Several languages are spoken around the world. Yet, one language, in spite of its many peculiarities and absurdities has, through a series of fortuitous circumstances, emerged the true “lingua franca” of the modern age.

England is the birthplace of the English Language. However, the English Language itself is a ‘borrowed’ language. It contains several words of the Anglo-Saxon dialect and has absorbed many words from other languages such as French, Latin, German, Greek.

English’s role as “lingua franca” is truly fascinating because people use it as a “link” language within their own countries. It is the most sought after and widely used link language for International business and diplomacy.

In Spite of its many good points, English is one of the most exasperating languages to learn because of its many peculiarities – some of which we shall soon see.

1. Spelling and Pronunciation:

English spelling and pronunciation are totally unmatched. See a few examples below:

Spelling:

• If the plural of box is boxes, why can’t the plural of ox be oxes?
• If the plural of mouse is mice why can’t the plural of house be hice?
• If the plural of hoof is hooves why can’t the plural of roof be rooves?
• We speak of brother and also of brethren, but though we say mother, we never say methren.
• If ‘i’ comes before an ‘e’ except after a ‘c’ – how do you account for words like ‘seize’?

Pronunciation:

• The symbol (a) is pronounced differently in words like (a-l-s-o); (a-r-m); (a-l-o-n-e); (a-l-i-e-n); (a-l-p-i-n-e).
• Then again, for a common pronunciation, there are two different spellings eg; (c-e-l-l) and (s-e-l-l). Moreover, these words carry a redundant extra symbol ‘l’.
• Words with silent letters serve no apparent purpose. Consider words like - (d-e-b-t); (h-o-n-o-u-r); (i-s-l-a-n-d).
• Don’t we get the same sound in words like:- ‘tea’, ‘feel’, ‘believe’, ‘receive’?
• What’s the difference between words like intention and television?
• Have you considered how difficult it is for the language learner to figure out why “GHOTI” cannot be pronounced “FISH” if..
  gh .. represents - f - as in ‘paragraph’
  o .. represents – i – as in ‘women’
  ti .. represents – sh – as in ‘dictation’ ….. ??

There are words with different meanings that are:-

pronounced the same but spelled differently –

Eg:- (“there”, “their”); (“whole”, “hole”)

spelled the same but pronounced differently.

• The row started because the prisoners stood in a row.
• Why does he refuse to throw the refuse?

Groups of the same letters in the same order are pronounced in many different ways. Take the oddity (o-u-g-h) in:-

(c-o-u-g-h); (d-o-u-g-h); (t-h-r-o-u-g-h); (b-o-u-g-h).

George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright, highlighted this peculiarity in a famous poem.

2. Different forms of the Future Tense:

EFL teachers have spent sleepless nights wondering how to teach the “going to” form to students and explain how different it is from the “present continuous” and “will” future forms.

3. Phrasal Verbs:

In theory Phrasal Verbs are generally considered to be idiomatic combinations of a verb and an adverbial particle. However, scholars are still debating on whether the later is an adverb, prepositional adverb, postpositional prefix, special part of speech etc.,

English phrasal verbs can be highly idiomatic, their meanings being unpredictable from the sum of their constituents’ meanings (eg. take in [to deceive, to consume..] lay down [to build, to consolidate?] );

Phrasal Verbs render different shades of meaning in different uses.

Take the above example “check this out” and “check out”.

Then there is confusion with the “separated” and “non-separated” phrasal verb (like the one above):

You can say she “switched off the light” and also she “switched the light off”, but you cannot do the same with “she told him off”? (she told off him!!!)

Obviously such semantic peculiarities of English phrasal verbs must influence the process of their translation into other languages.

4. Expressions:

Would a learner understand the difference between:

To drive on a parkway …. and ….

Park on a driveway?

that “A fat chance” and a “slim chance” .. mean the same?

that you “fill-out” a Form by “filling it in?”

5. Figures of Speech:

How can a language learner learn the depth of an ‘oxymoron’? Would a ‘silent noise’ make sense to him or for that matter the “walking dead”? How about explaining the sense of going about with “your eyes wide shut?”

Let me conclude with a remark from a sworn enemy of anglicisms:

“To speak English is a necessity; to speak French is a privilege”.

Sources: The Internet

MARISSA RASHEED