The English language is kinda stupid!

Originally posted by DaveNorris
it is a strange language, but most languages are, there will come a time in the future when we have a one world language that is simple and easy to use

Oh, indeed, how we should long for a time when nobody but a specialist scholar could enjoy Shakespeare in his native English - which is the only Shakespeare. But what you propose, as though it were something to which to look forward, would mean not only the permanent loss of the richness of human cultures, but a forced conformity and "dumbing down" of thought. Language not only expresses thought, it informs and shapes it. You, sir, are an idiot.

Originally posted by Klassified
Eloquence and articulation are dependent on vocabulary and coherent thought, regardless of the language you use to communicate to others. The language you speak isn't near as important as how you speak it.

Amen. And yeah, on some other languages, one word takes a whole line to spell it out. I'd rather pick short words anytime.

German has..... SEVEN different ways to make plural, depending on the word.

And many, many weak verbs.
(weak verbs change roots when they change tense or person. Like in English "is,am,are,was,were" - all forms of the English verb "to be" -which isn't even on the list.


Seven plurals and myriad weak verbs.

Teutonophones are in no position whatever to critique English.

Originally posted by PoeteMaudit

Originally posted by DaveNorris
it is a strange language, but most languages are, there will come a time in the future when we have a one world language that is simple and easy to use

Oh, indeed, how we should long for a time when nobody but a specialist scholar could enjoy Shakespeare in his native English - which is the only Shakespeare. But what you propose, as though it were something to which to look forward, would mean not only the permanent loss of the richness of human cultures, but a forced conformity and "dumbing down" of thought. Language not only expresses thought, it informs and shapes it. You, sir, are an idiot.

edit on 18-11-2011 by PoeteMaudit because: (no reason given)

theres no need for name calling. And I was simply stating the obvious, language always evolves, how do you think we got from old english to the english we use today.

yes it would be a shame to lose the culture that goes hand in hand with language, I just said it would be easier as no translation would be required to communicate.

Originally posted by DaveNorris
it is a strange language, but most languages are, there will come a time in the future when we have a one world language that is simple and easy to use

History hasn't really bourne that out. New languages are constantly evolving, because subcultures naturally self-isolate.

A number of "universal languages" have been attempted, but they never satisfy. Even overt attempts like Esperanto and Lobjan go nowhere. Klingon is more popular than ANY of them is.

If you had a universal language, you'd have to outlaw all other languages, to get rid of popular languages like elvish and Klingon. Linguistic imperialism cannot really be forced onto a population against their will. And languages get revived later, and come back with an unbelievable tenacity. Everything from Hebrew to Welsh.

Wow. I have to say that I agree with the OP on this. Though I am a native English speaker, German is my second language. My best friend started playing Halo Reach on my Xbox the other day and teased me about all the "German and its long words that make no sense and take ages to read" I know part of it is a frustration of not understanding the language and the other part is how we just pick on each other for fun. He was able to play just fine, but my help in translating was often needed. Thankfully video games are not all that wordy and are repetitive.

In my mind, it is not that hard to get used to and learn. Though, I learned the german language on my own and found it came easy to me, not everyone is going to be the same way.

As far as the long words, I find they are efficient. They are just smaller words shoved together to make one word. I find they are informative and make more sense than their english counterparts do sometimes.

I am honestly surprised that more people do not agree with some of the stuff the OP said or at least see the points made. I guess it is offensive to some to have their native language "bashed" by a non-native speaker.. I find it amusing.

reply to post by rbkruspe


German is one of the languages in which I am fairly fluent. English is a comparatively young language, a sort of Creole of various German and Romance vocabularies, which is an asset in many ways. And yet English is extremely difficult for non-natives to learn; it has been compared to Dutch in that regard.


I could extol the many failings of English. But I think every human language has its assets as well as shortcomings. I don't find any particular language to be "superior" or "inferior."