English Is A Beautiful, Rich, and Crazy (sorry) Language!
By julito
@antonbunot (11093)
Calgary, Alberta
September 26, 2016 2:24pm CST
English is one of the most beautiful languages of the world. English is a rich language. There are 50 synonyms of the word beautiful. Examples: pretty, appealing, elegant, stunning, lovely, and (even) symmetrical to name a few. But I think it is also a crazy language. Again, this is just what I think.
If it is okay to say “Believe you me!” Why can’t we say – “Call back me!”? If the plural of house is houses, why mice for mouse? The plural of box is boxes, why oxen for ox instead of oxes? Also, why do we say stand up and sit down? Sounds redundant to me! Tsunami is a Japanese word for tidal wave, right? Why the heck don’t we just say tidal wave? America dropped atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima and still had the guts to pirate their "tsunami"; it may be too much a pain on the ass to the good Japanese people. Sayonara!
Anyway, one day I was at a gas station (full serve) and the gas attendant asked me –“How much, sir?” I replied, “20 bucks, please!” A black guy at the other gas pump waiting for his turn seemed surprised to hear the word “bucks.” He asked me – “Are you not paying in dollars?”
I found out he was a new immigrant from Sudan.
I love the English language! Do you, too?
I found out he was a new immigrant from Sudan.
I love the English language! Do you, too?22 people like this
23 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
26 Sep 16
Yes indeed Julito where else can one say a box but no boxen y et if you have two oxes
you have to say two oxen but you cannot say four boxen lo lol lool also one woman but two women yet you can say one girl but you can also say two girls not girlen
5 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Sep 16
hahahaha! @Hatley . . thanks for complementing the humor of my article! It is humor, I hope other fellow myLoters won't take it seriously!
3 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Sep 16
@marlina In 1992 My then young family immigrated to Canada and we settled in Kelowna. I wanted to learn French, so I phoned the city. They told me that I should go to Quebec if I wanted to learn the language!
3 people like this
@marlina (154131)
• Canada
26 Sep 16
@antonbunot And they were right! Quebec is the place to learn French.
3 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Sep 16
@marlina You may be right . . . but since Canada is bilingual . . . we (including immigrants) should be given the opportunity to learn both languages anywhere we are in Canada. Right?
2 people like this
@much2say (55664)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Sep 16
I don't know if I love it - it's just there . Actually English was my second language even though I was born here. Japanese was my first (though I've never been through a tsunami 
). So I think when you're a kid growing up with this language, you just roll with it and don't think how strange it can be. But relatives and friends who don't live here do tell me how crazy English is and how can we track of it all! 2 people like this
@much2say (55664)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Sep 16
@antonbunot Yes - we are both hyphenated people 
!
And what is this about a Japanese wheel during the Jurassic period??? 
Is that the gigantic wheel that creates tsunamis in the ocean?
!
And what is this about a Japanese wheel during the Jurassic period??? Is that the gigantic wheel that creates tsunamis in the ocean? 2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
28 Sep 16
@much2say Ha!? You are Japanese-American . . . just like me Filipino-Canadian!? You know lots of Filipinos believe that it was a Japanese fellow who invented the wheel during the Jurassic period!
.
.2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
29 Sep 16
@much2say Hmmm, Filipinos think that way because of Honda, Yamaha, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and so on. So, a Japanese fellow must have invented the wheel.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
26 Sep 16
I think that English is a lot of easier than, let's say Spanish. With your user name, I suppose you speak Spanish. "Ser" and "estar", meaning both "to be" are evil for an English native speaker, like for a French native speaker :
"ser bueno", to be kind, "estar bueno", to be good to eat, not exactly the same. "Ser listo", to be smart, "estar listo", to be ready, etc. Crazy, really.
. "Ser" and "estar", meaning both "to be" are evil for an English native speaker, like for a French native speaker :
"ser bueno", to be kind, "estar bueno", to be good to eat, not exactly the same. "Ser listo", to be smart, "estar listo", to be ready, etc. Crazy, really.2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
26 Sep 16
@antonbunot I did not took you too seriously. Yes, it is humor, and you can find "crazy" things like that in any language I guess.
"The limits of my language are the limits of my world" said a philosopher. Speaking 3 languages you have increased your limits
.
. Yes, it is humor, and you can find "crazy" things like that in any language I guess.
"The limits of my language are the limits of my world" said a philosopher. Speaking 3 languages you have increased your limits.2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Sep 16
@toffer, Si, hablo y escribo espanol porque es nuestro lenguaje Segundo en las Pilipinas . . English tambien. Anyway, some fellow myLoters may take this article seriously . . but I wrote and posted it as humor! And you may be surprised that English is our official language in the Philippines . . even more popularly spoken than Tagalog, our national language .
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
26 Sep 16
@antonbunot Oh, I am a bad myLot member, and I had not read the responses before giving mine
. Humor or sarcasm here are not always understood like they should be...
. Humor or sarcasm here are not always understood like they should be...2 people like this
@toniganzon (72281)
• Philippines
27 Sep 16
Crazy English language. I was obsessed with it for quite awhile in my youth. But gone are the days of my youth. I no longer love the American English.
French intrigues me, and the old English language. American English is not English if you're going to ask the British people lol!
3 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@toniganzon . . that is why I made it clear to @JaboUK . . . that I am talking about American English not their English English!
3 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@SIMPLYD I could never forget that young Canadian sales lady who was giggling while I was talking to her a week after our arrival here in Canada in 1992. She said she loved my accent and my complete sentences!
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (180857)
• United States
27 Sep 16
This is the reason that so many people have difficulty learning the English language.
2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@snowy22315 Actually, it is one of the easiest to learn . . But I think Spanish is the easiest.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
27 Sep 16
i remember when dunkin donuts was new here. the branch we went to was near a rich residential area. one of the customers actually asked her companion for 2 bucks (instead of 'dalawang piso' or '2 pesos'). i was surprised and thought they accept dollars in that branch. hahaha!
2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@hereandthere . . Must be English-spokening! 
2 people like this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
28 Sep 16
I always tell my grandson to sit up, after telling him to sit down .. Yes indeed , English is confusing sometimes ..
.. Yes indeed , English is confusing sometimes ..2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
28 Sep 16
@epiffanie I mean why do we have to say stand up . . . "You are standing down, please stand up!" Is it not correct to say - - sit straight instead of sit up straight . . . stand straight instead of stand up straight?
Is it not correct to say - - sit straight instead of sit up straight . . . stand straight instead of stand up straight?2 people like this
@LeaPea2417 (37355)
• Toccoa, Georgia
4 Nov 16
Yes, I do love the English language. It is my main language and of course I think it makes the most sense. It has a lot of exceptions and idioms, but all languages have their own quirky rules.
2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
4 Nov 16
@LeaPea2417 . . . Don't take my post seriously . . . Just h-u-m-o-r! . . I love the English language.
. . I love the English language. 2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
27 Sep 16
@antonbunot Well British English can be confusing too.
I just wrote a post about Prince William, and you are right they do seem a decent couple.
I just wrote a post about Prince William, and you are right they do seem a decent couple.1 person likes this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@jaboUK . . . I am talking about American English not English English! . . . . O, I watched the Royal couple on TV yesterday . . . . A beautiful young family!
. . . . O, I watched the Royal couple on TV yesterday . . . . A beautiful young family!2 people like this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
27 Sep 16
And don't even get me started on Black Slang @antonbunot !!!!! You can't understand a word they're saying and they were born in the US.
2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@thelme55 In 1993 we met a 55-year-old lady (Ate Lourdes from Moncada, Tarlac) in Kelowna City, British Columbia. O, she was a very talkative lady. We were in a Laundromat and several Canadian men and women were listening to her telling things about the Philippines. She said - "In the Felepenz we hev so much vej-eh-tah-bels!" One man asked her - What is vej-eh-tah-bels?" She replied - "You don't know vej-eh-tah-bels?" The Canadian men and another woman said - "No!" . . . She asked me to tell them what is vej-eh-tah-bels." I told them - - "She means vej'tebls!" . . and they responded laughing - - "Ahhh!" . . Wrong accent and pronunciation!
. . Wrong accent and pronunciation! 2 people like this
@thelme55 (77081)
• Germany
28 Sep 16
@antonbunot 
Some of us Filipinos really over pronounced the english words that the english speaking people and sometimes myself could not understand.
Some of us Filipinos really over pronounced the english words that the english speaking people and sometimes myself could not understand.1 person likes this
@minders1 (83)
• Lagos, Nigeria
27 Sep 16
Nice post...I think one interesting thing about English is that it is a very accommodating language that can borrow words from all other language. It is truly dynamic.
People have even form their own versions of English.. American English, Brirtish English, Nigerian Pidgin English , Jamaican English with alot of slangs. I feel the language try to embraced all people.
2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@minders You missed New Zealand, Canada, and Australia!
@Letranknight2015 (51969)
• Philippines
27 Sep 16
Not really, I wasn't a fan of the american english language. I thought speaking English was enough, I didn't realize you have to perfect it. These days, I don't speak the English language anymore.
2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@LetranKnight2015 I tell you that whereas in the Philippines we are very conscious of the English grammar. We speak and write English grammatically correct. In the West they don't care about grammar.
1 person likes this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@sol_cee Ngek! What did I do? He is a man not a woman!
1 person likes this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Sep 16
@DuanneN I don't think it is as difficult as learning Mandarin.
2 people like this
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
26 Sep 16
It's hard when there's language barrier.
2 people like this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Sep 16
@acelawrites what do you mean by language barrier?
1 person likes this
