Why is English a weird language?

English has more phonemes than many languages, with around 44, depending on which variety of English you speak. It has an unusually large set of vowel sounds—there are around 11. According to WALS, most spoken languages only have between five to six vowel sounds.

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Is English an odd language?

Researchers restricted themselves to 165 features found in at least 100 languages in them. The results of the study show that English, coming in #33 out of 239 languages (0.756 weirdness index value), is actually a weird language with more than 80% of its features being uncommon in other languages.

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What is the weirdest looking language?

Chalcatongo Mixtec is spoken mainly in Oaxaca, Mexico, and is considered the weirdest language because it is the most unique when compared to the other languages spoken throughout the world.
...
Top 10 weird languages:
  • Mixtec (Chalcatongo)
  • Nenets.
  • Choctaw.
  • Diegueño (Mesa Grande)
  • Oromo (Harar)
  • Kutenai.
  • Iraqw.
  • Kongo.

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How did English spelling become Unphonetic?

The Great Vowel shift and the change in the English sound system brings us directly to our next topic of study i.e. English spelling. Spelling had become fixed in a general way before the shift and did not change when the long vowels changed. Hence, English spelling became largely unphonetic.

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Why is English spelling so chaotic?

Thanks to the Great Vowel Shift, the huge number of words that English has taken from other languages (retaining their original spellings at varying levels), and the arbitrary regulation of spelling that took place over hundreds of years without any central plan, English is by far one of the most irregular and ...

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Learning Languages Ruined My Life

18 related questions found

Why is spelling no longer taught?

It used to be tested nationally. And even though spelling is now proven to increase reading scores, it's not uncommon for principals to tell teachers to skip teaching spelling because they need the time for test prep.

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What is the prettiest language?

If there is a language which draws a unanimous worldwide consent regarding its beauty, it is French. According to several informal online surveys, there seems to be a general infatuation for spoken French all over the world. French has been described as smooth, flowing, elegant and aesthetically pleasing.

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What is the purest language?

An international conference on languages held in Sarawak, Malaysia between February 5 and 8, selected Sanskrit as the language which emits the 'most positive vibrations' and 'spiritually pure in nature'.

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What is the coolest language?

Here's our list of contenders for coolest language
  • French.
  • Spanish.
  • 3. Japanese.
  • Chinese.
  • German.
  • Brazilian Portuguese.

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What language is closest to English *?

Which Languages Are The Closest To English?
  • Closest Language: Scots. The closest language to English is arguably Scots. ...
  • Closest (Definitely Distinct) Language: Frisian. ...
  • Closest Major Language: Dutch. ...
  • Close Language: German. ...
  • Close Language: Norwegian. ...
  • Close Language: French.

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What is the most unpopular language?

Also known as Tetawo, the Tanema language is again only spoken by one person, Lainol Nalo, on the island of Vanikoro, in the easternmost province of the Solomon Islands. The population of the island is around 150, most of whom speak the related language of Tetau and speak some Tanema as a second language.

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What is the rarest language?

We're going to look at some of the rarest languages that are still spoken from around the world.
  • Sarsi. Sarsi (also known as Sarcee), is a Native American language related to Navajo. ...
  • Dumi. Even rarer than Sarsi is Dumi, with only eight known speakers in the world. ...
  • Pawnee. ...
  • Chamicuro. ...
  • Kawishana. ...
  • Contact Akorbi Today.

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What is the #1 language?

1. English (1,132 million speakers) According to Ethnologue, English is the largest language in the world for both native and non-native speaker.

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What is the funniest language to learn?

10 most fun languages to learn
  • 3. Japanese. ...
  • Sign language. ...
  • Brazilian Portuguese. ...
  • Turkish. ...
  • Italian. ...
  • German. ...
  • Quechua. Fancy learning the language of the Incas? ...
  • Chinese. While Chinese grammar is actually simpler than many other languages, the real fun begins when learning to speak Chinese.

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What is the number 1 easiest language?

15 of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers - ranked
  • Frisian. Frisian is thought to be one of the languages most closely related to English, and therefore also the easiest for English-speakers to pick up. ...
  • Dutch. ...
  • Norwegian. ...
  • Spanish. ...
  • Portuguese. ...
  • Italian. ...
  • French. ...
  • Swedish.

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What is the 1st hardest language?

Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.

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What is the simplest language ever?

That metaphorical process is at the heart of Toki Pona, the world's smallest language.

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What is the most respected language?

English

English is one definitely one of the most important languages to learn in 2021 and beyond. It is used in global business, worldwide travel, diplomatic affairs, and in computer technology. Not only that, but many of the top global economies are English-speaking ones — the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

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What is the hardest language to perfect?

Let's explore the 10 hardest languages for English speakers to learn, and the challenges they deliver:
  1. Mandarin. Mandarin is spoken by 70% of the Chinese population, and is the most spoken language in the world. ...
  2. Arabic. ...
  3. 3. Japanese. ...
  4. Hungarian. ...
  5. Korean. ...
  6. Finnish. ...
  7. Basque. ...
  8. Navajo.

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What language looks best in text?

There are around 7,000 spoken languages in the world and around half of those have their own writing systems.
...
The Top Ten Most Beautiful Alphabets
  1. Russian. Number of letters: 33. ...
  2. Greek. Number of letters: 24. ...
  3. Hebrew. Number of letters: 22. ...
  4. Urdu. ...
  5. Sanskrit. ...
  6. Javanese. ...
  7. Tibetan. ...
  8. Thai.

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What is the most romantic language?

French is often considered to be the most romantic language in the world. It is another Romance language that originated from Latin. French is a very musical language, and its pronunciation contributes to its melody.

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Does spelling affect IQ?

We have a long history of linking spelling skills to intelligence. We think people who can't spell are ignorant, illiterate, or stupid, despite having research dating back to the 1970s that shows that there is no significant association between spelling ability and intelligence.

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Why can't I spell but I can read?

Dyslexia. “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

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Why can't adults spell?

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that impairs a person's ability to read and write. Dyslexia involves the ways that the brain processes graphic symbols and the sounds of words. It commonly affects word recognition, spelling, and the ability to match letters to sounds.

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What language did Jesus speak?

Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C., and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.

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