English Language

[donKey jote]

Is it not pronounced Ho-say,

No, that's how it's pronounced with an English accent, as in the joke about the two Spanish firemen: José and Hose-B

The o and e in josé are both short vowels: Spanish is so simple it only has 5 vowel sounds, a,e, i, o ,u.
Short and crisp, as in bat, bet , beat (oops that's long ), bott, boot (oops also too long)

[Mark]

Actually English is one of the easiest languages to learn the basics of. As it doesn't have genders or much conguation of verbs etc. However that's just the basics, what is difficult is to learn how to speak English well. Something natives often have trouble with!

[fandango]

....and it's also why Spanish children are much better at spelling!

On the contrary, Spanish people are in general terrible at spelling, because they have never had to train themselves to pay attention to how a word is spelled. When I'm teaching, sometimes people get very impatient because I make them repeat a new word before I write it on the board. They want to see it written first, and then they pronounce it going by what they see, rather than what they hear.

[Rollo]

Two books on the subject:

The Adventure of English - Melvyn Bragg:
This book looks at how the English language, survived invasions of Romans, Franks, Saxons, Jutes etc, and how it was able to absorb and evolve. It's written in a rather easy sort of conversational tone and shouldn't take more than a fortnight to read.

Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson:
Bryson's book is more concerned with how words arrived in English and travelled around the world. It touches on many topics that the other book does, but because it is now one of the "Popular Penguin" series, you can pick one up for less than a fiver.

[fandango]

The most difficult sound in English for people to learn is called the schwa. It's a neutral vowel, and that's why parachutes might sound like pair of shoes.

For native speakers who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's basically the sound of the second O in London.

[schmenke]

Two books on the subject:

The Adventure of English - Melvyn Bragg:
This book looks at how the English language, survived invasions of Romans, Franks, Saxons, Jutes etc, and how it was able to absorb and evolve. It's written in a rather easy sort of conversational tone and shouldn't take more than a fortnight to read.

Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson:
Bryson's book is more concerned with how words arrived in English and travelled around the world. It touches on many topics that the other book does, but because it is now one of the "Popular Penguin" series, you can pick one up for less than a fiver.

Then there's Eats, Shoots and Leaves published a few years ago by whatsherface. Although, if I recall it was more about punctuation than the English language.

[Alexamateo]

.....

Yesterday someone on TV said "pair of shoes" and I first heard it as "parachutes". They look totally different when written but at least to me they sound quite similar...

Of course you also tend to hear the words you know, especially in your non-native language. There is also a tendency to want to translate back to your first language.

My wife, (whose first language is Spanish), would hear this just as you do. One reason is that in Spanish you don't say "a pair of shoes", you just say "shoes".

[Eki]

Of course you also tend to hear the words you know, especially in your non-native language. There is also a tendency to want to translate back to your first language.

My wife, (whose first language is Spanish), would hear this just as you do. One reason is that in Spanish you don't say "a pair of shoes", you just say "shoes".

Could be. And I also wasn't paying attention to TV, I was reading a book in another room, so I didn't hear the beginning of the sentence.

[donKey jote]

One reason is that in Spanish you don't say "a pair of shoes", you just say "shoes".

sure you do: "un par de zapatos" is different to simply saying "zapatos"
just like "un par de coj..." is different to saying "coj...!"

one thing you wouldn't normally hear in Spanish (unless you're a cricket), however, is "quién es el que anda aquí ?", you just say "quién anda por aquí ?"

[Eki]

sure you do: "un par de zapatos" is different to simply saying "zapatos"
just like "un par de coj..." is different to saying "coj...!"

one thing you wouldn't normally hear in Spanish (unless you're a cricket), however, is "quién es el que anda aquí ?", you just say "quién anda por aquí ?"

Cuando se come aqui?