Complications of the English Language.

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. Although it has been my first language throughout my schooling, I still find it difficult to comprehend how the same words mean different things, depending on how they are used in a sentence.

While doing some search, I came across a lot of words that could confuse the already confused. Here they go...

The farm was used to produce produce.

The bandage was wound around the wound.

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

We must polish the Polish furniture.

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

He could lead if he could get the lead out

I did not object to the object.

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

They were too close to the door to close it.

The buck does funny things when the does are present.

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

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

The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

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

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

A very famous line goes - There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple; English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

The best one - A guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig...

While looking for more of such muddles, I came across this (The person who originally thought of these was definitely perplexed by the language!) 

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
One index, 2 indices?
One 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?
People recite at a play and play at a recital; Ship by truck and send cargo by ship...
We drive on a parkway and park on a driveway
Have noses that run and feet that smell.!

A house can burn up as it burns down, you fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm goes off by going on.!

The list is endless of the ideas that a word can present. Unless one is thoroughly aware of the different interpretations, you would end up in the wrong place - Quite Literally.!!

English, was invented by Humans, and as they say - To err is Human.!

:)

Edit 1: The below poem was forwarded to me on Social Media. Credits to original writer.

The Sound of Silenced Letters

We know the letter B doesn’t belong in subtle 

But what has the letter C got to do in a muscle?

The role of the D in Wednesday we can’t define

Why should G be present in a gnat or in a sign?

To be honest, does the H in rhyme ring a bell?

And can the J in marijuana anybody smell?

Who knows why the K in knee won’t knock

And why the L in walk or in calf would not talk

The first M in mnemonic is hard to understand 

Would the damned N in the column ever stand?

We can’t say the P in psalm or in psychology 

And S alone gets tossed out from the debris

Is the T heard when you listen to a whistle?

W is not write, it’s wrong, don’t try to wrestle 

X is the mistake in a faux pas, get the clue?

Ever wonder why Y did not have it's say in Say?

Hush, no rendezvous with Z, goodbye, adieu!

Edit 2: This poem was a part of Grade 7 English. Adding it in for the nostalgia :)

The English Language

By: Harry Hemsley

Some words have different meanings, And yet they're spelt the same.

A cricket is an insect, To play it--it's a game.

On every hand, in every land, It's thoroughly agreed,

The English language to explain, is very hard indeed.

Some people say that you're dear, Yet dear is far from cheap.

A jumper is a thing you wear, Yet a jumper has to leap.

It's very clear, it's very queer, And pray who is to blame

For different meanings to some words Pronounced and spelt the same?

 

A little journey is a trip,

A trip is when you fall.

It doesn't mean you have to dance

Whene'er mean you hold a ball.

 Now here's a thing that puzzles me:

Musicians of good taste Will very often from a band- I've one around my waist!

 

Or spin a yarn may be- Yet every spin's different spin,

You spin a top, go for a spin, As you can plainly see

 Now here's a most peculiar thing, 'Twas told me as a joke-

A dumb man wouldn't speak a word, Yet seized a wheel and spoke.

A door may often be ajar, But give the door a slam,

And then your nerves receive a jar- And then there's jars of jam.

You've heard, of course, of traffic jams,

And jams you give your thumbs.

And adders, too, one is a snake,

The other adds up sums.

It's a nickname (impolite),

A policeman is a copper,

Yet a copper in the kitchen

Is an article you light.

On every hand, in every land, It's thoroughly agreed-

The English language to explain Is very hard indeed!

Listening.?

Ever wondered why the Human body has a pair of ears and one mouth?

If we were to look more closely, we would notice that everything in the body is in pairs – hands, legs, ears, eyes, with one exception – the mouth. The nose also has a pair of nostrils.!

This fact has intrigued me for quite sometime, and I have been trying to understand the purpose of this exception. The complex organism that the Human body is, this exception to the rule could not just be accidental. There had to be a rule to this exception... A deliberate design by nature.

My quest was to find this rule to the exception... The purpose of the design and the reasons behind this peculiarity. The best way was to look at Nature itself and solve the puzzle. 

Nature has myriad ways in which it give subtle messages to the ever probing Human Mind. There is always an impetus behind the scheme of nature, and we have numerous studies that support the impeccable designs... The key to this mystery also lies in one of nature’s ways - getting back to basics.

Let’s say we have one computer to do our work. If the work increases, and the current resources are not capable of handling the task, we need to increase the capacity. If the work doubles, we double the capacity and so on. In essence, 2 computers would do 2 times the work of a single machine.

Pretty straightforward.

Coming back to our original question – why do we have two ears and one mouth? Using the resource-capacity analogy - our ears are meant to do two times as much work as our mouth.!

Simple isn’t it?

Nature “demands” that we should listen twice as much as we talk. We were designed with this intent and it is prescribed upon us to follow the directive.

Sounds nice.?

In theory.!

Does it work in real life? Do we do it? Nope.!

The species that we are, we talk. A lot.

We just LOVE to talk, whether or not the occasion demands it. After some research and deliberation over the numerous studies, it boiled down to one very simple but convincing fact. We talk not because we love to talk, but more so because we love to listen to our own voice.! We adore the sound of our voices and it is the most pleasing reverberation.

This needs to change. We have to deliberately begin to Listen to what others have to say and control the urge to grab an opening to speak up. Consciously decide to shut-up and talk only when there is a mandate, and only as much as needed.

In principle, Halve the talking and Double the listening.

Literally.!

To be able to understand and communicate effectively, we must use our ears twice as much as our mouth. We must listen to our friends and the people who matter, attentively, with focus on what is being said rather than seeking an opportunity to say what we think is right.

One of the biggest secrets of success is to be able to effectively and actively listen. Thoughtfully and wholly understand the speakers' point of view. 

Hearing is a physical attribute most of us are blessed with. Listening, on the other hand, is more a state of mind, where we are actively engaged in what the other person is saying, acknowledge and grasp the message. Doing this would solve 99% of the problems in ones life.!

Listening matters. A lot. So let’s make an honest effort, this day on, to listen to people who matter, attentively.

Listen.

        Understand.

                                     Act.

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