English Is Weird!

[AuntPollyGrey]

I was brought up bilingual, with English mostly spoken not written until I went to school in the UK at 11. . I still have trouble with these English words that sound the same, but mean something completely different. Pare ,Pear and Pair, Fair (with at least two meanings) and Fare.

Any more to add to the list?

[Cloverjo]

Sean Bean. I always want to call him seen been, or should it be shorn born?

[AuntPollyGrey]

clover -I'd be happy to call him ( sean bean) darling! ;-)

[Etch]

In French even simple words like "ai", "est" and "et" all sound the same but mean different things, so I wouldn't say English is particularly weird!

[10ClarionSt]

Might has different meanings

[Etch]

A 'simple words' case in English: to/too/two

[Jackdaw33]

/In French even simple words like "ai", "est" and "et" all sound the same\\.

Ai and et sound the same but est doesn't.

[JimF]

"Ai and et sound the same but est doesn't."

Depends where you are! In Paris, "est" is pronounced like "et".

[THECORBYLOON]

Is "Il est" not pronounced as "eel ay"?

[Jackdaw33]

I have always heard and pronounced it as eel eh.

[Peter Pedant]

these are called homonyms innit?

oh like innit and "in it" - er innit?

and English isnt the only language to have them

a bit of thought - French is full of them - most singulars and plurals - la mere les meres
- verbs - tu jetes, il jete
ils prennent - que je prenne ( subjonctif d'accord)

if you are interested - as your French is obviously good enough I recommend
Cours de linguistique générale by Saussure(*)

You other proles can read it in English

(*) funny thing - two students after his death reconstituted his lectures from three adoring students' notes.
They had asked Muhdarm ( la veuve Saussure ) for her late husbands crib sheets and she said there werent any. No makey, no writey all that sort of stuff

and a hundred years later guess what?
they turned up
The old widow had just NOT wanted to co operate

[THECORBYLOON]

JD,6 I pronounce "eh" as "ay" but do you pronounce it differently?

[THECORBYLOON]

Ignore the 6...

[Stephen_G]

At work we have a cupboard full of pens/markers/notepads that doesn't move - it's a stationary cupboard, rather than being a stationery cupboard.

[Tuvok]

How about this Doric sentence

Fit fit fits fit fit?

I'll give you a clue - would be heard in a shoe shop.

[Jackdaw33]

Spelling, PP. Tu jettes, il jette.

[HansUrbancka]

On your marks, get Set......

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/english-word-with-the-most-meanings/

Hans.

[Stephen_G]

One I've seen on here recently (Due to the bad weather) is people having thunder and lightening - I suppose it is lightening up the room. No, it's thunder and lightning.

*** sighs and rolls eyes ***