Funny article on eigo

Maciamo

先輩

Twenty-year veteran

17 Jul 2002

5,907

385

• 8 Oct 2002

• #26

How could someone, who has not studied English from childhood (thus increasing the time of learning and obviously, the grasping power is much higher then), born and brought up without having to speak a line of English, ever master the nuances of the English language?!!

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It is perfectly possible for a European who has a Germanic or Latin language has mother tongue. It' incredible the number of similar idiomatic expressions between some of these languages, for example.

And I always thought pronunciation is the toughest aspect of eigo....

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It's tough because there are no fixed rules. A same word can be "officially" pronounced in 3 or 4 different ways if you look just at Britsih and American dictionaries (more if you add Irish, Aussie, Indian, South African, HK or Singapourian Englishes). You can pronounce "direction" with a "i" like in "bird" (US), bit (mostly US) or bite (UK). Longer words have also different stress, sometimes both correct in the same country. The worst of all is how clearly you stress each syllable, thence if a "a" will sound like a "e" (unstressed), "a" like in father, "a" like in cap or "a" like in cape (ditto for other vowels). Taihen da ne !

 

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Admin

14 Mar 2002

21,053

18,908

• 8 Oct 2002

• #27

Listening to American news I'm always amused by the way they pronounce 'Iraq' and 'Iran' ('eye-rack', 'eye-ran').

 

Olivia

後輩

17 Aug 2002

130

1

• 8 Oct 2002

• #28

@ thomas
there's an english name (a person's name) that is very interesting: IAN
some pronounce it 'ee-an' and others, 'eye-an' (as in Iraq and Iran), tough, huh?

 

moyashi

後輩

15 Apr 2002

1,717

19

• 9 Oct 2002

• #29

I use both for Iran and Iraq since I came from a mixed education in New York State. Although, I only say "ee-an" for Ian.

 

Olivia

後輩

17 Aug 2002

130

1

• 9 Oct 2002

• #30

hahaha!
that's an example of the difficulty on pronounciation...!

@f^ck usage list
can i post a link here? there's a person teachinhg you, it's so funny, made me laugh a lot!

 

moyashi

後輩

15 Apr 2002

1,717

19

• 10 Oct 2002

• #31

I had the list posted on my dorm door for the longest time. I used to here guys laughing and girls gigling all the time outside my door.

"there's a person teaching you" ... hmmm? didn't get what you were trying to say.

 

Olivia

後輩

17 Aug 2002

130

1

• 11 Oct 2002

• #32

Hahaha, I'm sorry!
I was thinking in Portuguese when I wrote it in English!
hazukashiiiiiiiiiiiii!

I meant that a guy is narrating/relating the various usages of that word and it's enjoyable!

 

moyashi

後輩

15 Apr 2002

1,717

19

• 11 Oct 2002

• #33

Yeah, the list is hilarious

Actually, it makes understanding English Grammer a bit easier too.
Intransitive vs Transitive and such.

 

Olivia

後輩

17 Aug 2002

130

1

• 11 Oct 2002

• #34

a pleasant way of learning english!

 

deborah gormley

後輩

19 Apr 2002

800

9

• 13 Oct 2002

• #35

In English, I still date have a problem with the right word and spelling within a sentence, it could be due to my abundance of different schools (I think maybe 8 in total)which did not allow me to settle and get on with the education of English as it should be, so I too at times spell incorrectly and use the wrong word here and there, I don't see it as a problem, just as a going task, each day learning the correct spelling of a word that I could use frequently. Still, because I have no reason to put it on paper it goes unnoticed and neglected, maybe I've just developed my own style of shorthand, and someday I'll be famous for it, lol