The english language

[Jarre]

Its no wonder foreigners have difficulty with our language when alot of it doesn't make sense. lets look at a few examples.

Pineapple - it contains no pine nor is it any proximate resemblance of an apple.

Vegatarians eat vegatables, so what do humanatarians eat?

Why use the quote " I see what your saying" when you can't see the words a person speaks.

Olive oil comes from olives, so where does Baby oil come from?

I will add a few more when i think of them, please feel free to add your comment about the english language and strange words and phrases we use....

[Ellipses]

Re: The english language

Vegatarians eat vegatables, so what do humanitarians eat?

Humanitables, of course.

[Wise Donkey]

Re: The english language

We drive on a parkway and park on a driveway, and pay to drive on the freeway.
We play at recitals and recite at plays.

[Jarre]

Re: The english language

a few more...

There is no egg in an egg plant.

Have you ever noticed how slowly someone sinks in quick sand?

Boxing rings are square.

Guninnee piggs are not pigs.

Urinal cakes taste nothing like cake.

Why do you call people from poland Poles and not people from holland hole's.

[Tsrwedge]

Re: The english language

Urinal cakes taste nothing like cake.

Know this from experience do you?

[Mhurron]

Re: The english language

Etymology.

Pineapple: 1398, "pine cone," from pine (n.) + apple. The reference to the fruit of the tropical plant (from resemblance of shape) is first recorded 1664, and pine cone emerged 1695 to replace pineapple in its original sense. For "pine cone," O.E. also used pinhnyte "pine nut."

Baby Oil: an ointment for babies - Ya, that one is very difficult to understand isn't it.

Vegitarian/humanitarian: Sorry, but it's you who have this wrong. Vegitarian - consisting primarily or wholly of vegetables and vegetable products - It does not mean diet, which is why Vegetarian Diet is not a redundant statement.

See: to perceive (things) mentally

Definitions of words are not why English is a much harder language to master then it needs to be. If you think English is the only language that has words that have more then one meaning, well, you obviously only know one language.

[Jarre]

Re: The english language

Mhurron you have obviously miss read the whole concept of the thread and have no sense of humour. Its taking the piss out of my own language by using real examples of words and putting a funny twist to them with the comment.
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Know this from experience do you?

No but its like the quote about Marmite (which i love) that I was told.

Marmite is like licking a cats arse to which you reply "who did your research?"

[Mhurron]

Re: The english language

Mhurron you have obviously miss read the whole concept of the thread and have no sense of humour. Its taking the piss out of my own language by using real examples of words and putting a funny twist to them with the comment.

I didn't realize that ignorance was humour.
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No but its like the quote about Marmite (which i love) that I was told.

That stuff is disgusting.

[Satori]

Re: The english language

How can evaporated milk still be in the tin, if it has evaporated?

[Feba]

Re: The english language

argh, people, if you want to talk about how stupid English is, do it the right way. Like Chaos: A Poem

[Armando]

Re: The english language

How can evaporated milk still be in the tin, if it has evaporated?

When stuff evaporates it doesn't get the power to go through solid objects.

People call them Poles? I thought it was Polish?

[Ziero]

Re: The english language

See, this is why I never really liked language jokes, because a lot of the common ones that sound funny at first actually make sense if you take 10 seconds to think about it. The worst imo, is when George Carlin, who I do find funny, would do his word jokes because I would sit there and think "...that's not odd, that phrase makes perfect sense".

But then again, I'm wierd like that

[Jarre]

Re: The english language

It differes in too many ways you yanks butchered our language lol.

Colour is C O L O U R NOT C O L O R

Its I (short) raq not eye-rac I's are not ment to be really emphisiized in our language like you do.

A fag is a cigerette.

Pants are underwear not trousers.

A scone is a scone not a biscuit.

Jelly is that gellotine wobbly stuff not Jam you spread JAM on your bread not jelly!

The back of your car is a boot not a trunk, a trunk is a large case. (and has been for 500 years!!!)

There are no public bathrooms only public toilets, their are no baths in public toilets!!!

Our naitonal sport is football not soccer, football as in you kick the ball with your feet, not your football which is our rugby but with padding.

Band aid is a trade name and also a name of teh band who sang DO tehy know tis christmas. You put a plaster on your wounds not a band.

I could rant on for hours......

[Legion]

Re: The english language

Ive always wondered why lisp has an s in it (I know without it it would be lip)

and why dyslexia was so hard to spell

[Akashimo]

Re: The english language

Jarre its 2008, come to the new world already!

Oh I just remembered, funny story my French teacher told my class sophomore year in high school.
She had a student who was from the UK, he asked for a rubber, and she temporaly forgot that he meant US eraser and totally flipped ;x