web Pronunciations

[Zekromic 1,054]

Well, after so long, our dear James Rolfe continues his YKWB? series

It's funny that as a non native English speakers, we try to perfect our English everyday,  due to it's inconsistencies, ONLY TO FIND OUT, YOU NATIVE SPEAKERS HAVE IT HARD TOO 

[Kapitan zur See Hans (Daz) 883]

omg this is amazing, never really thought about some of this before. Yea it doesn't make any sense sometimes.

[FlitterFlutter 1,595]

this series is back ?!? i used to love watching these back years ago. i loved the Angrey video game nerd and all this stuff. 

[GearheadWilliams 64]

I believe that the main reason behind this is the fact that english is some weird fusion between ancient german and ancient french that generated itself in the medieval era, which would give it irregularities like these.

 It's great to see more of this video series. The message this video gives makes sense when you think about it.

[Zekromic 1,054]

this series is back ?!? i used to love watching these back years ago. i loved the Angrey video game nerd and all this stuff. 

Yeah, imagine my surprise after seeing another YKWB? in my account, BEST OF ALL, THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE A WEEK OLDER OR SO. Looks like James Rolfe found more daily things that are bullshit 

[FlitterFlutter 1,595]

Yeah, imagine my surprise after seeing another YKWB? in my account, BEST OF ALL, THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE A WEEK OLDER OR SO. Looks like James Rolfe found more daily things that are bullshit 

I am really excited about this i hope it becomes a simi regular thing he does because some of these are just too funny! have you seen the one with the copiers as someone who worked in an office I got a real kick out of that one. 

[Zekromic 1,054]

I am really excited about this i hope it becomes a simi regular thing he does because some of these are just too funny! have you seen the one with the copiers as someone who worked in an office I got a real kick out of that one. 

I watched almost all of them. The first one I watched were the blu-rays, specially with the "WHOOPS, WHOOPS". The asshole one was cracking up too, and grass was pure genius  

[SasQ 1,380]

This is all because people nowadays use language like parrots: they just listen to words in some circumstances and repeat them back in the same circumstances to get the same result, but knowing nothing about their real meanings.

 

This guy should look up some about etymology, that is, the meanings of those words and the history of how did they came to use from other languages. Then he would be less confused about why are they pronounced that way.

 

"Straightening up" the pronunciation wouldn't make much sense, since it would then erase the historical roots of these words, which would only make harder to study them. If you don't believe me, let me just give you this example of how "straightening the rules" can sometimes lead to more confusion that there is already:

 

"For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all.

 

Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" – bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez – tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli.

 

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

From "Meihem in ce Klasrum", Dolton Edwards (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1946)

I believe that the main reason behind this is the fact that english is some weird fusion between ancient german and ancient french that generated itself in the medieval era, which would give it irregularities like these.

You're pretty much right. As H. Beam Piper said it in "Fuzzy Sapiens" in 1964:

 

English is the result of Norman soldiers attempting to pick up Anglo-Saxon barmaids, and is no more legitimate than any of the other results.

But the story is deeper and more complex than that. There's also Old English involved, which was from the Germanic branch of languages, and it was more alike to modern German than modern English. Here's an example comparison of how English language has changed with time (along with a possible extrapolation into the future):

 

1000 CE Old English: Wé cildra biddaþ þé, éalá láréow, þæt þú tæ'ce ús sprecan rihte, forþám ungelæ'rede wé sindon, and gewæmmodlíce we sprecaþ...

 

2000 CE Modern English: We children beg you, teacher, that you should teach us to speak correctly, because we are ignorant and we speak corruptly...

 

3000 CE Futuristic English: ZA kiad w'-exùn ya tijuh, da ya-gAr'-eduketan zA da wa-tAgan lidla, kaz 'ban iagnaran an wa-tAg kurrap...

And one more quote for conclusion:

 

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.

James D. Nicoll (1990)

Edited November 22, 2014 by SasQ

[Ruddboy Olaf 10,628]

"Shut the hell up,and suck our coxen!"

 

That always cracks me up. 

 

I am really excited about this i hope it becomes a simi regular thing he does because some of these are just too funny! have you seen the one with the copiers as someone who worked in an office I got a real kick out of that one. 

"Printers. I hate printers. They give you nothing but shit!"