2006-06-25 16:04:37 · 15 answers · asked by Hickemtwiddle 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
good question! And the "r" has nothing to do with it since it's at the end and that's not the part that's weird about it. Both these words start with "count" but the "count" in country is pronounced differently than in county.
I feel what you're asking even though almost everyone else here doesn't understand the question and its funny who they're making fun of you for something they don't understand.
my answer....because it's english and for some reason, english doesn't really make sense sometimes. :-)
2006-06-25 16:34:45 · answer #1 · answered by Amanda 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I suspect the reason is a bit more buried in the histories of the two words. Note the distinct difference in their earlier spellings:
"county" is from Middle English "countee" (meaning 'the domain of a count')
"country" is from Middle English "contree"
(I do not agree, however, that "English does not make sense...." is a reasonable answer. English had undergone the same sort of historical changes as many other languages, but the spelling can confuse us because:
a) WE don't always know the story of what happened [and "I don't know" is NOT the same as "it doesn't make any sense]
b) many of the changes in pronunciation that make our spellings more confusing stem from the the interplay of diverse languages --esp. of Norman French on Germanic Old English-- in a way that other European languages did not experience)
2006-06-26 02:58:50 · answer #2 · answered by bruhaha 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Country and county are two different things. Country can be........a country. Such as Iraq or US. County is like I live in Boone county Arkansas but my city is............Blueberryville {JK dono anywhere called that!}
2006-06-25 23:09:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
one of the 287980843480982 questions about the crazy English language.
read and red
would wood
hanger hangar
and on and on and on
-ist, -er other random endings for people in professions
double negatives
this is why you should learn english at an early age... learning it once you are capable of reasoning thought on a higher level is horrible b/c you have too many questions about the most confusing (and most descriptive) language
2006-06-26 00:01:32 · answer #4 · answered by disciple1987 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because a Country is the large mass of land you live in.....A County is a municipality within the large mass of land you live in......
2006-06-25 23:08:24 · answer #5 · answered by mizzzzthang 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
2 different words spelled 2 different ways meaning 2 different things...but come to think of it....
Why are ketchup and mustard pronounced the same way?
2006-06-25 23:36:57 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to ask your third grade teacher this. Maybe next year in grade school you will learn the difference
2006-06-25 23:14:27 · answer #7 · answered by benninb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
bc the word try isnt in county
2006-06-25 23:08:25 · answer #8 · answered by tansyangeni 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
one has an R and the other one does not
2006-06-25 23:08:19 · answer #9 · answered by missy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
brouhaha is right-english has words from different languages, and they are pronounced many times according to that fact. i find it fascinating to learn languages, and learn the "history " of the word.
2006-06-26 07:56:46 · answer #10 · answered by qk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋