English language peculiarities can be tough to grasp, particularly for the non-native speaker. Although all languages have their idiosyncrasies, English provides a rare number of challenges. Its grammar is relatively easy to learn because nouns don’t have gender-related articles as they do in some other languages. That means verbs and adjectives don’t have to undergo gender-related changes. Instead, English language peculiarities result from the vast number of inconsistencies and exceptions to the rule. English is full of them, making it a difficult language to learn.
Take the phonetic aspect. There is one common pronunciation, but two different spellings for “cell” and “sell.” The sequence of letters “ough” is pronounced differently in “though” and “enough.” The plural of “box” is boxes, but “ox” becomes “oxen.” When I first came to the United States, I had eight years of English under my belt. Yet, the oddities of the language continued to stump me. One time, a colleague passed around a piece of paper. “What is this?” he asked. For all I could tell, the sketch showed two stick figures with outstretched arms, reaching for some kind of a wheel between them.
Two men walking abreast – English language peculiarities J. Elke Ertle, www.walled-in-berlin.com
To the hoots and hollers of my colleagues, he exclaimed, “Two men walking abreast.” I didn’t think his pronouncement was funny. Not one bit. In fact, I thought it was rather stupid.
A few days later, I retold the joke though, not because I thought it was so funny but because it had garnered such a good laugh. When no one responded to my question, what is this?” I called out, “Two men walking a woman’s breast.” I brought down the house. How could I have known? Yes, these English language peculiarities make it difficult for us non-native speakers. But hey, we’re catching on!
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
