THE RANT THREAD!

[thalassa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I've never seen hiccup spelled hiccough

[Jembru]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I've never seen hiccup spelled hiccough

It's British English, but both ways are accepted.

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I leave it to others to decide whether or not they think English is hard to learn or not, but saying it's an easy language... Well let me phrase it this way, I'm fairly certain the Chinese don't think neither Mandarin nor Cantonese are that hard to learn either.

Haha not saying it's easy! As an English speaker, I really have no idea. I can just go by what people have told me, which is that it's the easiest language they had to learn. Mostly heard it from Germans, though I've also heard it from a Dutch friend, a Swedish friend, a Czech friend, and a few Spanish people. BUT, I guess coming from the Germans, it's not too difficult compared to German, and it's not that different as far as languages go. Everyone else more or less compared it with other languages. In places like the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, German is usually the other language you learn, and German is worse. Anyone else also had to learn German, because they were living here, and German is worse.

German may be consistent with pronunciation (thank the GODS for that one, because otherwise it would be impossible!) but there are so many finicky rules. The German language is like German culture...it's full of rules, and sometimes they don't always make sense, but that's the way it is. There are also exceptions to the rules, some of which also make no sense, but people don't seem to be bothered by it. As a culture, they value rules and a lot of precision, and I think their language reflects that.

[ChainLightning]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I've never seen hiccup spelled hiccough

Now, that's a surprise. I certainly wouldn't have expected that. I've seen it spelled that way on numerous occasions, mostly in books.


I always assumed it was an antiquated spelling, for some reason.

[Ophidia]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

There is one simple sign that English is an insane language with no rhyme or reason.

There is a 'b' in the middle of 'subtle'. Why would anyone feel the need to stick a 'b' in the middle of a word that is pronounced 'suttle' (or 'suddle', depending on where you're from)? Or debt. Or doubt, for that matter. It's not subtel, debit (although we have debit as a word as well) or dowbit. Suttle, det and dowt. All with 'b's.

I think that's how I first began developing mental illness. My first spelling bee, probably first or second grade. I was doing quite well, because I was an extremely well-read child. I think I had probably run across 'subtle' before while reading, but failed to absorb it. It was given to me as a tie-breaker. I missed it, my opponent remembered the b. Right then & there I learned that if people would stick random 'b's in words, there was absolutely nothing I could ever depend on in this world.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

There is one simple sign that English is an insane language with no rhyme or reason.

There is a 'b' in the middle of 'subtle'. Why would anyone feel the need to stick a 'b' in the middle of a word that is pronounced 'suttle' (or 'suddle', depending on where you're from)? Or debt. Or doubt, for that matter. It's not subtel, debit (although we have debit as a word as well) or dowbit. Suttle, det and dowt. All with 'b's.

I think that's how I first began developing mental illness. My first spelling bee, probably first or second grade. I was doing quite well, because I was an extremely well-read child. I think I had probably run across 'subtle' before while reading, but failed to absorb it. It was given to me as a tie-breaker. I missed it, my opponent remembered the b. Right then & there I learned that if people would stick random 'b's in words, there was absolutely nothing I could ever depend on in this world.

There's a hilarious episode of "I Love Lucy" where Ricky's trying to learn why "cough" & "bough" sound completely different, and how English is so messed up! He was right!

[monsno_leedra]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Now, that's a surprise. I certainly wouldn't have expected that. I've seen it spelled that way on numerous occasions, mostly in books.


I always assumed it was an antiquated spelling, for some reason.

That's like Theater & Theatre are both correct though one is more American English while the other is British English. That doesn't even touch on who they are different in speaking a word. Consider Zebra for instance, in American English it's ZEE-Bra while in British English it was ZEB-ra.

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

To-may-to and to-mah-to (spelled phonetically!) I had a British friend who I used to hang out with and talk gardening with a lot (and probably will again when she moves back to Berlin in a few months). We knew we were spending too much time together when I started saying "to-mah-to" and she started saying "to-may-to"!

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

People around here say "thee-AY-ter" for theater, which drives me nuts for some reason. And plastic grocery store bags are "sacks", and the person who bags isn't bagging, they're sacking. LOL

[Heka]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Indonesian is phonetic. Win.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I've never seen hiccup spelled hiccough

I have, I actually learned hiccough... Hiccup surprised the heck out of me a few years later...

- - - Updated - - -

also colonel... and bologna... WTF was wrong with whoever decided how they should be spelled?

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Well, Bologna is a city in Italy, so blame the Italians for that one! I don't know who decided to pronounce it "baloney" though.

[Heka]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

It's pronounced baloney? I thought ti was 'Bol-o-nya'.......

[DanieMarie]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

That's how it's supposed to be pronounced! It's how the Italians say it.

I just mean that English-speakers call the meat "baloney"....I don't know how they got that from "Bologna." I don't know why they settled on that version either. Other places in Europe make the same thing.

[Heka]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Oh.. That's ok then! You English speakers are weird. :P Baloney's an American thing though eh? So I blame them until further notice.