Saturday, July 26, 2008

Our Funny American Language

I found this in an old book and thought you'd enjoy it!

One fowl is a GOOSE, but two are called GEESE,
Yet the plural of MOOSE should never be MEESE.
You may find a lone MOUSE or a whole nest of MICE,
Then why isn't the plural of HOUSE HICE?
If the singular is THIS, and the plural is THESE,
Should the plural of KISS ever be KEESE?
We speak of a BROTHER and also of BRETHERN,
But though we say MOTHER we never say METHERN.
The masculine pronouns are HE, HIS, and HIM,
But imagine a feminine SHE, SHIS, and SHIM.
So the American language, I think you will agree,
Is the funniest language we ever did see.
From The Lighter Vein

One more item:
22 is pronounced twenty-two, but
11 is not pronounced onety-one!

17 comments:

G.L.H. said...

Ha! Sometimes we pronounce "onety-one" around my house just for fun! Thanks for sharing this.

And then there are those pesky "ough" words that don't rhyme:
cough
rough
bough
through
though...

Deb said...

Hi Ruthie! Fun, Funny, Funniest, great post. Deb

Ruthie said...

Oh, I love those "ough" words that don't rhyme, too. :)

Charlotte said...

I've always heard English is the hardest language to learn. This is a good example of it. I'm amazed at how many people don't know the difference in words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meaning - like their and there for example.
Hope you can stop back by my blog to read about our new Spiritual Sundays blog.
Have a great weekend.

Anonymous said...

HI Ruthie!

This is a cute post!

By the way, thanks for signing up for my give away contest. I hope you can post about it here in your blog for your entry to be counted.

Take care!

Mimi said...

Ha Ha Ha you are right the English language is the most difficult language to learn, because so many of the pronunciations do not make sense...

cute post

Momstheword said...

Love it!

Susie said...

The English language can be challenging to learn. So many inconsistencies.
This was a cute verse!
hugs

Jan Parrish said...

LOL. I just love it. You are cracking me up.

Robin said...

Cute list Ruthie... The last line in your post, "11 is not pronounced onety-one" made me think of this...

I use the Math U See program for my kids (homeschooling) and they actually explain 11 as onety-one. Onety - stands for one ten. Below is an excerpt from the Kindergarten Math-U-See Primer teacher's manual.

10 is "onety", 11 is "onety-one", 12 is "onety-two", 13 is "onety-three", ...19 is "onety-nine". Now it is not that the student can't say ten, eleven, twelve, but learning this method enhances their understanding, makes math logical again, and they think it is neat.

Technonana said...

Oh... I love this!!

Kathi~Lavender, Lace and Thyme said...

You can always put a smile on my face and make me think!

Have a wonderful evening.
Kathi :)

Nana Trish is Living the Dream said...

What a great observation! I always enjoy your posts and today was especially fun.

Melanie said...

LOL ~ I have heard that English is one of the hardest languages to learn. :) I may steal this for my blog..if you do not mind..of course. I will link to you!

Melanie said...

Oh..almost forgot! I tagged you!

Kristy said...

This is too stinkin' cute !
Blessings ~

Natalie said...

That reminds me of a rhyme my Nana would have recited. She was always reciting poems and lyrics by heart. I remember the enjoyment of just listening.