TubeNet

It's just a pet peeve but on the "For Sale" board I've seen a number of ads where the seller states, "Will hear offers."

Okay, how will you hear them? Are we supposed to make a phone call? How about a good yell?

The English language isn't that difficult. Just write, "Will consider offers by phone," or by private message or smoke signals.

Yeah, I'm being petty, I know that. But it's a better language than some folks give it credit for. French is a mess, sounds great but it's a mess. English is efficient and accurate when used well.

I will now hear opposing statements. Call me on my personal phone.

Alex C wrote:French is a mess, sounds great but it's a mess. English is efficient and accurate when used well.

I hate French because it was kind of forced on me by a teacher I didn't like too well in the 6th grade, and more objectively can't really approve of it because the phonology is so wacky.

But I see that it's still official language in 26 countries, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked it as the 3rd most useful language for business (after English & Chinese), and high birth rates in French speaking areas e.g. in sub-Saharan Africa could make it the world's #1 language by 2050. So it appears to have been found suitable for more than just romancing the ladies.

Reminds me of a co-worker from long ago who was from Romania (had escaped during that time when escape was necessary.) She was very smart and learning English. She asked me how to tell how a word is spelled, because Romanian, like Spanish, is spelled like it sounds. I told her that the spellings had to be memorized, which is true....and I think French is the same way. You don't know how to pronounce it by reading it and you don't know how to spell it upon hearing it. I won't even venture into Chinese.

does "for sell" not bother you too?

MaryAnn wrote:R...and I think French is the same way. You don't know how to pronounce it by reading it and you don't know how to spell it upon hearing it.

Not as bad as English in that respect. But I believe the blame for that lies partly with the French language, which a critical period took over from English as the official language of England. Old English and French didn't get along very well, and that I think is why modern English is so different from other Germanic languages, lacking noun gender for example. Much of the non-latin/greek English vocabulary is actually Old French. Spelling was affected dramatically because French would be the main written language. That and the existence of several English dialects with no standardization while French gradually faded, and roughly twice as many sounds as there are Roman alphabet letters, and it's no wonder there was no consistent orthography. But that hodge-podge of spelling and sources has left us with a bigger, more adaptable language.

So we can't explain how to spell it, but there is one thing we can do to help people who are learning. (Speaking as someone who has been on the other side, trying to understand one or another foreign language.) Speak distinctly.. If we listen carefully to each other, we actually voice about 50-80% of the sounds, and the rest is left for our English-speaking-from-birth minds to fill in. Someone who can speak tolerably well, with a decent vocabulary gained from years of study, may still not be able to get everything you're saying, if you don't make an effort to speak clearly. You don't have to dumb it down for them or yell, just pronounce the consonants.

Noun gender??

I don’t like the sound of that!!

Just saw this thread. So to clarify, you will hear offers for an Alex in the key of C?
How are the open G's?

Donn wrote:

Alex C wrote:French is a mess, sounds great but it's a mess. English is efficient and accurate when used well.

I hate French because it was kind of forced on me by a teacher I didn't like too well in the 6th grade, and more objectively can't really approve of it because the phonology is so wacky.

But I see that it's still official language in 26 countries, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked it as the 3rd most useful language for business (after English & Chinese), and high birth rates in French speaking areas e.g. in sub-Saharan Africa could make it the world's #1 language by 2050. So it appears to have been found suitable for more than just romancing the ladies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlhzX7UKKNU" target="_blank