Due to the apparent random nature of the English (and derivative) languages,
non-English speakers, like Chinese tend to judge English as one of the
hardest
languages to learn. Significantly different syntax, many rules with large
numbers
of exceptions, etc. Synonyms, antonyms, tenses with modified rules, all
make
English pretty hard for non-English speakers to learn. German and Spanish,
even French, seems to have significantly more consistent set of
rules/guidelines
for word usage and choices.
It would be interesting to hear from middle and far eastern and African
language
speakers to know how learning English seems to them!
><> ... Jack
On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 11:46 AM, Stefan Trethan <stefan_trethan@...>wrote:
> Well, what do you expect, pretty much everyone tried to invade the
> island at one time or another with varying success ;-)
> No wonder many natives got sick of it and dispersed into just about
> every corner of the world....
>
> More seriously, it's a good thing. It makes English pretty easy to
> learn compared to most other languages, and I frequently find that
> English enables me to decipher bits and pieces of other languages as
> well. The English got the language, The French got the SI units, I
> wonder who is going to get the currency (yes I believe there will be a
> worldwide common currency eventually).
>
>
> ST
>
> On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 6:28 PM, Dylan Smith <dyls@...> wrote:
>
> > I thought "plumber" came from the Latin derivation. Then again, the
> > Latin in the French word "plomb" can easily be seen. Of course,
> > English is so irregular because it freely pirates words from any
> > other language with wild abandon, and no one cares - English seems to
> > liberally want to incorporate words from every country remotely
> > nearby :-)
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
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