Ming the Mechanic:
English is hard

The NewsLog of Flemming Funch
 English is hard2004-01-31 17:01
5 comments
by Flemming Funch

English speakers might think it is hard to learn other languages, full of inconsistent rules for how one needs to pronounce things. But English is certainly no better. I got an e-mail with great examples, roughly what you find in this page.
  • The bandage was wound around the wound.
  • The farm was used to produce produce.
  • The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
  • We must polish the Polish furniture.
  • He could lead if he would get the lead out.
  • The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
  • Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
  • At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
  • When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
  • I did not object to the object.
  • The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
Why, oh why? Just the way it is, I guess.


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5 comments

31 Jan 2004 @ 19:01 by Jon Husband @24.87.29.214 : Well?, Alors?
Mais oui - c'est comme ca.  


31 Jan 2004 @ 19:44 by martha : you see
learning the english language is just another conspiracy to control your mind and drive you crazy...I mean where is the logic...oh I forgot...I bet most of this is thought up by MEN.  


1 Feb 2004 @ 03:56 by jstarrs : Hardest for me to learn...
....in french, is that everything is either masculin or feminine.
A table's feminine, for example, without any logic, it just is.  



1 Feb 2004 @ 09:52 by ming : Genders
Yeah, lucky that English doesn't have that. In French it is finally beginning to dawn on me that it has a lot more to do with how the word sounds than with the logic of what it ought to be. But I still can't make any sense out of why some words exist both in masculine and feminine, meaning different things. Une manche = sleeve, or a round in a game. Un manche = a handle (of a broom). Une tour = a tower. Un tour = a trip or a turn.  


2 Feb 2004 @ 09:42 by ming : French gender
In French the feminine usually sounds more "open" somehow. At least when we're talking about the standard endings that are one or the other. -tion, -sion, -ise, -ure, -ade, -tude, -té, -ance, -ette, -esse, -ière, -ace are mostly feminine. -et, -ing, -isme, -ou, -oir, -eau, -age, -ment are mostly masculine.  


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