5 ms·

I'm sure linguists can chime in, but I hate in English (my language) that words that mean different things can have the same exact spelling - and the only diffe

I'm sure linguists can chime in, but I hate in English (my language) that words that mean different things can have the same exact spelling - and the only difference is the context. I'm guessing that's not entirely responsible for dyslexia - but it can't help. Having taken a little Spanish, I've noticed it's also easier to identify verbs, no letters are silent, nouns typically don't share spelling with their verb forms, gender affects other words. There are a lot of helpers in Spanish (and I'm guessing french) that just tend to help people navigate words and letters better.

ch4s3 6y ago
> no letters are silent This is true except for `h` which is silent unless preceded by an `s` or a `c`. In some cases `u` is silent.
- dqv 6y ago
  Yeah there are still sneaky sounds in Spanish speech. I still remember thinking Spanish isn't so perfect after all when I learned about about -güe (?) verbs. I can still appreciate that it's still pretty phonemic especially compared to English.
- flobosg 6y ago
  > `h` which is silent unless preceded by an `s` That's incorrect. See for example deshonesto.
  - ch4s3 6y ago
    Haha, an exception to the exception. The rule more clearly applies to `ch`, and I think the prefix `des` is why the `sh` rule doesn't apply. That said, I'm not an expert here.
    - flobosg 6y ago
      I might be wrong, but I think the "sh" combination in Spanish words exists exclusively in prefix-stem contexts (deshacer, transhumanismo).
    - naniwaduni 6y ago
      Modern Spanish doesn't normally use "sh" as a cluster at all outside loanwords. (See also: k, w.)
      - ch4s3 6y ago
        yes, it mainly applies to "ch" in modern Spanish...
deviantfero 6y ago
Spanish does have silent letters, 'h' in hacer, is silent for example, and there are also words that are written the same and mean different things in different contexts, these words are called "homógrafas", some examples: Amo - "master" and "loved" Sal - "get out" or "salt" Cerca - "close" or "fence" And many more, and that's without getting into coloquial terms, for example in my country Puya - "it stings" or "damn" as an euphemism for "puta" I think English's biggest advantage is that it is easy to be understood in, it's writing, while inaccurate in terms of pronunciation, is easy to understand and learn
- flobosg 6y ago
  "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffal... I'm not sure if such an example exists in Spanish. The closest one I can come up with is "¿Cómo como? Como como como."
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - Izkata 6y ago
    I think I remember my Spanish teacher showing us a Buffalo-style sentence that was made of a bunch of "cocina", but I can't find it now, so I'm not sure...
    - flobosg 6y ago
      Could have been something like "La cocina cocina cocina en la cocina": The stove cooks cuisine in the kitchen.
katsura 6y ago
> no letters are silent Except "h". And "v" sounds like "b". "c", "s", and "z" a lot of times sounds the same. And where I'm at, people say "perame" instead of "espérame".
- robocat 6y ago
  Another exception: they eat their s’s in Andalusia (ma o meno).
  - jobigoud 6y ago
    And also in Canarias, Venezuela, the Caribean islands, parts of Argentina...
lgeorget 6y ago
The "helpers" you're talking about also cause their own problem in French, though. "Président" can be a noun (in that case you would pronounce the final syllable with a nasal "en". It can also be a conjugated form of the verb "Présider" (to preside) like in "ils président", in which case you don't pronounce the final -ent (it's just a silent "e").
hokumguru 6y ago
It's really not just a problem with English. I'm learning Japanese currently and its absolutely filled with homophones that only change based on context. For instance 子(child) 古(old) can both pronounced as "ko" I only have a vocab of ~300 words but I can list at least a dozen or more off the top of my head. Far more than my experience with English.
- bernawil 6y ago
  I think it's because these languages really like mono and two syllable words. Shorter words make a shorter "namespace" so repetition is more common. It's also the reason rhyming is easier though.
  - presentation 6y ago
    Rhyming is not considered aesthetic in Japanese, songs and poetry pretty much never rhyme except by accident.
- tester89 6y ago
  Yeah, Japanese is kinda like French in that there are a lot of homophones which aren't homonyms. The spelling is used for ideographic differentiation.

ch4s3 6y ago

> no letters are silent This is true except for `h` which is silent unless preceded by an `s` or a `c`. In some cases `u` is silent.

dqv 6y ago
Yeah there are still sneaky sounds in Spanish speech. I still remember thinking Spanish isn't so perfect after all when I learned about about -güe (?) verbs. I can still appreciate that it's still pretty phonemic especially compared to English.
flobosg 6y ago
> `h` which is silent unless preceded by an `s` That's incorrect. See for example deshonesto.
- ch4s3 6y ago
  Haha, an exception to the exception. The rule more clearly applies to `ch`, and I think the prefix `des` is why the `sh` rule doesn't apply. That said, I'm not an expert here.
  - flobosg 6y ago
    I might be wrong, but I think the "sh" combination in Spanish words exists exclusively in prefix-stem contexts (deshacer, transhumanismo).
  - naniwaduni 6y ago
    Modern Spanish doesn't normally use "sh" as a cluster at all outside loanwords. (See also: k, w.)
    - ch4s3 6y ago
      yes, it mainly applies to "ch" in modern Spanish...

deviantfero 6y ago

Spanish does have silent letters, 'h' in hacer, is silent for example, and there are also words that are written the same and mean different things in different contexts, these words are called "homógrafas", some examples: Amo - "master" and "loved" Sal - "get out" or "salt" Cerca - "close" or "fence" And many more, and that's without getting into coloquial terms, for example in my country Puya - "it stings" or "damn" as an euphemism for "puta" I think English's biggest advantage is that it is easy to be understood in, it's writing, while inaccurate in terms of pronunciation, is easy to understand and learn

flobosg 6y ago
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffal... I'm not sure if such an example exists in Spanish. The closest one I can come up with is "¿Cómo como? Como como como."
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- Izkata 6y ago
  I think I remember my Spanish teacher showing us a Buffalo-style sentence that was made of a bunch of "cocina", but I can't find it now, so I'm not sure...
  - flobosg 6y ago
    Could have been something like "La cocina cocina cocina en la cocina": The stove cooks cuisine in the kitchen.

katsura 6y ago

> no letters are silent Except "h". And "v" sounds like "b". "c", "s", and "z" a lot of times sounds the same. And where I'm at, people say "perame" instead of "espérame".

robocat 6y ago
Another exception: they eat their s’s in Andalusia (ma o meno).
- jobigoud 6y ago
  And also in Canarias, Venezuela, the Caribean islands, parts of Argentina...

lgeorget 6y ago

The "helpers" you're talking about also cause their own problem in French, though. "Président" can be a noun (in that case you would pronounce the final syllable with a nasal "en". It can also be a conjugated form of the verb "Présider" (to preside) like in "ils président", in which case you don't pronounce the final -ent (it's just a silent "e").

hokumguru 6y ago

It's really not just a problem with English. I'm learning Japanese currently and its absolutely filled with homophones that only change based on context. For instance 子(child) 古(old) can both pronounced as "ko" I only have a vocab of ~300 words but I can list at least a dozen or more off the top of my head. Far more than my experience with English.

bernawil 6y ago
I think it's because these languages really like mono and two syllable words. Shorter words make a shorter "namespace" so repetition is more common. It's also the reason rhyming is easier though.
- presentation 6y ago
  Rhyming is not considered aesthetic in Japanese, songs and poetry pretty much never rhyme except by accident.
tester89 6y ago
Yeah, Japanese is kinda like French in that there are a lot of homophones which aren't homonyms. The spelling is used for ideographic differentiation.