Five Funny Examples of Why English is Weird

Most people who want to learn English know that it is a hard language to learn. However, did you know that the majority of native English speakers think that their language is weird too! 

Why is English so weird and difficult to learn? English is a difficult language to learn to read, because 14 of the 26 letters in the English alphabet make multiple sounds. Reading programs typically combine letters, and have many complicated rules in order to learn to read. 

The Nardagani Reading Program is designed to eliminate the guesswork involved in reading. The program is comprised of 12 simple symbols, used below letters, that allow the reader to know which sound to make. Students learn a few symbols at a time. They memorize the symbols through exercises, games, and reading books coded with the symbols. Once students learn the first few symbols, they work on sounding out words, and increase their list of sight words. 

Within eight hours of Nardagani instruction, students have learned the 12 symbols and are reading our coded practice books with ease. 

Once students have gained confidence in sounding out words, the symbols will no longer be needed, and can be removed, like training wheels on a bicycle. 

Here are five funny and weird examples of why English a hard language to learn:

1: If womb is pronounced as “woom” and tomb is pronounced as “woom,” then shouldn’t bomb be pronounced as “boom?”

2: The word monosyllabic (meaning one syllable) has five syllables.

3: In English this is a pineapple (image of pineapple). However, in Arabic, Armenian, Danish, Dutch, Finish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, and Turkish it is a: anasas.

4: The contractions “I’ve not” and “I haven’t” mean the exact same thing. 

5: We say: It is ”in January," but "on Wednesday," and "at 12 o'clock."

Click here to learn more about the Nardagani Reading Program, take our Masterclass, and watch Narda’s TEDx talk, “A New Way to Learn to Read English.”