A small comfort for English spoken skydivivers

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that's it

What goes around, comes later.

[turtlespeed 212]

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that's it

He forgot to write, "right" on the right, right? (Says a guy named Wright.)

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[Andy9o8 0]

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A small comfort for English spoken skydivivers

[zoobrothertom 5]

Just for fun, here's a short history of English from memory. Please forgive any minor errors as I don't have my notes handy.

I spent many years in the Far East (9.5 without a trip home) working and teaching in English.

While English is without a doubt the craziest excuse for a language ever conceived, it's logical shortcomings are also its greatest asset! More in a moment.

What makes English so crazy? I like to call English a bastard language. We have one mother (the Celts and other native tribes of the island of Great Britain) and many fathers! The Romans from around 50 B.C. ~ 400 A.D. The Germanic tribes like the Anglos, Saxons & Jutes from around 400 A.D. ~ 700+ A.D. The 'Vikings' from ~700 A.D. ~ 1000 A.D. The final group, Norman French from ~1010 to 1310 or so.

During the Norman period, what passed for English as a written and spoken language was broadly discouraged and French was the language of court and schooling. This included most, if not all, legal documents as well. The dastardly Norman influence haunted property transfers through at least the 1500's. Anyone who claims to be an English legal historian had better be really proficient at Middle French.

The brutal history of English, invasion after invasion, is why it is such a crazy language. We've adopted (or had them forced on us) thousands of words from other languages until our original language was unrecognizable. In many cases, the adopted word keeps some semblance of its original pronunciation. Later words from the same or other sources with similar spellings helps explain words like 'cough' and 'dough. Sometimes two similarly spelled words were adopted from the same language but hundreds of years apart.

e.g. "Are you content with the content of the contract with the slowly contracting terms?" Notice how you subconsciously read ahead to correctly pronounce the words? Maybe how you automatically correctly pronounced 'read' in the previous sentence as well?

Now, as mentioned above, the logical shortcomings of English are one of its greatest assets. In short, it's my opinion that English by its very nature of mix and add encourages creativity whether consciously or subconsciously. When a culture(s) teaches its children that there is an exception to every rule we tend to think outside the box. Maybe not unique to English, just a little more visible. Whole papers could probably be written on this one!

Just my thoughts, don't hit me too hard!

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

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zoobrothertom

e.g. "Are you contênt with the côntent of the côntract with the slowly contrâcting terms?"

I am not picking on English language. In many ways I admire it, to say at least.
Despite it's poor vocabulary, it's been among richest with phrases.

However, as life it self, it is fascinating (as skydiving is when you dig in it)

edit: the âccents :)

What goes around, comes later.

[Boogers 0]

zoobrothertom

Just my thoughts, don't hit me too hard!

Excellent post, zoo-tom. I think you've got the weirdity figured out. (Is that a word?)

[zoobrothertom 5]

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***e.g. "Are you contênt with the côntent of the côntract with the slowly contrâcting terms?"

I am not picking on English language. In many ways I admire it, to say at least.
Despite it's poor vocabulary, it's been among richest with phrases.

However, as life it self, it is fascinating (as skydiving is when you dig in it)

edit: the âccents :)

Nice touch with the accents! I thought about for maybe 1 second and decided I had had enough writing for today.

While working overseas I purchased an idiom dictionary. It was done as a doctorial candidate's thesis. The lady , now Ph.D., put together the largest idiom dictionary in English with over 10,000 idioms.

It was fun to sit down with my local friends and figure out the same idioms locally. It never failed, there was always a similar idiom though often "completely different."

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

[shropshire 0]

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You think English is easy?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture..

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert..

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear..

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

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Well, your point is well taken.
Well now, I mean well and I might as well leave well alone.
Oh Well

p.s. "skydivivers"? well, 'twas a typo

What goes around, comes later.

[kallend 1,651]

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***e.g. "Are you contênt with the côntent of the côntract with the slowly contrâcting terms?"

I am not picking on English language. In many ways I admire it, to say at least.
Despite it's poor vocabulary, it's been among richest with phrases.

However, as life it self, it is fascinating (as skydiving is when you dig in it)

edit: the âccents :)

Since English has over 1,000,000 catalogued words, I don't think it quite accurate to say it has a poor vocabulary.

Agglutinative languages really don't count.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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kallend

Since English has over 1,000,000 catalogued words..

My bad.
From my perspective, English language is widely used, yet very small number of words are actualy used. There are impressive combinations which allow for saying MUCH with a few.
I didn't know it's vocabulary is not poor. I only thought so. Probably because most people I've met can't really take part in no more than "small time" discussion.

Let me picture it for you.
Before visiting Malta, I was looking forward to it, because their 'business' language is English. (but no DZ)
Then, while buying a souvenire (a small stone sculpture) I asked a clerk:
- Is there a story behind this sculpture?
- One Euro.
- O.K. but... can you tell me something about this?
- ONE (1) Euro.
- YES one euro! Is there a book about this? A book, you know?
- Books-there (pointing to books shelf)

Check the photo, figurine sculptor made (to me) an obvious message: "Respect and Obey or Die" but I can't seem to find scientific consensus. Left guy is with a hat in his lap, the other one is missing his head and hat :)

What goes around, comes later.

[muff528 3]

Looks like it's worth at least a buck. You probably could have hit him up for a little discount since it's broken.