What a strange language

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What a strange language

Postby Hagar » Thu Jan 15, 2004 8:23 pm

I came across this little rhyme earlier. It demonstrates what a strange & fascinating language English is & why some people have problems with their spelling. No wonder it's difficult to learn. ::)

======================

When the English tongue we speak
Why is break not rhymed with weak?
Won't you tell me why it's true
We say sew, but also few?
And the maker of a verse
Cannot rhyme his horse with worse?
Beard is not the same as heard,
Cord is different from word,
Cow is cow, low is low,
Shoe is never rhymed with foe.
Think of hose and dose and lose,
And think of goose and yet of choose,
Think of comb and tomb and bomb,
Doll and roll and home and some.
And since pay is rhymed with say,
Why not paid with said I pray?
Think of blood and food and good;
Mould is not pronounced like could.
Why is done, but gone and lone -
Is there any reason known?
To sum it up, it seems to me
That sounds and letters don't agree.
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Re: What a strange language

Postby FLYING_TRUCKER » Thu Jan 15, 2004 10:47 pm

HOW TRUE HOW TRUE

Graduates from High School to-day lack English Skills and the proper use of Verbs, Nouns etc. only because the teachers themselves were not properly qualified to teach the English Lanquage.

Students to-day are not failed on their subjects but passed to the next level where they can drop that subject.

Teachers to-day don't teach....they supervise.

Over the last ten years I found the same thing with many new first officers....they can navigate from VOR to VOR or USING GPS but have forgot the basic skills of MAP READING. Not talking Military here as that is a complete different training syllabus.  Many have said the more they try to civilianize the military training system the worse it will get.

English is the official and accepted language for aviation worldwide including ALL OF CANADA.  

It is time English was taught properly from grade school to high school and along with physical education should be compulsory subjects.

Cheers....Happy Landings...Doug :)
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Re: What a strange language

Postby Politically Incorrect » Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:34 am



Teachers to-day don't teach....they supervise.

Over the last ten years I found the same thing with many new first officers....they can navigate from VOR to VOR or USING GPS but have forgot the basic skills of MAP READING.




I agree, I think the teaching started to og downhill back in the '80's . I went to High School from 83-86 and in that time as I progressed through the grades I noticed I went from being taught to going into a class, the "teacher" handing out the days lesson, and then sitting at the desk.
More or less we were "self taught" and were lucky to get answers to questions we might have had.
Not to mention here I was at 16 years old and two of my teachers were 19 and 21. Almost a kid teaching a kid!

As far as flight training, I left one instructor because of the fact he felt that it wasn't neccessary to teach me map reading!! He said " With technology and the GPS it eliminates the need for the wasted time on maps" His exact words!!!!
I asked "What if there is a malfunction?" and his reply "Todays technology is so good that chances are great that they will not fail" I said " The wheel is probably the most un- technologicaly advanced thing there ever was and even that is known to fail" He said "Wheels don't fly!"
Point is I want to learn all and be prepared for anything, sure GPS might not fail but I don't want to be in the position that if it does I haven't a clue of what to do next!!!! Besides get on the radio crying like a baby :)
Makes me wonder how a "teacher" like this manages to get his CFI rating?
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Re: What a strange language

Postby ATI_7500 » Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:48 am

mh,i agree,hagar. english can sometimes be a very strange language, but i think that german is a lot more difficult to learn...

batt ai zink zhat mai enklisch spehllink iz quait okeh. ;D
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Re: What a strange language

Postby Hagar » Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:55 am

As far as flight training, I left one instructor because of the fact he felt that it wasn't neccessary to teach me map reading!! He said " With technology and the GPS it eliminates the need for the wasted time on maps" His exact words!!!!
I asked "What if there is a malfunction?" and his reply "Todays technology is so good that chances are great that they will not fail" I said " The wheel is probably the most un- technologicaly advanced thing there ever was and even that is known to fail" He said "Wheels don't fly!"
Point is I want to learn all and be prepared for anything, sure GPS might not fail but I don't want to be in the position that if it does I haven't a clue of what to do next!!!! Besides get on the radio crying like a baby :)
Makes me wonder how a "teacher" like this manages to get his CFI rating?

Sadly this no longer surprises me. I feel so fortunate that I was educated at a time I when the important basic things mattered. This applied to schoolwork & my subsequent engineering & flying  training, in fact everything I was taught. I have always been a "belt & braces" man which has helped get me out of trouble so many times.

Somewhere along the way we lost the plot. When my daughter was at school the trendy new theories & methods on the best way of teaching were constantly changing. There came a time when neither I nor her mother could help with her homework. I always felt (& still do) that they were experimenting with our children's future as they only get one shot at it. I'm not sure how this was allowed to happen. The old established methods were well-proven & known to work so why change anything? I've always believed the old adage "If it ain't broke - don't fix it". ::)

This has led to the situation (in this country anyway) where if I employed a youngster straight out of school I often had to teach him/her the basics before I could teach them the job. This actually suited me as I knew that they were at least being taught the important things properly. Not too many employers would be prepared to do this.
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Re: What a strange language

Postby FLYING_TRUCKER » Fri Jan 16, 2004 8:46 am

Hope I am not to far off the thread:

BUT:

Here in our area the individual schools are asking for food donations so that they can prepare a breakfast for the children when the arrive at school.

Apparently many of them don't receive a morning meal as both parents work and they don't have time to make it.

They have time to make the kids but no time to feed them. :( :( :( :(

We are in a sad state of affairs me thinks!!!!!!

Cheers.....Happy Landings....Doug :)
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Re: What a strange language

Postby FLYING_TRUCKER » Fri Jan 16, 2004 8:48 am

Hey Silent:

I have always wanted to learn German.

How about a forum for
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Re: What a strange language

Postby Dan » Fri Jan 16, 2004 8:53 am

When I was learning English spelling, (which we do all our life anyway) I always excelled. I think most of the spelling mistakes here are typing errors. I type in Word and spell check so I can still type fast, and now and I have posted over 100 posts that way.
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Re: What a strange language

Postby FLYING_TRUCKER » Fri Jan 16, 2004 8:54 am

Sorry about that Silent but we just had a power surge:

The province is at it's max now for HYDRO.

EXPECT to see Black outs soon!!!!!!!

Yet we have lots to sell to the Yanks....HMMMM

As I was saying YOU could be our MENTOR/TEACHER!!!!!
LOL ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Cheers.....Happy Landings/Teaching....Doug
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Re: What a strange language

Postby ATI_7500 » Fri Jan 16, 2004 10:02 am

lol,nice idea,but spelling is a big part of learning a new language,so it'd be better if i was there in person.

but i could teach ya the most important german phrases (just wriiten, the spelling is your problem ;)).
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Re: What a strange language

Postby Felix/FFDS » Fri Jan 16, 2004 10:54 am

I came across this little rhyme earlier. It demonstrates what a strange & fascinating language English is & why some people have problems with their spelling. No wonder it's difficult to learn. ::)


The rhyme is interesting.  At least in Spanish the sound variations are minimal, and some can be traced to "foreign" words, such as anglicisms, or words that have crept in from other languages.

I've found that - what little German I've learned (Ich spreche kein Deutsch.) - it's more precise in it's sounds than English.  In an interesting twist, I found that teaching basic Spanish to a native English speaker that was fluent in German was easier that teaching to an English only person.

However, the English language is interesting and the word plays are fun to work out.  "That beast showed his breast in Brest."
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::)Re: What a strange language

Postby Hagar » Fri Jan 16, 2004 12:32 pm

mh,i agree,hagar. english can sometimes be a very strange language, but i think that german is a lot more difficult to learn...

batt ai zink zhat mai enklisch spehllink iz quait okeh. ;D

Hi Silent. Personally I think you have an exceptional grasp of the language, especially with colloquial (conversational) English, which I'm sure will come in very useful in the future. I can only suppose you have had excellent teachers.

A German forum is an interesting idea. As you point out, I'm not at all certain this would be possible without some idea of the pronunciation of the words & how they sound. It's often easier to speak a language than to write it correctly. By knowing a few words in various languages I can make out the general meaning of some phrases without knowing much about the language itself. Grammar is very important &, of course, spelling, phrasing & punctuation. I feel that this aspect is sadly lacking in the methods currently used for teaching English in most British schools.

At school I was very good at French but I'm ashamed to say that I don't remember much of it now. Unfortunately, German was not on the syllabus. I'm not confident I would be any good at it, particularly at my time of life.

Dan. I think you're wrong about the spelling. There will always be typos, I make plenty myself & usually go back & correct them where most people wouldn't bother. I have always been very particular about my own spelling. The fact is that some people have a talent for spelling while others do not. The problem doesn't stop there. Many people have no idea of the difference between two or more words with the same sound
Last edited by Hagar on Fri Jan 16, 2004 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What a strange language

Postby Katahu » Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:06 pm

The English language consists of both German and French.

No wonder I was able to understand some of the german words and phrases from people.

Phrases like:

Diese ist shaise.
Sprache sie englis?
Guten tag.
Gut nacht.
Mein Deustch ist nicht guten.
Ist mein Deustch gut?

Ramstein:

Du
Du Hast
Du hast mich.

Du hast mich gefract
Du hast mich gefract

Hehe ;D I like that music. ;D

But still. Mein Deutsch ist completely rusty. ;D
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Re: What a strange language

Postby Woodlouse2002 » Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:54 pm

Compaired to English, German is sensible. It might be the ugliest language in the world (sorry silent) but as far as spelling goes its great. Cause everything is spelt as it is said. Which means no silent letters.

Also, English is not a mixture of German and French. English is its own language that just happens to incorperate a fair few German, French and ultimately Latin words.

One thing I dislike about German though is the fact that they have three different words for words like "the", "a" and "mine".

In all though, I think that spelling is not that difficult. There are a few rules that you need to take notice of and some rules you need to ingore completely. My spelling has never been awful though my biggest problem is using words that don't actually exist. Like "alot" for example. I do however put my spelling down to the amount I read. There are words I've never used before in my life and I can usually tell how they are spelt. In fact, lately I have suprised myself with my spelling.

P.s. Any spelling mistakes I may have made in the above post are typos. Probably. ;D
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Re: What a strange language

Postby Hagar » Fri Jan 16, 2004 6:10 pm

One thing I dislike about German though is the fact that they have three different words for words like "the", "a" and "mine".

I'm not sure about German but in some languages all nouns are either male or female. For example: "le" & "la" in French. This is not so in English & the gender is not always obvious. This is just one of the problems that English speakers have in learning other languages.

[quote]P.s. Any spelling mistakes I may have made in the above post are typos. Probably.
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