[etni] Re: Fw: remedial English lessons to make sure they can spell
- From: David Graniewitz <graniewitz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: bnirenberg@xxxxxxxxx, ask@xxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:58:49 +0200 (IST)
Er, Bari, it is not that the British are making things
difficult (we after all did invent the language -- the clue
is in its name), it's that the Yanks are too lazy to get
their heads around the intricacies of English spelling.
because of this the letter u has been taken out of "colour"
and "honour" plough has been simplified to plow and so forth.
The beauty of English spelling is in its lack of consistency.
I love writing the following words on the board and seeing
how many of the kids can say them properly --
though
through
thought
tough
Change one letter and the word is pronounced completely
differently.
Think about this one; making english spelling as hard as
possible makes it difficult for foreigners to learn the
language and consequently keeps us in full employment. :)
Regards
David Graniewitz
Re: practice/practise -- Why do the British have to make
things so
difficult? If they'd just spell the verb and the noun the
same way (like
Americans do), there wouldn't be any reason for confusion.
Bari
On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 9:38 AM, Ask Etni <ask@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> !
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Erich & Carmen Lewitus - erichl@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: FW: remedial English lessons to make sure they
can spell
>
> Students getting top GCSE grades will be given remedial
English lessons to
> make sure they can spell. Harrow School in West London has
introduced a
> basic test for all those starting their sixth-form studies.
>
> Any pupil who fails the test must take extra classes in
his own time until
> he has mastered basic spelling and grammar. English
teacher Tom Wickson
> said staff at the public school for boys noticed some of
those getting A
> grades "can't spell simple words".
>
> Nor could they "punctuate a simple sentence".
>
> Here are some questions from Harrow School's literacy test:
>
> :: Which is correct?
> 1. Disappoint/disapoint
> 2. Refered/referred
> 3. Occurrence/ocurrence
> 4. Professional/proffesional
> 5. Benefited/benefitted
> 6. Here are three practise/practice papers.
> 7. The principle/principal thing to remember is not to
give up.
> 8. Stationary/stationery will be issued later.
> 9. We watched it's/its disappearance with dismay.
> 10. There were fewer/less things to see this year.
> 11. I have not been there in the past/passed few days.
>
> :: Proof reading:
> 12. The green party's concern with the enviroment could
slow down the
> affect
> of Global warming.
> 13. A diet comprising caffiene and nicotine is not very
holesome.
> 14. There were definately less people at the concert this
year, which was
> dissapointing.
> 15. Is it alright if the contract between you and I is
dissolved at the end
> of the year?
>
> :: Punctuation:
> 16. We shall see you in five hours time
> 17. He likes football however he detests cricket
> 18. Ash wednesday marks the beginning of lent easter
sunday marks its end
>
> :: Answers:
> 1. Disappoint
> 2. Referred
> 3. Occurrence
> 4. Professional
> 5. Benefited
> 6. Here are three practice papers.
> 7. The principal thing to remember is not to give up.
> 8. Stationery will be issued later.
> 9. We watched its disappearance with dismay.
> 10. There were fewer things to see this year.
> 11. I have not been there in the past few days.
>
> :: Proof reading:
> 12. The Green Party's concern for the environment could
slow down the
> effect
> of global warming.
> 13. A diet comprising caffeine and nicotine is not very
wholesome.
> 14. There were definitely fewer people at the concert this
year, which was
> disappointing.
> 15. Is it all right if the contract between you and me is
dissolved at the
> end of the year?
>
> :: Punctuation:
> 16. We shall see you in five hours' time.
> 17. He likes football, however, he detests cricket.
> 18. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Easter
Sunday marks its end.
>
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