English is hard...
But it can be understood through tough thorough thought, though!
— Anonymous
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English is hard
English language is one of the hardest languages to learn, especially to adults learning English as a second language.
- If you can read this, then obviously you can read English. But you may be struggling with reading or pronunciation. Or, you may know someone else who does and you are trying to help that person. On this website you may find some tools that may be able to help you (or your friend, your child, your student,...) in improving spoken English.
- If you are a parent of a child who is struggling with learning how to read and write, on this website you may find some (hopefully useful) tools that may help your child become proficient with reading/writing.
Why is English so hard?
- English is only about 25% English.
- English Alphabet
- Written English is not phonemic.
- English is still evolving
- English is highly fragmented
- English dictrionary is larger than most languages
- No logic in grouping words (compound words, idioms and phrasal verbs) - example "put: put up, put down, put up with"
English is only about 25% English:
Over the last 1,000 years or so, English borrowed and collected words from many other European languages.
It is estimated that the origins of words in contemporary English are as follows:
- French, including Old French and early Anglo-French: 28.3%
- Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24%
- Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and Dutch: 25%
- Greek: 5.32%
- Unknown etymology: 4.03%
- Derived from proper names: 3.28%
- All other languages contributed less than 1%
While all languages also borrow and adopt words from other languages, they tend to modify their writing to adhere to their own spelling rules.
In English many of the adopted words are still written according to the spelling rules of the original language.
English Alphabet
Modern English is written with a Latin-script alphabet consisting of 26 letters, with each having both uppercase and lowercase forms.
| Uppercase | Lowercase | Name (spelling) | Name (phonetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | a | /ˈeɪ/ |
| B | b | bee | /ˈbiː/ |
| C | c | cee | /ˈsiː/ |
| D | d | dee | /ˈdiː/ |
| E | e | e | /ˈiː/ |
| F | f | eff | /ˈɛf/ |
| G | g | gee | /ˈdʒiː/ |
| H | h | aitch | /ˈeɪtʃ/ |
| I | i | i | /ˈaɪ/ |
| J | j | jay | /ˈdʒeɪ/ |
| K | k | kay | /ˈkeɪ/ |
| L | l | ell | /ˈɛl/ |
| M | m | em | /ˈɛm/ |
| N | n | en | /ˈɛn/ |
| O | o | o | /ˈoʊ/ |
| P | p | pee | /ˈpiː/ |
| Q | q | cue | /ˈkjuː/ |
| R | r | ar | /ˈɑːr/ |
| S | s | ess | /ˈɛs/ |
| T | t | tee | /ˈtiː/ |
| U | u | u | /ˈjuː/ |
| V | v | vee | /ˈviː/ |
| W | w | double-u | /ˈdʌbəl.juː/ |
| X | x | ex | /ˈɛks/ |
| Y | y | wy | /ˈwaɪ/ |
| Z | z | zee (US) | /ˈziː/ |
| Z | z | zed (UK) | /ˈzɛd/ |
Two letters may be confusing, lowercase A and G.
Learning English isn't just a question of learning the rules - it's about learning the many exceptions to the rules.
The numerous exceptions make it difficult to apply existing knowledge and use the same principle with a new word, s..
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