The English Language Discussion Thread

[Nacian]

as a linguist and an English learner I oftne wonder about the logic in which some words seem to be spelt or written.
I am a keen mathematician and see a language as continuity from Maths.
By that I mean the only way I can learn languages quickly is when there is coherency continuity and logic in the way words and letters are presented otherwise it is chaos.
you might not agree, and might well see language is what it is and just has to be accepted but there is no harm in discussing what is to me 'ambiguities' that I seem to discover in during my conquest of the English language.

for example

the two verbs

To Choose and To Lose
they are both pronounced the same but spelt differently.
two OO in the first and only one O in the second?

is there a reason why that is?

[Bloggsworth]

There is no logic, English is a mongrel language. Over 2,000 years it has absorbed elements of every other language if has come into contact with; unlike France, England was not at all snotty about correctness; if there was a French word or expression which perfectly defined that word or phrase, we took a laissez faire attitude to its use and it was absorbed into English. The British colonised India where there were shaded projections on the front of houses where people could sit and have tiffin, it was called a veranda, so we now use veranda to describe such a construction. In this manner English grew, constantly aware of the zeitgeist, English constantly adopted and adapted and the language grew. It is the most adaptable language in the world, constantly renewing itself, so don't look for logic in its construction, just use it in its infinite variety...

[The Backward OX]

the only way I can learn languages quickly is when there is coherency continuity and logic in the way words and letters are presented otherwise it is chaos.

If that’s the only way you can learn a language, you might as well move to Mogadishu or Teheran or Timbuktu, and learn whatever it is they speak there, as you will never master English.

Bloggs put it perfectly when he said we have a mongrel language. There is no coherency, continuity or logic to English.

Never mind lose and choose, how about Jews blues booze news poos ‘roos (Australian) shoes ruse views and zoos?

Then there’s cough through thorough hiccough enough although bough and wash-trough.

Need I go on?

[Nacian]

there is a fine line between those too words they are far too similar to be dissimilar.
the examples you gave are veery different to each other ..so I would not dispute them as I would not know where to begin.
a question is there for me to ask so I will indeed indulge in questioning obvious dissimilarities because they stand out.
I would loved to have had an account on how these words have been put together especially whne it comes CHOOSE and LOSE.
I have had battles with thme because my instinct was to spell LOOSE like this and hence annoys me greatly not to knwo why it is not so.
I am guessing because you are not in my position you are very easily dismissive of the point I am raising.
in the same way I amnot sure why the word RECIPE is missing another E.
for me it should be because of pronunciation purposes should be spelt RECIPEE.
like the word TOUPEE.
these words simply do not make sense.
I think after a while I get annoyed because it is one way this way and another way this way.

[The Backward OX]

Bow and arrow; bow to the Queen. How do you pronounce 'bow'?

A female pig is a sow; you sow seeds in a garden. How do you pronounce 'sow'? You sew a button on a shirt. How do you pronounce 'sew'?

The last syllable of 'recipe' is not pronounced the same way as the last syllable of 'toupee'. That's one of the reasons for the different spellings.

You'll never win. We have 2000 years' worth of semantics on our side.

[Nacian]

The last syllable of 'recipe' is not pronounced the same way as the last syllable of 'toupee'. That's one of the reasons for the different spellings.

You'll never win. We have 2000 years of word development on our side.

the last syllable of each of the word are pronounced the same as in Pee for P as in how it is pronounced in the alphabet.
here is another a PEA.
how baffling

Bow and arrow; bow to the Queen. How do you pronounce 'bow'?

A female pig is a sow; you sow seeds in a garden. How do you pronounce 'sow'? You sew a button on a shirt. How do you pronounce 'sew'?

haha....I shall study them carefully now I really need to understand why you crossed the word ducks and left like that.
I do not get the significance of it OX.

[Baron]

If that’s the only way you can learn a language, you might as well move to Mogadishu or Teheran or Timbuktu, and learn whatever it is they speak there, as you will never master English.

Bloggs put it perfectly when he said we have a mongrel language. There is no coherency, continuity or nor logic to English.

Never mind lose and choose, how about Jews blues booze news poos ‘roos (Australian) shoes ruse views and zoos?

Then there’s cough through thorough hiccough enough although bough and wash-trough.

Need I go on?

[The Backward OX]

Sorry, Baron, it's not that simple:

When to Use “Or” Instead of “Nor”
“Neither” and “nor” are bosom buddies. They require balance.
In all our examples so far, we’ve used “nor” to indicate a negative state that continues after something else negative happens. However, when the second negative item is a noun, adjective, or adverb phrase (4), you should use “or” to continue the negative thought because according to Bryan Garner “the initial negative carries through to all the enumerated elements” (5). For example, when you use the word “not,” the structure “not A or B” is correct. You’d have to say, “He is not interested in math or science”; “He is not interested in math nor science” won’t work. Likewise, “She didn’t speak slowly or clearly” has a better ring to it than “She didn’t speak slowly nor clearly.”
When to Use Either “Nor” or “Or”
If, on the other hand, the second part of the negative is a verb phrase—not a verb clause—then you can choose to use “nor” or “or” (6). Both of the following sentences will work: “Santa will not permit naughty behavior or even consider bringing presents.” “Santa will not permit naughty behavior nor even consider bringing presents.” You as the writer get to decide which one sounds better. If you’re unsure which word to use, or if you want to avoid the problem, you can try saying, “and no” for the second part of the negative (7): “I have no time and no money.” The phrase “and not” will also work: “Santa will not permit naughty behavior and will not even consider bringing presents.”
Warning
You do need to be careful about keeping your “neither” and “nor” parallel. For example, it would be wrong to write, “He will study neither his lesson nor do his chores.” The part that follows “neither” is a noun (“his lessons”), and the part that follows “nor” is a verb phrase (“do his chores”). You want those two parts to match. You can fix it by moving the “neither” so it comes before the word “study.” Then both parts are verb phrases: neither study his lessons, nor do his chores.
Summary
To summarize, “nor” often pairs up with “neither,” but not always. When it comes to other negative words, use “or” if the second part of the negative is a noun, adjective, or adverb phrase. If it’s a verb phrase, choose either “nor” or “or.” If you’re unsure which one to use, consider saying, “and no” or “and not” for the second part.

the last syllable of each of the word are pronounced the same as in Pee for P as in how it is pronounced in the alphabet.
here is another a PEA.
how baffling

'Toupee' is pronounced 'two-pay'. 'Recipe' is pronounced 'ressa-pee'. Are you sure you understand the meaning of the word 'syllable'?

[Bloggsworth]

Nacian,

English is made up of Irish, Welsh, Scottish (both vernacular and Gaelic), Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German (Ancient & Modern), Polish, Russian, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek (Both ancient & modern), Turkish, Arabic, Latin, Hindi, Gutjerati, Tamil, Ceylonese, Malay, Burmese, Chinse (Both Mandarin & Cantonese), Japanese, Polynesean, Aborigine, Maori, Apache, Navaho, Souix..... Shall I go on Nacian? To learn English you have to learn the whole of English with all its idiosyncrasies , one by one...

[The Backward OX]

I really need to understand why you crossed the word ducks and left like that.
I do not get the significance of it OX.

Would it make you happier if I deleted the crossed-out ducks? It's an English-language slang joke, don't worry about it.

[Nacian]

Would it make you happier if I deleted the crossed-out ducks? It's an English-language slang joke, don't worry about it.

it would make me happier if you actually explained what it actually means.
slang canbe masterd too you know.

[The Backward OX]

Nacian,

English is made up of Irish, Welsh, Scottish (both vernacular and Gaelic), Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German (Ancient & Modern), Polish, Russian, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek (Both ancient & modern), Turkish, Arabic, Latin, Hindi, Gutjerati, Tamil, Ceylonese, Malay, Burmese, Chinse (Both Mandarin & Cantonese), Japanese, Polynesean, Aborigine, Maori, Apache, Navaho, Souix..... Shall I go on Nacian? To learn English you have to learn the whole of English with all its idiosyncrasies , one by one...

You forgot Irish Gaelic, Icelandic and Mississippian.

[Nacian]

'Toupee' is pronounced 'two-pay'. 'Recipe' is pronounced 'ressa-pee'. Are you sure you understand the meaning of the word 'syllable'?

okay maybe Toupee was the wrong for it although if spelt with two EE it should be pronounced TOUPEE .
the whole point of adding another E is to stress the pronunciation of the E.
here is another word
RUPEE
and
RECIPEE makes more sense to me.

Nacian,

English is made up of Irish, Welsh, Scottish (both vernacular and Gaelic), Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German (Ancient & Modern), Polish, Russian, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek (Both ancient & modern), Turkish, Arabic, Latin, Hindi, Gutjerati, Tamil, Ceylonese, Malay, Burmese, Chinse (Both Mandarin & Cantonese), Japanese, Polynesean, Aborigine, Maori, Apache, Navaho, Souix..... Shall I go on Nacian? To learn English you have to learn the whole of English with all its idiosyncrasies , one by one...

no no need to go on I see exactly what you mean but as I said it is the little details in words that gets to me plus where is the fun in learning if questions are not asked.
in the same way that I wonder why French is a sexist language.

[The Backward OX]

it would make me happier if you actually explained what it actually means.
slang canbe masterd too you know.

Look up the word 'turkey' in a thesaurus or dictionary.

[Nacian]

well OX I have and it does prioritise meat over country from the look.
there is another word I am totally at loss with which came first turkey or the tukey? and I would say the bird did according to the thesausrus as its entry indicate.
still why on earth would you call a bird a country..
anyway I did ..was I suppose to notice something?