English is such a weird language...

[Oneironaut]

I've been wondering for a while why English doesn't allow you to create adverbs out of adjectives that happen to end with "ly". In German, there is no problem using "heilig", "freundlich" or "brüderlich" as adverbs, but in English there is no way to make adverbs out of the corresponding words "holy", "friendly" or "brotherly". You can't say "He friendlyly gave me a present." or "The priest performed the ceremony most holyly." You can't even say "He weaselyly cheated me out of five dollars."

Also, what's up with the fact that some verbs just don't work in certain tenses? The words "can", "must" and "should" primarily. You can't say "I will can..." or "I don't want to must..." or "Yesterday I shoulded..." Instead, we're forced to use odd circumlocutions like "I will be able to...", "I don't want to have to..." and "Yesterday I was supposed to..."

Someday I'm going to must fix this screwy language and it will be lovelyly more logical...

[iStaaHi]

I've been wondering for a while why English doesn't allow you to create adverbs out of adjectives that happen to end with "ly". In German, there is no problem using "heilig", "freundlich" or "brüderlich" as adverbs, but in English there is no way to make adverbs out of the corresponding words "holy", "friendly" or "brotherly". You can't say "He friendlyly gave me a present." or "The priest performed the ceremony most holyly." You can't even say "He weaselyly cheated me out of five dollars."

Also, what's up with the fact that some verbs just don't work in certain tenses? The words "can", "must" and "should" primarily. You can't say "I will can..." or "I don't want to must..." or "Yesterday I shoulded..." Instead, we're forced to use odd circumlocutions like "I will be able to...", "I don't want to have to..." and "Yesterday I was supposed to..."

Someday I'm going to must fix this screwy language and it will be lovelyly more logical...











maybe cuz it makes no fucking sense to ad ly where its nnot needed???

[Oneironaut]

But it is needed. "Friendlyly", "holyly", "lovelyly", etc. would be really useful words in my opinion, but we just don't have any way of expressing those concepts in single words like you can in other languages.

[halo]

Yah english is wierd for sure. After studying spanish for a while as well as a basic understanding of latin based languages i just think english is wierd. Other languages are so much simpler (maybe not asian ones. I have no idea how to say or write anything in any asian language.) than english. English is so wierd and messed up no wonder its so hard to learn unless your born in an english speaking country like USA, Canada or UK

[slipknotpsycho]

i think you need to put down the pipe....

"if the pluaral of goose is geese, then shouldn't the pluaral of moose be meese?"

[ToDrunkToFish]

I dont really get it. Whats the point of adding the extra ly? To make it extra 'holy'? Like you really mean that its super holy its holyly. Not quite sure what your sayin here.

[halo]

No its changing an adverb to an adjective. There is no adjective for of holy. You cant describe an action using the word holy.
i.e.
"The priest raised the eucharist in a holy way"
you cannot say
"The priest raised the eucharist holyly"

[Polymirize]

so? figure out a new suffix and spread it as slang. And watch it become official in 5 years or so. that's the beauty of a living language, its still somewhat flexible.

I'm down. I'll smoke a bowl in a manner most holy... holyly? holyic? holiah?

hmmm...

[Skink]

incidentlyly I think this is precariouslyly thought out...

[LIP]

It's the most difficult langauge in the world to learn, and it's also the best.

Just be glad you havnt got to learn Cockney Rhyming Slang.

[Blowboy]

I've learnt that with adjectives ending in -ly, you should just say "in a ~ way", or something similar. That just the way it is :)

[midlifecrisis]

I could tell you why...but then this thread would be moved to the conspiracy section

[Skrappie]

maybe not asian ones. I have no idea how to say or write anything in any asian language.)...

I personally feel that the few asian languages that i've had hands on exp with are easier and 'make more sense' then english. English is an odd language for sure, but works just fine IMO.

[Nation_1ne]

I was told that a lot of other languages adopt pieces from others, but the English language is the only one of it's kind which is why it's so hard to learn for foreigners. It would be great if English was expanded but I like it the way it is. I can see where you're coming from though Oneironaut.

[fasterspider]

English is an abomination of languages made up primarily of stupid ass french words.
Even the English almost spoke french as their main language permanently. The French language dominated in England for hundreds of years until modern English was decided on. I am not too fond of the marble mouthed french but they have contributed most of our language to us. German is another predominant contributor to the language we speak as English.

[Oneironaut]

Well actually, German hasn't contributed a lot of words to English ("sauerkraut", "weiner", "frankfurter", "hamburger" and "angst" are the only common ones I can think of off the top of my head). It's just that German and English come from a common ancestor language called Proto-Germanic that was spoken along the shores of the North Sea and Baltic Sea a few thousand years ago. English, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and a few other minor languages are a sub-family of the Indo-European languages. That's why so many everyday German words look and sound so much like their English counterparts (singen = to sing, willkommen = welcome, Arm = arm, Hut = hat, Hammer = hammer, Nacht = night, etc.)

But you're right about the French words. They were directly borrowed into English during the centuries that France ruled over Britain. That's why so many words related to high culture, politics and law come from French (royal = royal, court = court, juge = judge, bureau = bureau, verdict = verdict, riche = rich, monnaie = money, etc.) One interesting consequence of this is that common animal names are usually shared with German whereas the names for the meats of those animals were borrowed from the French, whose high status meant they hardly ever dealt with or talked about the animals themselves.

cow (German Kuh)/beef (French bœuf)
sheep (German Schaf)/mutton (French mouton)
swine (German Schwein)/pork (French porc)
calf (German Kalb)/veal (French veau)

[Divadish]

Just about all European languages are Latin based or derivatives thereof

[robert42]

"if the pluaral of goose is geese, then shouldn't the pluaral of moose be meese?"

i always think that like

shouldnt a house be hoose? lool

wow

thats love right there :p

[Weedhound]

I agree with slipknot.....time for a breather from the blazing. :jointsmile: Or is that blazingly?

[vileoxidation]

I could tell you why...but then this thread would be moved to the conspiracy section

LOL best response. :D

[Oneironaut]

Just about all European languages are Latin based or derivatives thereof
No, only the Romance languages are (Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian, Romanian, and a few minor languages spoken in the same regions of southern Europe). Although the other European languages, especially English, have borrowed an enormous number of Latin words, they are only cousins to Latin and not daughters.

[Divadish]

i always think that like

shouldnt a house be hoose? lool

wow

thats love right there :p

A hoose is Scottish for house- there's a moose loose around this hoose lol

[Purple Banana]

I think we should all give up, and speak one of Tolkien's old languages, like Sindarin. It's composed very easiLY. For those more into Trek, they can speak Klingon. We can have Tolkien-Klingon wars where NO one has absolutely no idea what the other party is saying, because both think the corresponding movie/tv show sucks so badLY.

Don't mind my randomLY consstructed thoughts.

Spanish is fun to speak. So is Italian. Sexy.

[Divadish]

No, only the Romance languages are (Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian, Romanian, and a few minor languages spoken in the same regions of southern Europe). Although the other European languages, especially English, have borrowed an enormous number of Latin words, they are only cousins to Latin and not daughters.

Thank you : I bow to your wisdom

[Weedhound]

Divadish I would too but English is the hardest language to read.:D

[Divadish]

Divadish I would too but English is the hardest language to read.:D
It must be one of the hardest to understand for visitors as dialects and accents can vary wildly from area to area, sometimes i can hardly understand people livin 200 miles up the road and we speak the same language.
cockney rhymin slang No1:dog and bone =telephone, No2:apples and pairs=stairs lessons 2 and 3 next week lol

[Reefer Rogue]

me no speeka Englishly

[robert42]

Oneironaut always has the best threads and posts imo :)

[Weedhound]

Keep breathing Bob! One of my favorite english words....gobsmacked.

[PatrickHenry]

I've been wondering for a while why English doesn't allow you to create adverbs out of adjectives that happen to end with "ly". In German, there is no problem using "heilig", "freundlich" or "brüderlich" as adverbs, but in English there is no way to make adverbs out of the corresponding words "holy", "friendly" or "brotherly". You can't say "He friendlyly gave me a present." or "The priest performed the ceremony most holyly." You can't even say "He weaselyly cheated me out of five dollars."

Also, what's up with the fact that some verbs just don't work in certain tenses? The words "can", "must" and "should" primarily. You can't say "I will can..." or "I don't want to must..." or "Yesterday I shoulded..." Instead, we're forced to use odd circumlocutions like "I will be able to...", "I don't want to have to..." and "Yesterday I was supposed to..."

Someday I'm going to must fix this screwy language and it will be lovelyly more logical...

Ultimately, this doesn't have any consequence to the effectiveness of the language though? Nearly all scientific journals are in English and never once have I seen a want for more language or more diction.

For example,

He gave me a present with a friendly disposition.

The most holy ceremony was reserved for the priest.

If you want some crazy language try a tonal language like Chinese or Vietnamese. One word can evoke a ton of emotion and deep thought in a way European languages likely will never be able to.

[orange floyd]

why isnt phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
it literally means spelled the way it sounds

lmfao thats great

[zalami128]

You must be rolling balls or smoking crack.

[PatrickHenry]

why isnt phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
it literally means spelled the way it sounds

Why doesn't flatulence sound like busting ass? Just cause.

[MaryjaneAndHashley]

I dont think English is that complicated, but yea I got hundreds of ways of saying something in French, and only a few in English.

and that thing you say about ''ly'' yea we can do that in French with adverbs, with the ''ment'' ending. Would be great in English, but I guess its just not meant to be.

[Snorbel]

In case it hasn't been pointed out, the adverbs are as follows:

brotherly -> brotherly
holy -> holily
friendly -> friendly

That is to say, he smiled friendly at me. And then I brotherly knocked his teeth out as he looked holily into the sky.