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Re: English
Originally Posted by lynnxa
(Post 9856063)
of course it's his fault - everything is my OH's fault too :D
I do that sometimes - read an English word phonetically .........as do the kids :( Rosemary |
Re: English
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Re: English
And plurals,very logical too..:D
The English Lesson We’ll begin with box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes. Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice, But the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be pen? The cow in the plural may be cows or kine, But the plural of vow is vows, not vine. And I speak of a foot, and you show me your feet, But I give a boot… would a pair be beet? If one is a tooth, and a whole set is teeth, Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? If the singular is this, and the plural is these, Why shouldn’t the plural of kiss be kese? Then one may be that, and three be those, Yet the plural of hat would never be hose. We speak of a brother, and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren. The masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim. So our English, I think you will agree, Is the trickiest language you ever did see. I take it you already know of tough, and bough and cough and dough? Others may stumble, but not you on hiccough, through, slough and though. Well done! And now you wish, perhaps To learn of less familiar traps? Beware of heard, a dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds like bird. And dead; it’s said like bed, not bead! For goodness sake, don’t call it deed! Watch out for meat and great and threat, (They rhyme with suite and straight and debt) A moth is not a moth in mother, Nor both in bother, broth in brother. And here is not a match for there, Nor dear and fear for bear and pear, And then there’s dose and rose and lose – Just look them up – and goose and choose, And cork and work and card and ward And font and front and word and sword. And do and go, then thwart and cart. Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start. A dreadful language: Why, man alive, I’d learned to talk when I was five. And yet to write it, the more I tried, I hadn’t learned it at fifty-five. [An alternative version quotes the final couplet as: And yet to write it, the more I sigh, I'll not learn how 'til the day I die.] |
Re: English
Love them both, thanks.
Rosemary |
Re: English
Originally Posted by JLFS
(Post 9856184)
And plurals,very logical too..:D
The English Lesson We’ll begin with box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes. Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice, But the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be pen? The cow in the plural may be cows or kine, But the plural of vow is vows, not vine. And I speak of a foot, and you show me your feet, But I give a boot… would a pair be beet? If one is a tooth, and a whole set is teeth, Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? If the singular is this, and the plural is these, Why shouldn’t the plural of kiss be kese? Then one may be that, and three be those, Yet the plural of hat would never be hose. We speak of a brother, and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren. The masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim. So our English, I think you will agree, Is the trickiest language you ever did see. I take it you already know of tough, and bough and cough and dough? Others may stumble, but not you on hiccough, through, slough and though. Well done! And now you wish, perhaps To learn of less familiar traps? Beware of heard, a dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds like bird. And dead; it’s said like bed, not bead! For goodness sake, don’t call it deed! Watch out for meat and great and threat, (They rhyme with suite and straight and debt) A moth is not a moth in mother, Nor both in bother, broth in brother. And here is not a match for there, Nor dear and fear for bear and pear, And then there’s dose and rose and lose – Just look them up – and goose and choose, And cork and work and card and ward And font and front and word and sword. And do and go, then thwart and cart. Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start. A dreadful language: Why, man alive, I’d learned to talk when I was five. And yet to write it, the more I tried, I hadn’t learned it at fifty-five. [An alternative version quotes the final couplet as: And yet to write it, the more I sigh, I'll not learn how 'til the day I die.] I've tied myself in knots a few times when trying to explain some of these to my intercambio partners, I end up as mystified as they are. I can't do any better than "because it just is!". |
Re: English
I saw this on a tea towel once.
CRICKET: As explained to a foreigner... You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game! |
Re: English
Originally Posted by stevesainty
(Post 9857038)
I saw this on a tea towel once.
CRICKET: As explained to a foreigner... You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game! Shall have to save it somewhere now. |
Re: English
My 8 year old speaks great English but because he's at Italian school I let him learn to read and write in Italian first.
The other day he asked me what "eeetch-ay cray-am" was? What are you on about? I asked him. "Eeetch-ay cray-am." There's no such word - I said. What are you doing? "English homework." When I looked at his book the word was ICE CREAM. His reading is all Italian phonetical so now it's time to teach him how to read in English. |
Re: English
Originally Posted by Lorna at Vicenza
(Post 9857072)
My 8 year old speaks great English but because he's at Italian school I let him learn to read and write in Italian first.
The other day he asked me what "eeetch-ay cray-am" was? What are you on about? I asked him. "Eeetch-ay cray-am." There's no such word - I said. What are you doing? "English homework." When I looked at his book the word was ICE CREAM. His reading is all Italian phonetical so now it's time to teach him how to read in English. when she was reading confidently enough (bearing in mind she is dyslexic) in Spanish a couple of years later, we started buying English comics for her - & we still had English books which her big sis had read at that age they both mis-pronounce some new words now & then, & their spelling could still do with a bit of help, but they both read happily in any of their three languages |
Re: English
Originally Posted by lynnxa
(Post 9857514)
lol that's what we did - although my oldest was 8 nearly 9 when she started at Spanish school & had a tested reading age of 12 in English - my younger dd was 5 & could read a bit in English, but we decided to 'forget' english since she was going to have to cope with learning 2 new languages because of where we live
when she was reading confidently enough (bearing in mind she is dyslexic) in Spanish a couple of years later, we started buying English comics for her - & we still had English books which her big sis had read at that age they both mis-pronounce some new words now & then, & their spelling could still do with a bit of help, but they both read happily in any of their three languages I do admire your girls skills. Rosemary |
Re: English
Originally Posted by Rosemary
(Post 9857527)
I suspect that spelling becomes harder the more languages you know. If you only have one language it is relatively easy to picture a word in your head before writing it down, whereas if there are similar words in several languages your brain probably cannot hone in so well.
I do admire your girls skills. Rosemary How can shower GEL be the J sound while JELLY which is the longer sounding version be spelt with a J. :confused: |
Re: English
Originally Posted by JLFS
(Post 9857534)
I awalys found the G J words the most confusing.........
How can shower GEL be the J sound while JELLY which is the longer sounding version be spelt with a J. :confused: Yust for a perfect mum like you! I couldn't decide whether to well up with emotion or pmsl at his spanglish!! |
Re: English
Originally Posted by Rosemary
(Post 9857527)
I suspect that spelling becomes harder the more languages you know. If you only have one language it is relatively easy to picture a word in your head before writing it down, whereas if there are similar words in several languages your brain probably cannot hone in so well.
I do admire your girls skills. Rosemary to be fair, when I look at the spelling skills of some kids who have been through an English language education (such as my neice & nephew in Aus) my two aren't too bad - but when they need to spell something unfamiliar they always revert to phonetics
Originally Posted by JLFS
(Post 9857534)
I awalys found the G J words the most confusing.........
How can shower GEL be the J sound while JELLY which is the longer sounding version be spelt with a J. :confused: I thought gel was for hair :confused: |
Re: English
Originally Posted by JLFS
(Post 9857534)
I awalys found the G J words the most confusing.........
How can shower GEL be the J sound while JELLY which is the longer sounding version be spelt with a J. :confused: Here is Mark Twain's take on this: A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling For example, in Year 1 that useless letter c would be dropped to be replased either by k or s, and likewise x would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which c would be retained would be the ch formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform w spelling, so that which and one would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish y replasing it with i and Iear 4 might fiks the g/j anomali wonse and for all. Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez c, y and x — bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez — tu riplais ch, sh, and th rispektivli. Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld. |
Re: English
If I see a new word I don't know too always use the Spanish system to pronounce it. In fact I think I might be taking on a slight Spanish accent when speaking English - I have a friend Leon and I have to think carefully how to pronounce his name.:unsure:
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