Plural of man and woman

Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:12 pm GMT
>>Do you mean a shame that we lost them?<<

Yes, that's what I mean. I think a very regular language loses something.
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:17 pm GMT
It loses irregularities
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:19 pm GMT
>>I have to strongly agree here. Yes, English may not have that much morphological complexity compared to, say, German or Icelandic, but it more than makes up for it with its syntactic and semantic complexity, particularly in the area of the English verbal system<<

Exactly. How many native German speakers still confuse the tenses after years of learning English?
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:21 pm GMT
>>It loses irregularities <<

Lol, not quite what I meant. I think it becomes more bland.
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:24 pm GMT
<<Yes, that's what I mean. I think a very regular language loses something. >>

Well take heart then Good Soldier, many of those cited are still used dialectally, others are archaic/poetical, so they're not exactly dead and gone.
One other not listed, "hosen" (alternate/archaic plural of hose - i.e. "pants", not in the sense of "garden hose") is making somewhat of a comeback in borrowings like Lederhosen.

Go ahead Man, bring them suckers Back! I'll help you : )
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:37 pm GMT
Yes I thimk we should. And I will keep my eyen open next time I am reading some beek of poetry for these forms lol
Travis   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:44 pm GMT
>>Yes, that's what I mean. I think a very regular language loses something.<<

Just for the record, English really is not al that regular at all, especially syntactically... Even its morphology is only really more regular than that of German with respect to German plural noun forms, the difference between German strong and weak nouns (which only affects a limited number of words), and the lack of the vowel changes in the present tense with respect to person and number in some German verbs.
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:48 pm GMT
Travis

Don't forget German genders. But yes for example, German word order, for all its complexities is almost completely regular. English has funny little rules meaning sometimes word order has to be inverted so that the verb comes before the subject. Also placement of adverbs is much less regular than in German.
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:32 pm GMT
<<Yes I thimk we should. And I will keep my eyen open next time I am reading some beek of poetry for these forms lol >>

LOL, Good Deal!
; )
furrykef   Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:54 pm GMT
<< I think a very regular language loses something. >>

Japanese is a very regular language and I find it extremely fascinating. Of course, Japanese is complex for other reasons, and it has the most complex writing system ever conceived or close to it.

- Kef
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:11 pm GMT
<<<< I think a very regular language loses something. >>
>>

I personally find Japanese/Korean/etc. a little *too* regular and conformist for my taste (i.e. a little boring honestly). But that is only my personal opinion.

I don't mind a little spice/flair in my language, and a ratio of around 80-85% regularity : 15-20% irregularity suits me just fine : )
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:12 pm GMT
on a personal note: FurryKef, are you a computer programmer by any chance?
furrykef   Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:04 pm GMT
Actually I am. Why do you ask?
Guest   Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:20 pm GMT
Really? DUde, check it out, so am I!

I ask only because I have noticed over several posts that you like things that are regular and orderly (logical), and that's a good quality to be found in a person who's a programmer.

I also have this quality, but to a lesser extent than many of the people I work with (to be honest...I really like to PARTAY!!!! : )

But I can be logical too.

Thanks for responding,,,I didn't mean to sound nosy.
CHeers : )
furrykef   Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:00 pm GMT
Nah, I didn't think you were being nosy. It just seemed to be sort of a random question, though I understand why you asked. In fact, I don't think you're the first to ask that here.

And yes, I do like things neat, logical, and in order, but I definitely have my chaotic side, too. And my room is always a mess. ;)

- Kef