English is a Crazy Language

1) You are going to read a poem by a famous American writer and linguist R.Lederer ‘English is a Crazy Language’. What could make him call English a crazy language? Discuss with a partner.

2) Now read the poem and find the reasons Richard Lederer gives to prove that English is a crazy language. Were your suggestions correct?

English is a Crazy Language

by Richard Lederer

Let's face it: English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
And while no one knows what is in a hotdog,
you can be pretty sure it isn't canine.

English muffins were not invented in England
nor French fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads,
which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted.
But if we explore its paradoxes,
we find that quicksand can work slowly,
boxing rings are square,
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write,
but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce,
and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth,
why isn't the plural of booth, beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So, one moose, 2 meese?
Is cheese the plural of choose?
One mouse, 2 mice.
One louse, 2 lice.
One house, 2 hice?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables,
what does a humanitarian eat?

Why do people recite at a play, and play at a recital?
Ship by truck or car and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
How can the weather be hot as Hell one day
and cold as Hell another?

When a house burns up, it burns down.
You fill in a form by filling it out
and an alarm clock goes off by going on.

You get in and out of a car,
yet you get on and off a bus.

When the stars are out, they are visible,
but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it,
but when I wind up this essay, I end it?

English is a silly language...
it doesn't know if it is coming or going!!

(From UsaONE Joke net http://www.usaone.net/jokenet/jokes.asp?command=list&r=43)

Follow-up

· Could you continue the list of paradoxes? Discuss with your partner and make a list. Compare your list with those of your groupmates.

· Could you explain the existing paradoxes of English? Why are French fries, eggplant, hamburger, hotdog, pineapple, sweetbreads called like that?

· Do you agree with R. Lederer? Why? Why not?

LISTENING 1. Language: Origin and Diversity

It is estimated that the peoples of the world speak about 3,000 different languages. Many of these languages are spoken by only a few hundred or a few thousand people. Others, such as Spanish, English, and Chinese, are used by millions of people.

· Do you know anything about the origin of language in general, the English language?

· Why are the languages so different? What factors influence language diversity and spread?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16