Teach English in LaitAn Zhen - Chongqing

Peculiarities of the English LanguageA number of things have always perplexed me in the English language, even though I have heard it almost every day of my life. English is fun and flexible, but sometimes could be very harsh on those that have not been exposed to it long enough to understand its twists and tricks. Among those who already master the language, it is very well known that English has a long list of exceptions to rules, often turning the exceptions into a set of rules themselves. This is something hard to grasp for a beginner in the language. So in order to explain these rules and their many exceptions it is important to understand a number of facts of the English language. With england as the birthplace of the English language, the language through history propagated to numerous parts of the world. Because of this propagation throughout the world, English became the international language used in businesses and in establishing diplomatic relations. As time went by, thousands and words from other languages were absorbed into the English language vocabulary to be able to explain certain concepts that could not, at the time, be sufficiently explained in English. Also, a number of words and phrases have changes their meanings over the course of time. For example, the word ?awful? originally meant something wonderful and amazing that would leave one ?full of awe?. However, over time it has changed to mean exactly the opposite of its original meaning. Another word is ?brave? which was used to describe cowardice, borrowing its meaning from the word ?bravado?, which means a pretense of bravery or the quality of being foolhardy. Now brave means exactly the opposite. Now, even though English grammar is fairly simple when compared to French and Portuguese grammar, there are a number of strange and funny peculiarities in the language. The first is how words that are spelt exactly the same, and often have the exact pronunciation, could have totally different and unrelated meanings. When confronted by such words, the only way to tell the specific meaning of the word is through the context. Here are a few examples illustrating the point: ?The doctor wound the bandage around the wound.? ?After a number of injections, his arm got number.? ?Since there is hardly a better time like the present, she thought it was time to present him with the present.? There are but a few examples that show how peculiar and strange the language can be. Another peculiarity, quite contrary to the one discussed, is when some spellings of words, or parts of words are spelt the same but sound completely different. When this situation arises, learners of the language are usually shocked and see no conceivable pattern to follow, and are often utterly dumbfounded. Examples include the words ?tough?, ?through?, ?thorough?, ?cough?, and ?rough?. Although these words all share the ?ough? at the end, they are pronounced differently. Another interesting peculiarity in the English language is the high degree of irregularity in the formation of the plural form of words. Example: - The plural of ?box ?is ?boxes?, but the plural of ?ox ?is not ?oxes?, even though the plural of ?fox? is ?foxes?. The plural of ?ox? is instead ?oxen? - The plural of ?mouse? is ?mice?, but the plural of ?house? is not ?hice? These are just a few of the interesting peculiarities of the English language which can only be learned through continuous exposure to the language and practice. Instead of being afraid of these peculiarities, students can learn to appreciate them and learn them in interesting and fun ways.