35 Attention-grabbing Information About English That Can Assist You Perceive the Language Higher
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English is a stupendous, difficult, enjoyable and infuriating
(to trigger a sense of annoyance) language .
However that’s the reason studying English is such a rewarding expertise!
From troublesome spelling to phrases that describe the extreme feeling you get whenever you see a cute kitten, each side of English has its personal story.
Under are 35 attention-grabbing info about English that can each shock you and assist you higher perceive the gorgeous language you might be studying.
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Outstanding English Historical past Information
1. Shakespeare added over 1,700 phrases to the English language.
Nearly everybody has heard of the good William Shakespeare, a well-known English poet and playwright of the sixteenth century. From love poems to performs like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet,” Shakespeare has drastically influenced English literature.
However do you know the English language itself wouldn’t be the identical with out Shakespeare?
Shakespeare invented over 1,700 phrases, which he included into his writing. At this time, native English audio system nonetheless use these phrases in on a regular basis speech.
A few of the implausible phrases and phrases invented by this well-known poet embrace:
Habit
— Being psychologically or bodily depending on one thing, normally a drug.
Bedazzled
— Blinded by one thing extremely fantastic.
Chilly-blooded
— An animal that doesn’t have the flexibility to boost its physique temperature (like a reptile). Additionally it is a phrase used to explain somebody who’s merciless and appears to don’t have any emotions.
Swagger
— To stroll in a manner that reveals you might be being boastful or disrespectful.
Break the ice
— To alleviate the strain or silence in a dialog by speaking.
To see among the different attention-grabbing sayings and phrases Shakespeare invented, try these articles from Psychological Floss and The Intrepid Information.
2. Most English phrases come from French or Outdated English (use this to your benefit!).
Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, French turned the language utilized by the the Aristocracy in Britain. In the meantime, the peasants and decrease lessons continued to make use of Outdated English, which was made up of Germanic vocabulary.
Over time, the 2 languages started to combine, and Center English—which is far nearer to at this time’s English—was born.
So why does this matter to English learners?
Effectively, this historical past will help you determine when to make use of sure phrases. The phrases that got here from French are sometimes thought-about extra formal or refined, whereas phrases that got here from Outdated English are extra casual.
Take the phrases start
and start
, which each imply “to begin.” Begin is a a lot fancier phrase. Native English audio system would solely use it in additional formal settings.
For instance, you may use it whereas discussing enterprise issues: “The advertising and marketing crew commenced work on the undertaking.”
Then again, start is a extra informal phrase that native audio system use incessantly.
Are you able to guess which phrase comes from French and which one comes from Outdated English?
Begin is mainly the identical phrase that the French presently use: commencer (to begin). The phrase start comes from the (now unused) Outdated English phrase beginnan, which additionally meant “to begin.”
3. The USA doesn’t have an official language.
Technically, the U.S. doesn’t have an official language on the federal stage, although some states have declared English their official language.
Whereas English is the commonest language spoken within the U.S., it isn’t the one one. America is made up of individuals from many various
(totally different, varied) backgrounds who converse numerous fantastic languages!
Meaning if you happen to go to or transfer to the U.S., you will discover many different non-native audio system identical to your self.
4. English used to have grammatical gender.
Many languages have “grammatical gender.” For instance, Spanish audio system use the gender articles el and la (the) relying on whether or not a noun is masculine or female.
Outdated English had grammatical gender, however fashionable English doesn’t. The guide “Gender Shifts within the Historical past of English” explains how English misplaced its grammatical gender system over time.
It truly could make it simpler for learners that the English language doesn’t have these gender guidelines at this time. You solely need to memorize a phrase’s that means, not its gender!
5. English makes use of the Latin alphabet.
The Latin or Roman alphabet initially got here from the Etruscan alphabet. It occurs to be the most generally used alphabet on this planet, which is a good assist to many English learners!
6. The British Empire and the iPhone are two of the largest causes English is so widespread at this time.
A few of it’s possible you’ll marvel why English is such a well-liked language at this time. Whereas there are lots of causes, listed below are among the largest.
The British Empire refers back to the interval between roughly the late fifteenth to seventeenth century and the Nineteen Nineties, when England had huge territories and colonies all around the world. Basically, this was when England managed massive parts of Europe, North America, Africa and the West Indies.
You may think about how English would’ve unfold globally with such an unlimited empire.
The second huge English enhance occurred with the rise of the U.S. within the twentieth century, when the nation turned one of many largest worldwide gamers in social, financial and political affairs.
Lastly, most of the current technological and scientific developments have come from English-speaking nations. Simply take into account worldwide phrases like web
and iPhone
.
7. English used to have 29 letters as a substitute of the present 26.
The English alphabet has truly reduced in size over time!
To seek out out which letters have been added and omitted, check out this New York Submit article.
8. English is the official language of the air.
Because of this English is the official language of airplane journey.
Ever observed that irrespective of the place you might be flying on this planet, your pilot and flight attendants at all times know English? This is the reason!
9. You may blame complicated English spelling on a man named William Caxton.
Effectively, not simply Caxton.
You can’t totally blame bizarre spelling on only one individual—particularly not with English’s lengthy and sophisticated historical past—however there are a couple of of us who made some enormous variations.
Throughout the Center Ages, scribes
(individuals who write paperwork) tried their greatest to repeat down phrases as they sounded. Nonetheless, with so many alternative regional dialects, this produced many inconsistencies.
Then there’s William Caxton, a well-known Englishman who began a printing press. He employed Flemish employees who merely spelled some phrases in keeping with what they have been used to.
Others like Noah Webster had their fingers in English spelling as nicely. Webster was a dictionary writer who was largely answerable for American spelling differing from British spelling.
You have got most likely observed how some English phrases are spelled utterly otherwise than they sound. Sadly for learners, this convoluted
(difficult or troublesome) spelling system is one thing you’ll simply have to seek out artistic methods to grasp (listed below are some concepts to get you began).
Did You Know There Is a Phrase for That?
English is a language wealthy in vocabulary, however some phrases could shock you—and could also be simply what you have been in search of!
10. Cute Aggression
Cute aggression
is the time period for eager to hug one thing cute very arduous—nearly violently. Ever need to simply squeeze your kitten as a result of it’s so cute?
Your pet is so cute that I’ve cute aggression!
11. Gender-neutral Pronouns
When you don’t strictly establish as both a person or lady (that means you might be nonbinary
), you employ gender-neutral pronouns. Listed below are a couple of examples and their gendered counterparts in parentheses:
- Ze
(he/she) – pronounced like “zee” - Hir (his/her) – pronounced like “right here”
or “hear” - Zim (him/her) – pronounced like “zeem”
- Mx (Mr/Ms.) – pronounced like “mux”
- Hirself
(himself/herself) – pronounced like “hear-self”
Typically, additionally, you will hear nonbinary people use they
as a 3rd individual singular (as a substitute of he or she), their
(third individual singular possessive) and them
. For a extra full information on how you can use gender-neutral pronouns, learn this text from the College of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.
My pal is so excited that ze is coming to the social gathering later.
I ought to word that the idea of being nonbinary, in addition to gender generally, is a fancy matter that might take a complete weblog put up (if not a number of weblog posts) to cowl. If you’re in any respect fascinated about it, and if you happen to suppose you could have a fairly good deal with in your English, listed below are some books you’ll be able to learn on the topic.
12. Genderlect
Genderlect
is a method or sort of speech utilized by a particular gender. It was coined by Deborah Tannen, who initially used the phrase to consult with the (supposed) variations between the best way women and men talk.
Whether or not women and men converse totally different genderlects is a topic of debate.
13. Heuristic
Heuristic
is used to explain one thing taught or realized from expertise.
14. Bardolatry
Bardolatry
refers to somebody obsessive about Shakespeare. (Shakespeare is usually known as “The Bard.”)
Shakespeare remains to be celebrated a lot at this time that Bardolatry is alive and nicely.
15. Boffola
Boffola is a joke that’s met with extraordinarily loud laughter.
That was the comic’s greatest boffola!
16. Mouse Potato
Ever heard the time period sofa potato
(somebody who watches loads of TV)? Effectively, mouse potato
refers to somebody who works on the pc so much.
Ever since Susan began her on-line firm, she has been such a mouse potato.
17. Snollygoster
Snollygoster refers to an individual with out rules.
That politician is a snollygoster.
18. Petrichor
Petrichor
is a phrase to explain the best way it smells after it rains.
I really like the petrichor of a summer season thunderstorm.
Shocking Statistics You Can Rely On
19. A brand new English phrase is added to the dictionary each two hours.
Editors from the Oxford English Dictionary have estimated that about 4,000 new phrases are added to the dictionary yearly.
Meaning one new phrase about each two hours!
20. There are roughly 1.5 billion English audio system on this planet.
That’s nearly 20 p.c of the world’s inhabitants!
About 400 million of these are native audio system. Discover out extra at St George Worldwide.
21. English has extra phrases than most languages.
There are presently about an estimated a million phrases within the English language.
However don’t let this scare you, as a result of…
22. The typical English speaker solely is aware of between 15,000 and 20,000 phrases.
To be exact, that’s the common variety of phrases native audio system know of their first language. That needs to be a consolation to learners: you would not have to memorize the entire million English phrases on the market, as a result of you’ll nonetheless be understood!
23. Probably the most generally used letter in English is “E.”
“E” is the mostly used English letter, and “Q” is the letter used the least.
Enjoyable truth: “Q” can be the one letter that doesn’t seem in any of the state names within the U.S.
24. The longest English phrase is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
With 45 letters, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
is a medical time period that refers to a lung illness brought on by inhaling sand mud or ash.
25. The shortest, non-elliptical sentence is “I’m.”
A non-elliptical sentence is a sentence that doesn’t depart something out.
For instance, the command “Go!” could seem to be the shortest sentence, however it’s elliptical as a result of it leaves out the pronoun “you.” Technically, it might be “You go!” which is 2 letters longer than “I’m.”
26. A few of the oldest phrases within the English language are nonetheless quite common at this time.
They embrace I
, love
, black
, mom
, hearth
, hand
and hear
.
Take a look at extra of the oldest phrases at Dictionary.com. A few of them would possibly shock you! (Additionally, that article is a good English lesson by itself.)
27. Probably the most generally used adjective is good.
In fact, totally different sources provide you with totally different solutions for this, however “good” is normally listed among the many commonest adjectives.
28. Probably the most generally used noun is time.
The Oxford English Dictionary has recognized time because the most incessantly used noun.
Individual acquired second place, adopted by yr within the third spot.
29. The closest residing language to English at this time is Frisian.
Frisian is a language presently spoken in simply three small areas of Germany and the Netherlands.
Amusing Alphabet Methods and Their Names
30. Two English phrases can mix into one.
A portmanteau
is a phrase that blends the sounds of two English phrases to make a brand new phrase that mixes their meanings.
For instance, hangry
means hungry and indignant.
31. You may match each letter of the alphabet right into a single sentence.
A pangram
is a sentence that comprises each letter from the alphabet.
A really well-known English pangram is: “The fast brown fox jumps over a lazy canine.”
Additionally, pangrams are fairly helpful when you’re getting used to a QWERTY or English keyboard.
32. Some English phrases look the identical backward or ahead.
A palindrome
is a phrase or phrase that has the identical spelling whether or not you learn left-to-right (like regular) or right-to-left.
An instance of that is madam
.
33. Some English phrases look the identical the other way up.
An ambigram
is a phrase that appears the identical the other way up as right-side up.
An excellent instance is the phrase “SWIMS”
with all capitalized letters.
34. There’s a title for phrases and phrases the place every letter is used the identical variety of occasions.
An isogram
is a phrase or phrase during which every letter seems the identical variety of occasions.
For instance, the phrase dialogue
makes use of every letter as soon as.
35. Some English phrases repeat to make a brand new phrase.
A tautonym
in linguistics is a phrase that consists of the identical phrase twice. You may additionally hear this known as reduplication
.
The widespread English phrase so-so
is the right instance of a tautonym. It means “simply okay; superb.”
Now that you understand all in regards to the English language, you may get again to studying the language itself!
Obtain:
This weblog put up is on the market as a handy and transportable PDF that you just
can take anyplace.
Click on right here to get a replica. (Obtain)
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