These surprises are everywhere! An exception is hiding in almost every pattern you learn in English, so stay alert! □ What makes English fun to learn?Įnglish likes sharing! English speakers are often in contact with speakers of other languages, which leads to borrowing words-like pharaoh from Greek, liaison from French, and zucchini from Italian. You might learn to form the plural by adding -s to the end of a noun, but watch out for words like ox (plural oxen), curriculum (plural curricula), and goose (plural geese). Learners will encounter many standards, opinions, and patterns depending on where you are, who you're talking to, and the formality of the English you're learning!Įnglish keeps you on your toes! For every rule you learn, there’s usually an exception or two… or many! This is especially true for English plurals. Without anyone to declare what should be seen as the “correct” version of English, everyone who uses English might never agree on contentious grammar questions about the Oxford comma, split infinitives, and prepositions ending sentences. □ This can be especially difficult for early learners, but practice truly does make perfect in this case! Exposure to these words and spellings is key.Įnglish is an anarchist! That is to say, there is no governing body that sets the rules of the language like the Académie Française for French or the Accademia della Crusca for Italian. Many speakers pronounce both vowels in poem, but toe rhymes with… you guessed it! Low from the previous line. ![]() Woven and oven do not rhyme in English, nor do how and low, despite how they are spelled! The “p” sound is pronounced in script but not in receipt. What makes a language “tricky” depends on a lot of factors, but English certainly has a reputation for being a challenging language! Each of the following examples tend to elicit head scratches from both new and seasoned learners.Įnglish spelling is an untamed beast! The poem The Chaos by Gerard Nolst Trenité sums up this frustration pretty well: Woven, oven, how and low, In 2022, English was the most popular language studied on Duolingo, reaching #1 in 119 countries and #2 in 11 more! Our English course for Spanish speakers is the most popular course we offer with over 37 million learners-and 18 more of our 24 English courses have over one million learners! □ Is English hard to learn? This is largely the result of colonization and conquest carried out by English-speaking people, which has led to the emergence of diverse varieties of English each with their own flavor: You'll find different vocabulary, pronunciation, and even grammar across different English dialects! These include Philippine English, Nigerian English, and Guyanese English along with English-based pidgins and creoles, such as Jamaican Patois, Singlish (in Singapore), and Manglish (in Malaysia).Įnglish learners love Duolingo. This means that it has structures that are similar to languages like German, Dutch, and Swedish, but many languages and cultures have contributed to the English we know today! English has a lot of vocabulary that came from French and Latin, so even if the grammar is different, many words will look familiar to speakers of Romance languages.Įnglish is the official language of more than 50 countries. But there are a few surprises about English that new learners should know! Where did English come from?Įnglish is a Germanic language. ![]() ![]() Hello! Greetings! Howdy! Welcome to a celebration of English, the language of Venus and Serena Williams, The Beatles, Michelle Yeoh, Idris Elba, and Priyanka Chopra-a global language with global appeal! You'll find English while online shopping, scrolling through TikTok, and in hostels around the world, so naturally learners have many reasons to explore and study the wide world of English.Īnd wide it is! Much wider than the British Isles and North America-English is a beautiful, dynamic language, and its popularity (spoken by more than 1.5 billion people around the world) might make you think you know everything about the language already.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |