English is crazy. because.....?

Question

I am learning Englisg and I am a eurasian .
English has a lot of vocabulary.

I see the site : http://www.buckyogi.com/groupnames/groupnames.html

I will be crazy.

excuse me.
does American memory of all ?
if it does.

You are terrible.

I think Chinese is easy as compared with
English.

who does you think ?

Answer 1

You think Chinese is easier because of your own background. Native speakers of ANY language usually find their own language, and the languages most like it "easiest". They cannot remember how difficult it was to learn as a very small child!

In fact, EVERY language has some parts that are simple, others that are hard. What those things are differs from one language to another, but that does not mean one of them is 'easier' or 'harder' than the other. And NO language, except perhaps a dead one, has one consistent set of rules. Languages used by living human beings over a long time and larger area keep changing, and so the 'rules' keep changing. That's what a LIVING language is all about.

A few things that can be "difficult" about a language (for those who speak very different languages):

1) SOUND ("phonology"):
a) A lot of slightly different sounds, for instance, a large number of vowels. English may not be as limited as Hawaiian, but does not qualify.
b) Similarly, a system of 'tones' in which the 'same sound' in a different tone has an entirely different meaning. Again -- not in English.

2) INFLECTION ("grammatical forms"):
Complicated systems in which each noun and/or verb takes many different forms, including case (how the noun relates to other words in specific sentences), a variety of tenses, and two or more 'genders' for nouns. English has VERY little of this.

3) WORD ORDER (or "syntax")
Slight differences in word order can sometimes make a BIG difference in meaning. English IS complex in this area. But one of the main reasons for this, is that it has gotten rid of things like case endings (point #2). So you see, language often has to trade one complexity for another.

4) WRITING systems, including spelling.
English has some problems here, rooted in certain twists in its own history, including the fact that 'standardization' of Modern English spelling began around the time of the invention of the printing press, at a time when the language's pronunciation was rapidly changing. BUT there are certainly other languages that have difficult writing systems! Spelling difficulties can hardly compare with the difficulty of mastering Chinese characters. And difficulties in writing need not make the language a difficult one to learn to speak. (And people DO learn the basics of how to speak their native language before they learn to read at all!)

5) VOCABULARY ? IDIOMS?
I'm not at all sure this should be included. To learn to speak ANY langauge well one has to learn a lot of vocabulary. Obviously, if a language is related to your own, learning vocabulary will be easier for you... but that's not because the language itself is objectively 'simpler'. And the idea that one English word may have many different meanings is also misleading. This is true in ANY language, yet in every case native speakers do not have a lot of trouble with this
(in fact, you may not even notice the different ways you are using "the same word"). That's because they know/learn the meaning of the word "in this setting" or "in this expression". (In other words, learning the meaning of an expression is much like adding a word to your vocabulary.)

If you keep ALL these different categories in mind when judging, I think you will find that English (or Chinese) is neither easier nor more difficult ... and no, not "more crazy" than any other human language.

Answer 2

English is the hardest language to learn and it's going to be twice as hard for you because you weren't brought up speaking it. I hope you could understand some of what I am saying. Keep practicing and you should get it sooner or later.

Answer 3

I think English is crazy because there are so many exceptions.
Nothing has a true rule.

I'm not sure what 'does american have memory of all' means and I don't understand why that would be terrible.

Answer 4

Yes, english is easy to talk, but really difficult if you start learning about verb tenses and pronouns and so on!

Answer 5

It's harder to read English than to speak, but that isn't too hard either. I think it is hard for you at the beginning because you have to retrain your brain to distinguish the letters.

Answer 6

english is crazy for at least two reasons:

1 - it is a conglomeration of a lot of non-english languages
2 - it is constantly adding new words and re-writing its own rules of grammar and style

good luck with that!

Answer 7

With a merging of words from different cultures, English is tough on all of us.

Cleave.

it means to break apart and to bring together

Work on that one.

Answer 8

once you learn more, maybe try asking the question again so we can understand you, because your english is terrible so far.

What ever you learn first is easiest.

Answer 9

we get signal.
what you say?
main screen turn on.

Answer 10

What are you on? :)