English spelling
Just been reminded of the horrors of English spelling. I am from the UK and speak German, yet I couldn't for the life of me remember how to spell 'succumb'. I was trying all kinds of things, then eventually had to look it up in the online dictionary (not that my version was right, but luckily it gave me alternatives).
Even now, looking at it, the spelling looks strange lol
I know that. I once couldn't remember whether you spell the German word for sheep (Schaf) 'Schaf' or 'Schaaf'. It drove me mad, and German is my mother tongue...
>>I know that. I once couldn't remember whether you spell the German word for sheep (Schaf) 'Schaf' or 'Schaaf'. It drove me mad, and German is my mother tongue... <<
Really? And I thought German was a reasonably phonetic language hehe. Still, thinking about it, you have 'scharf', which I don't believe is pronounced that differently to 'schaf' is it?
Schaaf sounds quite Dutch to me though somehow, all those double vowels lol
Yes, scharf and schaf are quite similar, but you still hear a difference.
Amy
Do you sometimes find the same thing happening with regard to the German genders? Do you ever suddenly get a mental block about whether it should be der, die or das?
Anyway, I started a thread on the 'Language' side of the board entitled 'Wer spricht hier Deutsch?' We were looking for native German speakers to contribute, as none had.
If you'd like to, that would be great, the thread has got a bit long now, so you might not want to read it all, but any input would be great, as well as would any corrections :-)
Seriously, I forget how to spell in English all the time, though I consider myself a good speller. Strangely, it is not usually the longer words I forget, but the shorter ones, as these seem more likely to be unphonetic. But then if they are both long and unphonetic, I guess they are still in the running.
And yes, I know you will laugh at me, because I still laugh about it, but I once forgot how to spell "cat" - which is neither long nor unphonetic. Don't ask me how that happened, but it was a long time ago, in middle school - and still cracks me up.
Tiffany
Hehe, how did you think it might be spellt then, may I ask...'kat' maybe? I can't think of many other possibilities, but you might surprise me :-)
Aquatar
No, I never had any trouble with der, die and das, not even with words I've never heard before, like with vocabulary that computer experts or physicians use and which normal people don't know...I'll go and have a look at the German thread, thanks for the invitation!
Aquatar, I could not even fathom how it was spelled, though I bet I could have spelled car. Yes, senile from a young age, isn't it sad? *
*That was a joke by the way.
Tiffany
Have I been a bit gullible here? And we Brits always accuse you Americans of taking things too literally lol. Silly me hehe
No, not at all. I meant every word of it. I really did forget how to spell "cat". Granted it was for only a few hours, but I had a hell of a time finding it in the dictionary because I couldn't spell it. Finally asked my cousin who looked at me like I was an idiot (which is what I felt like anyway).
The joke part referred to calling myself senile. You haven't seen what trolls can dig up and use against you. In a few months, these comments might come back to haunt me.
I once forgot how to spell "of" and it took me like a half an hour to figure it out. Biggest "duh moment" ever
ENGLISH .....as it is spoke and writ....
I love and adore my native Language. I love its inconsistencies, its irregularities, its idiosyncracies, its eccentricities, its wackiness, its flexibility, its adaptability, its originality, its extensive vocabulary, its variability, its resilience, its softness, its harshness, its beauty, its ugliness, its mellifluence, its depravity, its dignity, its expressiveness....it's great!
English - I couldn't get through my day without. It's all around me, its dominance here reigning supreme above all the other tongues swirling about me in this great Metropolis of London. This is its birthplace...it's original home. This is where it all began........I love the English Language!
It's my bread and butter.
<<I once forgot how to spell "of" and it took me like a half an hour to figure it out. Biggest "duh moment" ever>>
I've had the same thing happen to me! The only spelling I could possibly picture for the longest time was "uhv", but I knew that was wrong, of course.