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You can change the spelling of one word in the English language to match how they are pronounced. What word do you pick? (lemmy.world)

submitted 11 months ago by ericbomb@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

398 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm picking "Colonel" needs to be respelled to match how it's pronounced.

Try to pick a word no one else has picked. What word are you respelling?

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[–] ChrissieWF@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The amount of words that are not "stolen" from other languages is neglible..

Cat from German Katze, from Latin catta
Car(t) from German Karren
Kitchen grom German Küche
Bike/Bicycle from French bicycle
Leaf from German Laub
Beef, mutton, pigeon from French boeuf, mouton, pigeon
Cow, sheep, dove from German Kuh, Schaf, Taube
Computer from Latin computare
Sun and moon from German Sonne and Mond
Lunatic from Latina luna
Death from German Tod
Snug from Norse snøggr
Funny from Swedish fånig
Breeze from Spanish brisa
Ranch from Spanish rancha
Brave from Italian bravo
Arcade from Italian arcata
Dildo from Italian diletto
....

[–] mwalimu@baraza.africa 2 points 11 months ago

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.

--James D. Nicoll

[–] mwalimu@baraza.africa 2 points 11 months ago

You may like this essay on why English has weird spellings. Think technological timings.

https://aeon.co/essays/why-is-the-english-spelling-system-so-weird-and-inconsistent