Why the English language is odd
Link here.
The writer outlines the history of English and how the many different languages that contributed to it caused it to be so different from most other languages. Some of the oddities he notes are quite fascinating because we English-speakers take them so much for granted. He only hints, however, at what is probably the English language’s greatest gift — its gigantic vocabulary resulting from its remarkable ability to absorb new words — which probably comes from that same polyglot history.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Link here.
The writer outlines the history of English and how the many different languages that contributed to it caused it to be so different from most other languages. Some of the oddities he notes are quite fascinating because we English-speakers take them so much for granted. He only hints, however, at what is probably the English language’s greatest gift — its gigantic vocabulary resulting from its remarkable ability to absorb new words — which probably comes from that same polyglot history.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
I think that a major part of English’s problems is that we have way too many vowel phonemes and too little vowel letters. So we had to invent new ways of using letter combos to make different sounds. This is unlike Spanish which has five vowel sounds and five vowel letters.
Maybe you misunderstand my perspective. I don’t see any of these English oddities as problems. They aren’t bugs, they are features! Or at least, they are a reflection of the way the language formed, which gave us the largest vocabulary and richest language the world knows.
I have heard English described as the result of Norman Knights working to seduce Saxon Barmaids.
I saw a t-shirt at a science fiction convention that said something like “English doesn’t borrow from other languages, it hunts them down in dark alleys and mugs them.”
Japanese seems close to English in terms of loaned/borrowed words, and neologisms.
The neat thing about Japanese is that when they borrow a word, they write it in a phonetic alphabet (katakana) dedicated to foreign words. Because there are so few sounds in the Japanese language, sometimes it can be hard to figure out the original English word that served as the inspiration.
My favorite is “baa kodo,” or bar code, describing the hairstyle of a balding man who combs the few hairs he has left across the top of his head (from a bird’s eye view his head looks like it has a bar code).
This well written article seems to closely follow this prior work:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375320/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsVz5U76kX0
Convergent thoughts perhaps?
I am the product of several Norman knights and Saxon barmaids. Some Viking raiders and Pict barmaids as well.
If you examine Norwegian, it is a kind of middle ground between German and English.
Related:
Free American First Amendment English language for me but not for thee.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2015/11/clinton-goes-after-laugh-factory-comedians-for-making-fun-of-her/
A little too thin skinned for me, and that is the least objectionable thing about her and her followers.
She does not like this Free American First Amendment English language either.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/11/18/watch-how-hillary-clintons-security-handles-man-calmly-holding-sign-critical-of-candidate-during-rally/