As languages go…

A friend was bemoaning her inability to spell in a recent blog, and I sympathize. As an editor, I deal with it every single day. Spelling, grammar, punctuation...  it's a difficult language, but I love it. I also applaud anyone's efforts to use our quirky language correctly, especially in this day of instant publishing via the Internet. Some people say that correct spelling isn't important, but I disagree. People have a habit of thinking that if something is in "print," it must be correct. So reading our own words to catch errors, and using spell check on everything (even e-mail) is one way to make sure mistakes don't get published.

Today one of our marketing guys shared something he found on the internet, and I thought I'd share it with you. Hope you enjoy it.


Let's face it: English is a CRAZY language.

There is no EGG in EGGPLANT nor HAM in HAMBURGER, neither APPLE nor PINE in pineapple. ENGLISH MUFFINS weren't invented in ENGLAND, QUICKSAND can work SLOWLY, BOXING RINGS are SQUARE, and a GUINEA PIG is neither from GUINEA nor is it a PIG.

And why is it that WRITERS WRITE but FINGERS don't FING, GROCERS don't GROCE and HAMMERS don't HAM? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can MAKE AMENDS but not one AMEND? If TEACHERS TAUGHT, why didn't PREACHERS PRAUGHT? If a VEGETARIAN eats VEGETABLES, what does a HUMANITARIAN eat?

In what other language do people RECITE at a PLAY and PLAY at a RECITAL? We SHIP by TRUCK but SEND CARGO BY SHIP. We have NOSES that RUN and FEET that SMELL. We PARK in a DRIVEWAY and DRIVE on a PARKWAY. And how can a SLIM CHANCE and a FAT CHANCE be the same, while a WISE MAN and a WISE GUY are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your HOUSE can BURN UP as it BURNS DOWN, in which you FILL IN a form by FILLING IT OUT, and in which an ALARM goes OFF by going ON. And in closing, if Father is POP, how come mother's not MOP?

– Author Unknown