The many sides of English

“The English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the imagination; it is the property of the language itself.”

WELCOME, STUDENTS! This is the first lesson in what will be a dynamic series of topics that you need to cover in time for the May 2019 English language examination. It seems like it is months away, but time has nimble feet. Do all you can to make the most of it.

The May 2018 sitting of the English A examination saw improvement in the overall pass rate for students in Jamaica. Although the English A SBA was a newly introduced component of the overall assessment, the combined efforts of students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders resulted in the success we now celebrate. As we move forward, we are challenged to do all we can to continue to improve the students’ performance in English. – Derek Walcott

The quote above captures the dynamic nature of English. The many sides of English reveal that it deals with much more than its grammar or spelling. It is a very entertaining language that fosters one’s creativity.

Below, I have provided some fun facts about English.

FUN FACTS ABOUT ENGLISH

The English language has been developing for more than 1,400 years.

Over 840 million people speak English as a first or second language.

It is the second most spoken language after Mandarin. Mandarin is spoken in China.

China has more English speakers than the United States. English is not the official language of the United States. In fact, it has no official language.

William Shakespeare added over 1,700 new words to the English language. Many of these are very common words today – like bubble, gloomy, lonely and fashionable.

The first English dictionary was written in 1755.

The most common letter used in English is ‘E’. I The two most common words in English are ‘I’ and ‘you’.

I The most commonly used noun is ‘time’.

I About 4,000 words are added to the dictionary each year.

I Over 80% of the information stored on computers worldwide is in English.

There are seven ways to spell the sound ‘ee’ in English. This sentence contains all of them: ‘He believed Caesar could see people seizing the seas’.

Swims will be swims even when turned upside down. Such words are called ambigrams.

The letter combination -ough is pronounced in at least 9 different ways. Consider the pronunciation of the words: rough, plough, through, though, hiccough, cough, thought, thorough, slough.

Most average adult English speakers know between 20,00035,000 words.

More people in the world have learnt English as a second language than there are native English speakers.

The word ‘good’ has the most synonyms of any other word in the English language, at 380.

I The word ‘set’ has the most definitions, at over 300.

I In 2018, approximately 1.53 billion people speak English as a primary, secondary, or business language. This is about 1 in 7 people on Earth.

(Adapted from: https://www.lingoda.com/en/blog/fun-factsenglish-language and https://www.factretriever.com/englishlanguage-facts)

There are many more fun facts out there. Seek them out.

For some students, English can be challenging, but it certainly helps to be reminded about how beneficial English can be to your overall development.

BENEFITS OF ENGLISH

It will improve your performance in other subject areas that require you to write extensively and read for comprehension.

It is an international language that is in high demand.

It aids in making you employable.

Your use of English positively influences people’s perception of you.

I will close this lesson with what should be a funny and though-provoking piece about the English language. Let’s face it English is a strange language.

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren’t invented in England.

We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,

And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing,

Grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?

Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.

If you have a bunch of odds and ends

And get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

We have noses that run and feet that smell.

We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.

And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down,

In which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother’s not Mop?

The above piece shows you just how dynamic English can be. The very nature of English invites you to get to know its many sides. Be prepared to learn as much as you can about it.

Next week, I will provide an outline of the new English A syllabus.

VOCABULARY TOP-UP

Abysmal – very bad

Accomplice – a person who helps someone else to commit a crime. Annihilate – to completely destroy something Assiduous – hard-working

Avid – eager, enthusiastic

Melissa McKenzie teaches at Old Harbour High School. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com.