695
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Bonifratz@feddit.de 23 points 5 months ago

There's nothing worse in terms of pronunciation than English. French is silly for writing twice as much as what's pronounced, but at least it mostly follows some rules.

[-] Default_Defect@midwest.social 35 points 5 months ago

Doesn't english just get that from being three languages in a trench coat?

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 17 points 5 months ago
[-] Promethiel@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago

The one at the bottom who is supposed to just fucking walk but keeps threatening the stability of the whole thing by randomly blurting out nonsense.

In the dimly lit boudoir, she sat at her ornate bureau, perusing an array of gourmet hors d'oeuvres, contemplating which avant-garde piece from her repertoire to perform at the soirée, her silhouette an epitome of haute couture elegance. Meanwhile, her fiancé, a connoisseur of fine arts and a critic of the bourgeoisie's penchant for laissez-faire economics, prepared a detailed critique on the nuances of ballet and the je ne sais quoi of modern art installations, embodying the esprit de corps of their eclectic salon.

Statements dreamed by the utterly deranged.

[-] Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 5 months ago

They have played us for absolute fools.

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 3 points 5 months ago

I detest that meme, but you made me snort.

[-] Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 5 months ago

It's one of the few memes that I find genuine enjoyment in ha. Glad I could bring you a bit of joy, if even for a moment.

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 1 points 5 months ago

Sweet, a win-win then!

[-] fossphi@lemm.ee 2 points 4 months ago

French was not supposed to be a real language

[-] grue@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." --James D. Nicoll

[-] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

This reads like Pratchett. Love it

[-] NightAuthor@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

What’s so wild is that, as a native speaker, there are SO many rules and edge cases and exceptions…. And I know them by heart without ever being told them explicitly. First example that comes to mind is the whole order of adjectives…. We say big fluffy purple cat, never purple fluffy big cat.

[-] Default_Defect@midwest.social 4 points 5 months ago

I can't imagine trying to teach that or explain it in a way that would be satisfactory to someone learning English.

"I don't KNOW, its just how we do it!"

[-] grue@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

If you can't have a satisfactory explanation then at least you could have an unsatisfactory one from Tom Scott, and that's the next best thing, right?

[-] NightAuthor@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

I know… wild.

[-] owen@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 months ago
[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

There's small cat medium cat and big cat. Any cat clothes shop will tell you the same.

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 months ago

Also, people love to break what little rules it adheres to and claim "eh, it's already broken, so let me do this dumb thing a little further because Alicia said it was hella fetch." And that's why people can't pluralize "email" properly and why everyone under 40 knows no adverb but "literally".

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago

I learnt English as my second (technically third) language. Other two languages I know are written and spoken exactly the same.

So take it from me, French pronunciation can be baffling or straight up ridiculous at times. English has got nothing on it. I don't care if French aren't heureux at this comment.

[-] herrvogel@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

They are baffling and ridiculous but they are consistent in that. Once you learn one baffling and ridiculous rule, you can successfully apply that rule to correctly pronounce almost any new word you've never encountered before. Eaux is a stupid fucking way of writing "o" to be sure, but at least you will always immediately know how to pronounce it without ever having to guess, or hear it from someone else. Meanwhile in English you write "read" but you pronounce it "read".

There are of course exceptions, but show me one language in the world that has none.

[-] davidgro@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

An example I like is that alchemy didn't turn lead to gold, but it did lead to chemistry.

[-] Bonifratz@feddit.de 1 points 5 months ago

Well, I learned English as my second and French as my third language, and I see it the other way around. Agree to disagree I guess.

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I am now very competent in Spanish and making no progress in French. Real speakers sound nothing like the classroom. It's so frustrating. I feel like the French are all mumbling with Nutella in their mouths, but my tutor is clear as a bell.

[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago

Spanish is that much easier than French? Interesting.

[-] Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 5 months ago

As a multilingual fluent Spanish speaker. Yes, yes it is.

[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Easier to pronounce once you know the rules, at least.

[-] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 7 points 5 months ago

French literally has rules with more exceptions than things that apply to the rule.

[-] DABDA@lemm.ee -1 points 5 months ago

I think that's also the case in English with "I before E, except after C."

[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

"Or when sounded as A, as in neighbor and weigh."

"Weird."

"Dammit!"

[-] DABDA@lemm.ee 1 points 5 months ago

I hate that wiener (giggity) obeys the rule but is pronounced like it should be weiner. At least that word doesn't come up (giggity) too often.

[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

That one's because the word comes from Wien (Vienna), and in German you pronounce "ie" as "E" and "ei" as "I". In English it's a free-for-all!

this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024
695 points (96.9% liked)

Greentext

3729 readers
1218 users here now

This is a place to share greentexts and witness the confounding life of Anon. If you're new to the Greentext community, think of it as a sort of zoo with Anon as the main attraction.

Be warned:

If you find yourself getting angry (or god forbid, agreeing) with something Anon has said, you might be doing it wrong.

founded 10 months ago
MODERATORS