What do you assign to Mordor?

[Galadriel55]

I assign French spelling. Seriously, if you want to say "boku", don't write "b-e-a-u-c-o-u-p". And that's not even the worst of it - there's about an infinity of letter combinations that make "eh" sounds. If you want to say ey, so write ey, don't write é, et, es, est, er, ez, ai, ais, ait, aient,, some more that don't come to mind right now, and, worst of all, eaient! Why so many ways to pronounce the same sound, or almost the same sound? Waste of letters.

/rant out.

Also, accents. Never got the point of having so many. Can't even tell the difference between them: é è ê ë, they're all just eh to me. Though Ëonwë would probably disagree with me on this one.

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I assign French spelling. Seriously, if you want to say "boku", don't write "b-e-a-u-c-o-u-p". And that's not even the worst of it - there's about an infinity of letter combinations that make "eh" sounds. [...] Waste of letters.

English isn't exactly in a position to complain about this, you know?
Besides, doesn't it say something about a language that it expresses the notion of "much" or "many" with a word literally meaning "a fair cup"? Which is of cause lost in a strictly phonetic spelling.

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Also, accents. Never got the point of having so many. Can't even tell the difference between them: é è ê ë, they're all just eh to me. Though Ëonwë would probably disagree with me on this one.

Äccents åre græt. Äccents åre gôrjeous. We løves 'èm, my prëcious, yés we dó.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Also, accents. Never got the point of having so many. Can't even tell the difference between them: é è ê ë, they're all just eh to me. Though Ëonwë would probably disagree with me on this one.

It's just there to tell you that you're meant to pronounce the vowels separately.
And yes, it's Eönwë.

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Äccents åre græt. Äccents åre gôrjeous. We løves 'èm, my prëcious, yés we dó.

*cough*

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

And yes, it's Eönwë.

*cought* Yes, um, I *cough*definitely*cough* know accents, you can tell.

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I assign French spelling. Seriously, if you want to say "boku", don't write "b-e-a-u-c-o-u-p".

FRENCH spellings? English spellings are worse. You can never tell if the 'h' is silent, if the 'c' is a 'c', an 's', or a 'k', if 'ch' is actually 'ch' or just 'k', if the 'x' is actually an 'x' or a 'z'...

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

FRENCH spellings? English spellings are worse. You can never tell if the 'h' is silent, if the 'c' is a 'c', an 's', or a 'k', if 'ch' is actually 'ch' or just 'k', if the 'x' is actually an 'x' or a 'z'...

No, that's English pronounciation.


I guess I see the languages differently because I learn new English from storybooks and new French from the teacher. And when the teacher says, for example, "spell sais", I'm more likely to write c'est or s'est or just plainly ce or se.

In English, though, I'm ok with spelling the words but sometimes have the wrong pronounciation. I still pronounce "treachery" as treechery, not trechery, and "bury" as bury, not bary. Just because I read those words before I heard them.


Or let's put it simpler. I know English, I don't know French.

[Andsigil]

I love the English language, ever since I began studying Latin, Spanish, and Japanese.

This attempt by the Normans to smash the square peg of French into the round hole of Anglo Saxon which began a thousand years ago has become what multilingual, non-English speakers have assured is the hardest language to learn in the world.

I've collected a few quotes about English over the years:

“The word ‘good’ has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man.”
-G. K. Chesterton

“English grammar is so complex and confusing for the one very simple reason that its rules and terminology are based on Latin, a language with which it has precious little in common.”
-Bill Bryson

To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. Whoever writes English is involved in a struggle that never lets up even for a sentence. He is struggling against vagueness, against obscurity, against the lure of the decorative adjective, against the encroachment of Latin and Greek, and, above all, against the worn-out phrases and dead metaphors with which the language is cluttered up.
—George Orwell

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Andsigil

I love the English language, ever since I began studying Latin, Spanish, and Japanese.

I hate getting envious

[Galadriel]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

No, that's English pronounciation.

Oops! Yeah, sorry And it's 'pronunciation' I'm usually not bothered by English spellings, but the pronunciation is just...confusing

Or let's put it simpler. I know English, I don't know French.

I wish I knew French.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

And it's 'pronunciation'

Ooops. Yeah. Well. Umm. Yeah.

That's why it all belongs in Mordor - spelling and pronunciation together!

Originally Posted by Galadriel

I wish I knew French.

Ditto. If I knew it I woudn't have to learn it.

/stupid silly mood

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I assign French spelling. Seriously, if you want to say "boku", don't write "b-e-a-u-c-o-u-p". And that's not even the worst of it - there's about an infinity of letter combinations that make "eh" sounds. If you want to say ey, so write ey, don't write é, et, es, est, er, ez, ai, ais, ait, aient,, some more that don't come to mind right now, and, worst of all, eaient! Why so many ways to pronounce the same sound, or almost the same sound? Waste of letters.

/rant out.

Also, accents. Never got the point of having so many. Can't even tell the difference between them: é è ê ë, they're all just eh to me. Though Ëonwë would probably disagree with me on this one.

But if you simplify the spellings you lose the clues to meaning. the e circonflex usually indicate an s has been lost along the way. Th differences make things easier not harder.

Look at the American simplifications. Why bother changing plough to plow if you continue to spell snow snow....

and on that subject, what I really want to assign to Mordor is that the knee I injured over a year ago and thought healed has is clearly only ok in mild weather - Winter has suddenly and finally kicked in and it has become a highly effective thermometer. I know how cold it is by the degree of pain it gives me. Age creeping up on me...

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

But if you simplify the spellings you lose the clues to meaning. the e circonflex usually indicate an s has been lost along the way. Th differences make things easier not harder.

That's true, spelling enhances the meaning. But it makes learning just that much harder.

Originally Posted by Mith

and on that subject, what I really want to assign to Mordor is that the knee I injured over a year ago and thought healed has is clearly only ok in mild weather - Winter has suddenly and finally kicked in and it has become a highly effective thermometer. I know how cold it is by the degree of pain it gives me.

There's something going on with knees around the Downs lately...

[Mithalwen]

Woulnd't wish it on anyone... but to be fair I have always had wonky knees and now a variety of issues as well as plain old excess wear and tear are factoring in... sometimes it' the mileage not just the years...