in english they have alot of speeling rules
2006-09-23 02:38:44 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
English, is a complicated language. Ask anyone if they can speak proper English and know everything about it. "Sure!" They will say, but ask them about the arbitrariness of English, and they will faint. Or else, ask them to plot a complete and full mind map of English and they will go,"Ahem?" and forget what belongs where. Not even my teacher can do that. Nor can I claim that I speak perfect English. So don't lose heart, but work hard. I too have a mild problem with spelling, but I try to overcome it. Believe in yourself, and don't expect too much.
2006-09-23 02:49:42 · answer #1 · answered by tombraider 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because English is a "borrower" language.
It started as a Celtic language, I think. Then the Romans conquered Britain and added their language into the mix. By the time Old English was established, there were two more languages that had Danish or Germanic origin, which added some components. Then in 1066, the French came to stay for a while.
Every resident or conqueror added words into the language, and added its own spelling rules, and rules of grammar. That's why you hear three different pronunciations for "oo", as in blood, good, and food. That's also why you have at least seven different pronunciations for "ough". And that's why some of our sentence structures are based on French, and German, and Latin language.
2006-09-23 09:51:53 · answer #2 · answered by Ogelthorpe13 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the real problem is that many words from other languages are included into American English. This means that we have the rules of all those other languages to learn besides our own.
The rules that are made for the language are often broken in some way.
example: "I" before "e" except after "c" or when sounding as "ay" as in "neighbor" and "weigh".
Then just as you get that rule down you bump into the words "either" and "neither"........
There are so many word that you just have to memorize without a rule to help you.Words such as "knight", "xylophone", "psychology" and so on. You can't spell those words phonetically.
It is a difficult language.
2006-09-23 10:03:50 · answer #3 · answered by ZEE 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For one reason our vowels A E I O U can have different sounds. In Spanish the vowels only have one basic sound. Then there are the words like "cell and sell" "bail and bale" "whether and weather" "male and mail" which all are pronounced the same, but definitely have totally different meanings. To a person who doesn't know English well it would be difficult to understand. I'm a English speaker and I really don't understand it to the fullest.
2006-09-23 09:54:43 · answer #4 · answered by WV_Nomad 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The problem with English is that the spelling is very arcane and NOT phonetic. It is based on the transitions from Old to Middle to Modern English and has retained various blends that are not easy to understand for persons who learn the language either as a native or as a second language. So please do not feel badly that it is difficult for you. All you can do is keep a dictionary at hand at all times. Good luck.
2006-09-23 09:43:15 · answer #5 · answered by cmpbush 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are to many exceptions in the English language which makes it harder to learn as a second language. Example: fox-foxes,ox-oxen, i before e except after c and sometimes y. There are also a lot of words that sound the same but have different meanings.It's all kind of silly but if you grow up learning it it's not so bad.
2006-09-23 09:48:44 · answer #6 · answered by grooveface 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
English is difficult to learn for non-native speakers because, although we have many spelling and pronunciation rules, those rules are broken quite a bit.
2006-09-23 09:41:43 · answer #7 · answered by Joy M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because, unlike in many other languages, in English words such as verbs cannot be grouped according to their endings; and because when you want to say something in English, there is often more than one correct way to phrase it.
A good way to improve your English is by listening to lots of English songs.
2006-09-24 12:23:57 · answer #8 · answered by Robert C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i came to the us 4 years ago and i was the only one out of both of my parents and bro who learned English, the grammar verbs, spelling and everything fast. All i did was download lyrics to music and i sang, and i also read a lot and asked my friends and cousins to speak in English to me, watch English TV
2006-09-23 09:44:07 · answer #9 · answered by LaTiiNa BaBii 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of the reasons that spelling is so hard to learn is that we Americans use alot of slang. Slang is when you use a word with one meaning and make it a word with another meaning.
2006-09-23 09:47:29 · answer #10 · answered by abbyrose 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋