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AlfaMike
11th Dec 2007, 15:41
Things to consider for your english test....:}
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple or pine in pineapple. And while no one knows what is in a hotdog, you can be pretty sure it isn't canine.
English muffins were not invented in England nor French fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, two meese?
Is cheese the plural of choose? One mouse, 2 mice. One louse, 2 lice. One house, 2 hice?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Why do people recite at a play, and play at a recital?
Ship by truck or car and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
How can the weather be hot as heck one day and cold as heck another?
When a house burns up, it burns down. You fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm clock goes off by going on.
You get in and out of a car, yet you get on and off a bus. When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it?
English is a silly language :ugh: ... it doesn't know if it is coming or going!!!
Good luck on your test !! :}

A300Man
11th Dec 2007, 16:09
Famously corrected when walking into a confectionery shop in the UK several years ago and asking for "Two Twixes", the "Twix" being a famous chocolate bar.

Only to be told by the shopkeeper that the Plural should not be "Twixes" but "Twii". (As in radii as opposed to radiuses).

I later learnt that the use of the word "Twii" was made famous by a satirical writer and tv personality in the UK (Vic Reeves). However, it did stop and make me think how strange the English language can be.................

Not sure what any of this has to do with Middle East aviation, but who am I to question it?

Codger
11th Dec 2007, 16:41
Pronunciation can have it's little odd moments for those new to the language.
"Excuse me, I have a bit of a cow in my throat today."

Bough, as in the bough of a tree. Cough...

Icarus
11th Dec 2007, 17:40
And because of it's paradoxes (parodii?), when understood and used correctly it is a language that brings colour and joy; rather than the drab grey boring logic of most other languages.

Vive L'Angleterre!

Farmer 1
11th Dec 2007, 17:50
Headline in my local paper last week:

"INJUNCTION SEEKED FOR NOISY TRUCKS"

If I write to complain, do you think anyone would understand?

Kamelchaser
13th Dec 2007, 08:30
And while on the subject of english, could you please not use apostrophes where they're not required. In the case of the two earlier posts "its" is a possessive pro-noun, hence it doesn't need an apostrophe. It's refers to the abbreviation "it is".

Thank you.

Now back to my mundane existence after that exciting post.

toolowtoofast
13th Dec 2007, 09:09
Ahh the old Louth Leader at the top of its game again..... (notice the lack of apostrophe :) )

White Knight
13th Dec 2007, 13:51
"ough" at the end of a word can be pronounced nine different ways.....

And on the subject of it's and its - please also understand that your and you're work the same way. Take note all you sad people that write (right?) to 7 Days.....

Two, too and to. Knight and night - I couldn't really be White Night 'cos that's not possible. The list goes on. I love my language - so ebullient.

Finally, Airbus becomes Airbii in the plural:}:ok: OK, maybe not..

togaluck
13th Dec 2007, 17:17
THE aviation language should be the one spoken by most people in the world .... so start learning mandarin chinese por favor!!

1xxxxx1
14th Dec 2007, 14:27
The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby
English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German,
which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that
English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year
phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will
make the sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new s! pelling kan be expekted to
reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have
always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag
is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th"
with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords
kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in
ze forst plas.

Jo Banana
15th Dec 2007, 04:32
..very witty indeed! Ilove it:D