 2008, 3:01pm EDT

I think when the language was made up...they just wanted to be different, stand out from the crowd...lol!

reply to this comment

Larry M. Mar 10, 2008, 3:23pm EDT

English was formed / evolved from many different cultures since England was successfully invaded repeatedly. Because they were weak, the languages of others were imposed upon them. As a result, English is one of the largest languages in the world with a huge range of subtle shades of meaning. It is a powerful instrument of thinking. We should all be grateful to have such a wonderful language at our disposal.

We are lucky in our language.

reply to this comment

*Holly *. Mar 10, 2008, 3:28pm EDT

Cute

reply to this comment

Dusty Hubbard Mar 10, 2008, 3:39pm EDT

English is tough I guess!!

reply to this comment

Michael C. Mar 10, 2008, 3:51pm EDT

I often point to the side of the road when I'm in the car with my wife and will say...

"Gee dear, isn't that a deer deer?"

reply to this comment

Michael C. Mar 10, 2008, 3:51pm EDT

Or is that a dear deer, dear?

Oh dear...

reply to this comment

Michael C. Mar 10, 2008, 3:54pm EDT

So... What's gnu with ewe?

reply to this comment

Vana R. Mar 10, 2008, 4:11pm EDT

They're with their family over there.

reply to this comment

Peter Joseph Swanson Mar 10, 2008, 4:21pm EDT

Marvelous poem !!!!

English is marvelous in its glorious mess. As I was last going over a galley I thought just that. But most of what I was catching was stupid little things.

reply to this comment

L W. Mar 10, 2008, 5:37pm EDT

funny

now do you know starkle, starkle, little twink...

reply to this comment

Austin Cushing Mar 10, 2008, 7:14pm EDT

Because English is the language that steals most of its words from other languages and hopes they don't notice. If I recall, they also weren't too big on writing vowels down at first...

reply to this comment

Austin Cushing Mar 10, 2008, 7:15pm EDT

This comment is to let you know that this content has reached ten comments, and as such has been removed from Comment Speedway! Congratulations!

reply to this comment

Nippy Katz (not his real name) Patriotic Troll of Gather Freedom Mar 10, 2008, 7:19pm EDT

Hah, in French the only way to give kids a spelling test is to dictate sentences to them. There are so many homophones that context is the only way to tell which word is which.

English has had the chance to evolve for a long time and has incorporated elements from several languages. For one thing it's a hybrid Germanic and Romance language. Like most languages that are spoken it has all kinds of irregular verbs and pronouns. We're lucky that English has only vestigial inflection.

English is considered hard to learn. Judging by what I see and hear daily it's hard for native born English speakers too.

reply to this comment