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Thanks. I updated the spelling. English as a second language has created a weird discrepancy in my brain for words that sound the same, but are written differen
by 100011_100001 5y ago
Thanks. I updated the spelling. English as a second language has created a weird discrepancy in my brain for words that sound the same, but are written differently.
not - knot
where - were
...and now peak - pique
At least I don't confuse "you are" vs "your".
Now explain plurals to me:
cat - cats
dog - dogs
bird - birds
mouse - mice <--- why?
goose - geese
moose - moose <--- why not meese?
- gen220 5y agoI think it’s the Germanic roots bleeding through. A “German” way to pluralize a noun is to “open up” the vowel, and occasionally add an “uh” at the end, for effect. Maus -> Mäuse (kind of sounds like mice, listen to Google translate) For moose, it would be spelt “muse” in German, which would be pluralized “müse”. But umlaut does not exist in English, we use “oo” for “u”, and the “uh” is silent: so we get “moos” and “moos” :) Also, apparently moose is an Algonquian loanword! TIL. Perhaps the plural in Algonquian dialects was not distinguishable to English speakers in the 1600s.
- usmannk 5y agoAt least in the US, where and were are pronounced differently.
- a_e_k 5y agoI'd pair them with two more words like this: where - ware were - whir