WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO MASTER ENGLISH?

Posted by Unknown On Monday, March 15, 2010 33 comments
I just received the following from my cousin in US and thought I'd share it with you while I write my post on civil society which should be ready after tea-time. I have blogged about the deplorable state of English in many older posts (tagged under Education). DO check it out if you have not read those rants. Please leave a comment if you wish to share your thoughts, experiences or views. Thanks! Take care and have a lovely Monday and a great week ahead!


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WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO MASTER ENGLISH?

We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
The soldier decided to desert in the desert.
This was a good time to present the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
The bandage was wound around the wound.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
They sent a sewer down to stitch the tear in the sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in my clothes I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
I read it once and will read it agen
I learned much from this learned treatise.
I was content to note the content of the message.
The Blessed Virgin blessed her richly.
It's a bit wicked to over-trim a short wicked candle.
If he will absent himself we will mark him absent.
I incline toward bypassing the incline.

33 comments to WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO MASTER ENGLISH?

  1. says:

    johnnie lim nice one my friend,but those who "don't speak england" will be confuse for sure. LOL

  1. says:

    Unknown Hi Johnnie!

    Lovely to hear from you again...:-) Ya, I believe this post has a certain appeal :-).

    How are you? Hope all is going well for you and yours. Please keep in touch!! Take care and God bless you and yours always. Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Anonymous English is made difficult (in Malaysia) because of PPSMI.

  1. says:

    Anonymous Rais Yatim : Saya tak jawablah soalan begitu. Tanye ajalah dalam bahasa kebangsaan, ape die. OK if you want to talk in English, I’ve changed my mode… go ahead.

  1. says:

    Anonymous "WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO MASTER ENGLISH?"

    Because umno taught its followers to hate it, that's why.

    Because Umno's Neanderthal mindset is always based on putting others down so that itself(its crappy 'philosophy' alone will shine!

    Because a good command of English opens a wide new world of knowledge and potential abilities which would than make its common repressed followers non dependent in it!

    ~wits0~

  1. says:

    Anonymous 'How are you to-die ?' Australian inkish oso NO good one !!

  1. says:

    Linda Frater Back in the good old days when English was taught properly, this would just be normal English. The medium of instruction was English then and in convent schools we were taught by nuns who came over from England and Ireland. I well remembered one nun, Sister Eugenie (she had the bluest eyes ever) who hailed from Ireland who would make sure that we pronounced the words correctly. I still marvel that we did not end up with the Irish twang :-) She even fined us five cents each time we forgot to bring our dictionary. Way, way back in 1969, five cents would get you a small plate of fried beehoon from the canteen so we made sure that that little Oxford dictionary was always snug and secure in our schoolbag. Vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary! Those were Sister Eugenie's catchcry. And how we benefited! Today? Less said soonest mended.

  1. says:

    Very Sad What do you expect from someone who disowned his own dissertation on the evil of ISA? Ethical and decorum??? He is such a political trollop - both arrogant and pompous.
    And ironically he, a political courtesan, is Malaysia's Information, Communications, and Culture Minister.

  1. says:

    Kampung Girl Rais Yatim, the Information, Communications, and Culture Minister said Muslims and other religious groups must be wary of the Internet as it was introduced by the West.

    Isn't that stupid?

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 9.59am

    Agree. I have seen for myself the downward slide in college which is why idealistic me resigned and would rather live a simple life as a housewife cum blogger than to contend with the balderdarish English when some garble in their assignments :-(. It was just too heartbreaking to see straight A students who are unable to string a logical sentence that is grammatically correct!

    Sighs. This is the destruction caused by ONE evil character.

    :-(

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 10.39am

    This character is a man of a thousand songs. A chameleon of all sorts. Am mulling over a few angles for my next post...:-)

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Anonymous Khir Toyo : The GST implementation has been delayed. You see, Najib listens. He does this for the rakyat, he won’t make any hasty or rash decisions. This is the kind of leader that we want. Give Najib a chance.

    Lovely to hear that!

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 11.15 am

    There is this program that allows you to listen to how English is pronounced.

    I cannot find the mail that has the link. When I do, I will put it up and you can hear the variations across the globe.

    Take care and have a lovely day!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 11.15am and other readers

    Eureka!!! I found it.

    Have fun with this link.

    http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal

    cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear ~wtis0~

    Very true.

    When students/citizens lack competency in written and spoken English, it means that they are:

    *unable to read as much
    *lacking in the ability to understand what they read
    *more dependent on local media for news
    *lacking in the ability to question due to lack of exposure
    *in a worse position because of the sum total of the above which renders them less competitive in the job market and the race for scholarships
    *less likely to be successful in migration
    *going to be transformed into docile citizens who will be subservient to their masters
    *more likely to believe spins and myths cos they cannot understand the counter arguments offered in other sites in English
    *etc etc

    Sighs

    And we can see all this happening and I surmise the situation will get worse...

    Take care and thanks for sharing!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Linda Frater,

    I agree with you and appreciate your comments shared with so much conviction and nostalgia. Although I was not in a convent school.I was also blessed to have good English teachers such as Tunku Rose Ismail Jewa and others. It was compulsory to have a dictionary with us all the time and we would be fined 5 cents per word we spoke in our mother tongue. Pronunciation was an integral part of the lesson as well as dictation. Today, English is no longer taught in the same manner. On top of that, there is the slow but sure death of the reading habit. What a crying shame!

    Thanks for sharing. Take care and do keep in touch. Have a nice day!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Very Sad

    Once-upon-a-time...Long long ago...I had high regard for a certain leader...Today, the situation is a far cry from what he used to be.

    Most disheartening indeed.

    :-(

    We have to move on and make sure our youth do not grow up in the same mould!

    Take care and thanks for sharing, Very Sad. Have a nice day!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Kampung Girl

    Did you see what was written about him in Ths Sunday Star re local women marrying foreigners?

    Caution : It might raise your bp so take care while reading ;-).

    He has said many contradictory statements and we need not say more.

    Have a good day!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 12.02pm

    I have no doubt that our PM listens to the rakyat. He even took time to meet his cyberpals. I have also expressed the same to those who are in Perkasa - that they have to give the PM a chance but why are they bashing our PM and getting away with it?

    For me, when I look at a message, I always look at the credibility of the source.

    In this case, who is Khir Toyo? What is his background? Why is he adopting this apple-polishing stance?

    If it came from another leader, I have no doubt that the statement would carry more weight.

    What do you think?

    Thank you for sharing from a patriotic heart.

    Have a nice day.

  1. says:

    Anonymous Khir Toyo : Give Najib a chance.

    Selangorians : Give Khir Toyo another chance. We need him to keep Selangor clean. Remember his broom?

  1. says:

    Anonymous Let's not bother Khir Toyo.
    He needs a long rest!

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 12.37pm

    Do check out this article and most of all the comments there:

    http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/56238-khir-toyo-give-najib-a-chance-

    With that in mind, what he can possibly do that he didn't the last time he was in power(even with the proverbial broom which, if you remember, offended many people)?

    Thanks! Have a great day!

    Salam to you and yours

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 12.54pm

    I believe rest is good for the battered soul :-).

    Times of refreshing are needed by meditating before the Almighty and asking for new vision and inspiration.

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Anonymous Anon@12.37PM :
    "Khir Toyo : Give Najib a chance."
    ....................................
    Yeah, throw good money after bad!

    Toyol himself (with the nick of 'anon dud')used to comment in blogs and got nicely bashed, left n right! Hallelujah!

    ~wits0~

  1. says:

    Ummie Hello...
    I'm the master here.
    English is no master - It's language.
    What say you?

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear ~wits0~

    :-) I would give him brownie points for effort but it is too late, isn't it?

    Take care and have a lovely day!

    cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Ummie

    Good play on words, dear friend!

    Have a lovely day! Take care and stay happy and healthy always!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Anonymous Try these twisters, just for laughs…

    Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

    Clean clams crammed in clean cans.
    Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.

    I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

    When I was in Arkansas I saw a saw that could outsaw any other saw I ever saw, saw. If you've got a saw that can outsaw the saw I saw saw then I'd like to see your saw saw.

    How much wood could Chuck Woods' woodchuck chuck, if Chuck Woods' woodchuck could and would chuck wood? If Chuck Woods' woodchuck could and would chuck wood, how much wood could and would Chuck Woods' woodchuck chuck? Chuck Woods' woodchuck would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as any woodchuck would, if a woodchuck could and would chuck wood.

    This one is mine…

    Clearly, Malaysia is a land of abundance, but it is abundantly clear that the abundance has been clearly abandoned of its clear abundance.

    Cheers
    StraightTalking

  1. says:

    Anonymous "Blogger Ummie said...

    Hello...
    I'm the master here.
    English is no master - It's language.
    What say you?"

    Are you really master of your own destiny or do you not depend on some party for succour while others don't?


    ~wits0~

  1. says:

    ahoo Doing the right thing is not the same as doing the thing right. To master english, then we must be a willing slave to the master of english.

    We must not allow the past failures in educating our youths to blind us to the fact that each new day is a miracle and a mystery. May you continue to impart and impact us with your written words to transform this society into falling in love with english all over again.

    For I read blogs to improve my engrish, mah ! Many thanks.

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear StraightTalking

    Thanks so much for sharing the tongue-twisters.,I had great fun with them...Very creative of you too. Take care and have a lovely evening. God bless you.

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear ~wits0~

    Can we ever be masters of our own destiny when there are so many forces both seen and unseen that are at work?

    Thanks for a thought-provoking comment. Take care and enjoy the rest of the evening.

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear ahoo

    Once again, many thanks for taking the time and trouble to leave such thought provoking and sincere comments in response to this post.

    May God continue to bless you and use you mightily in unexpected ways!

    Take care and please keep in touch!

    Cheers

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