Another proper England rant...

**MSTRS:Me** · 18th January 2006, 11:09

And while we are at it...what's with the word 'PHONETIC"

**Phurrball** · 18th January 2006, 11:11

Originally Posted by Keystone19

Should that not be 'absence of genders'?

Yep - today I exist to make everyone else look good - typing does not seem to elicit the same 'that word looks kinda funny spelled that way' reflex as handwriting does for me. Sad excuse - I need to go and take my pills...

(There's only so much self-inflicted shame a man can take)

**Posh Tourer :P** · 18th January 2006, 11:15

Originally Posted by MisterD

As I understand it, they are mostly words absorbed over the time of the Raj. The best example I can come up with at the moment is "bungalow" which interestingly has slightly divergent meanings in NZ and UK...:spudbn:

There were a lot of English speakers in a minority ruling class, surrounded by a very live language (not to mention the later effect of the army stationed there), whereas Celtic languages were crushed into a minority of speakers, by a people who at that time didn´t want to speak the language or even hear it. But also there are a few very basic words that are very similar in both Sanskrit and modern English.

**Posh Tourer :P** · 18th January 2006, 11:16

Originally Posted by MSTRS

And while we are at it...what's with the word 'PHONETIC"

And why is abbreviate such a long word?

**Posh Tourer :P** · 18th January 2006, 11:17

Originally Posted by Phurrball

typing does not seem to elicit the same 'that word looks kinda funny spelled that way' reflex as handwriting does for me.

Is that because typing is faster??

**Swoop** · 18th January 2006, 11:32

Pet hate is "those ones"...
Plural and singular mixing??? -Tui moment.

**idb** · 18th January 2006, 11:36

Aahh at last, I've found it, Pedant's Unanimous.
"Look at moy, look at moy, look at moy!
I've got just one word to say to you - apostrophe's!"

**Colapop** · 18th January 2006, 11:37

Originally Posted by Hitcher

English has its idiosyncrasies but I dispute that it's "difficult" or hard to learn. We all seem to have managed quite well on that score, mother's knee and all that.
At least it doesn't have masculine and feminine nouns and all that shit that German involves.

Ahh Hitcher your eloquence has not deserted you. Well at least it hadn't before you got to the "shit" bit!

**Beemer** · 18th January 2006, 11:42

I love this thread!

Did you know that the combination 'ough' can be pronounced in nine different ways? The following sentence contains them all:

"A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

I know that one well because as my surname is Lougher, I have heard EVERY bastardisation of its correct pronunciation!

(Two that annoy me also are putting apostrophes in its as used in the last sentence, and 'pronounciation" - agh!)