bearisgray

It was a 'forward' that was sent to me.
The only editing I did to it was to change 'langue' to 'language' on the first line.

maryellen2u

I am going to share this with all my students who are trying to learn the English language for the first time. Then I am going to try to explain the English spelling rules!! OMG

jojo47

This is one of the funniest...and most enjoyable...posts I've read. Got a couple of more for you...how about;

to, too, and two

and

do, due, and dew

I'm not an English teacher, but I did have excellent instructors, and I always have been a good speller. As a result, it drives me bonkers to see misspelled words and overdone quotation marks. Okay...done griping...but I keep saying I'm coming back as an English teacher in my next life!

bearisgray

Then there are all those words that end in -ough

through
tough
rough
bough
cough
dough
trough

I think there are some more -

QuiltE

... plough

or don't end in ough, but have it in the midst, with yet a different pronunciation ...
... brought
... thought
... ought etc.

carolynjo

Unlike the French who try to keep their language pure, we are such a conglomeration of ancient languages that even a lifetime of study will not keep us straight. Wonder how we all learned our language! Of course, we always need to be reminded of the ins and outs of mice, meece, etc.

MadQuilter

Learning "British English" was super hard for me since I was hanging with the American crowd. Let's just say I never asked anyone to pass me the rubber to erase a line. lol

DogHouseMom

My English step daughter was here for a visit and we went to a Chinese restaurant. Asked what she wanted to drink, Hannah replied "Water" with the T clearly pronounced as a T ... not as a D as so many American's do. The waitress (English was not her mother tongue) could not understand Hannah and I finally had to 'translate' pronouncing it as "Wader".

The change of the T to a D is a common diction problem here and living with Brit's I have become more aware of it, and have for the most part corrected myself.

If anyone is interested (BTW - that word has always been a pet peeve of mine, there are 4 distinct syllables, the word is not "intrested" it is "interested") in the evolution of the English language I highly recommend "The Adventure of English" by Melvyn Bragg ... in fact, I recommend you LISTEN to it as opposed to reading it, as you can hear the diction. And yes, the language continues to evolve (devolve?). Speaking to my kids in England I get the feeling that there is a definite American influence. It is not uncommon to hear them talk of candy instead of sweets, and it's not just when they are talking to us, I see it in their face-book posts to others.

One last thing ... a bone of contention between myself and my English husband. He will often chide me about the way American's have "butchered" the English language (shedule as opposed to schedule, and many others), and each time I can end the conversation with one word ... Grossvenor. For those of you who are not familiar with the word, Grossvenor is pronounced "Grovenor" and is the name of the square where the US Embassy is located in London. Why they thought it was a good idea to stick a couple of S's where they don't belong is a mystery to me. And why the heck is Leichester pronounced as "Lester" in England??? We've both done a bit of butchering me thinks.

DogHouseMom

Could have been worse ... my husbands first trip here was to Nashville. A colleague picked him up at the airport and took him to the local bar where folks from work were waiting for him. My husband walked in and announced "Anyone got a fag, I haven't blown one all day".

Translation: Does anyone have a cigarette, I haven't smoked one all day.

Just by changing two little words, the whole bar went quiet.