Still with all the travelling they have done and hope to do in the future my mother thinks her English is lacking somewhat. Although it's mostly her written English she's started to improve. Finally she signed up for a 2 year course for the over 60 with homework and finals and everything. She had to sign a piece of paper promising she'll do the finals.
This is where I come in. She called me. Apparently she had a few questions and we also briefly touched upon the subject of plural words. We talked about how "goods" is always plural and how if you need to say that you've got one of something you can use "article". Then it became a little advanced because I decided to confuse her a little. I told her about the word "ox" and how in plural it's "oxen" like "goose" becomes "geese" if there are more than one. It was fun, and a little mean.
When she hung up I got to thinking about these words and remembered my favorite Canadian animal.
The moose. It's looks so stupid that I can't help but love it.
This animal is called a Moose. It's just like the Goose, just with an M. Obviously in the world of biology the difference is a bit more obvious.
My mother knew the word "Moose" and so my question to her was of course.
What happens when there are....
Two? And no, my mother is a posh woman and she'd never make that sort of remark MJ.She had heard of "goose" and the plural "geese" so her natural response was..
One moose, two meese. It makes sense. Why would you change the rules on us.
"No mother, that's not right!"
Well "Moxen" sounds ridiculous.
"Yes it does, that's not it either"
The plural of "moose" is "moose".
"Huh?"
I know!
Somebody should do something about that. I like it better as "Meese" or even "Moxen". I can just hear Richard Attenborough go "...and we are out here in Moose Jaw and look! There are two moxen [or meese] right over there!"
I think it's a winner.
Whats wrong with mooses , and there again whats going on with octopus (es) (i) ????
ReplyDeleteHee! It's totally a right of passage to want to say "moose/meese." I know I did!
ReplyDeleteMoose are huge in real life.
That moose in the first picture looks well happy.
ReplyDeleteBeastie: octopus should be octopii. I don't know why, it just sounds right.
ReplyDeleteDinah: it is? It just seems a little anti climactic to use moose in plural. An animal that large deserves more.
Tim: it does. It is so cute
I still have problems with the English language singular but also plural words...deer, sheep, and of course, fish...
ReplyDeleteI think the hardest part of learning the English language--at least the general American English--is that we tend to use a lot of slang and sayings that totally throw off non native speakers.
Then there're the words we use that mean totally different things in other dialects. When a friend of mine's mom visited from Australia, I remember asking her what she'd like for a snack after a some sight seeing. She asked for some biscuits and tea. I made the tea, popped some shortcake biscuits in the oven, and served it to her when it was ready with some fruit and honey.
She made a comment, "Oh, it's so big." But she seemed to enjoy it. Later on, I asked my friend just how small were biscuits in Australia. She gave me a funny look and when I told her what happened earlier, she laughed and said, "She was asking for cookies! They are called biscuits in Australia!"
English is a very confusing language. It is my mother tongue and I know it well (coming from a long line of teachers, I had no choice but to learn it properly!) but I can only imagine how difficult and confusing it is for people learning it as a second language.
ReplyDeleteAnd you probably won't find any moose in Moose Jaw, except for the town statue. It is out in the Prairies where you are more likely to see Pronghorn antelope than any thing else. ((yeah... I know... that is confusing too...))
Yes, english is a such a mish mash of so many other things, with rules that apply and don't apply. It's not a logical language. It's bloody hard to teach too.
ReplyDeleteI like moose. I like their knobbly knees and big heads. They have pretty eyes like cows, don't they?
Bingowings: I know, I love it when words in one language mean something else in another. Chips is a great example too.
ReplyDeleteOr actually my fabulous English teacher told of this thing where, I think it was Chrystler or some other car company, named their car "silver mist" and in German mist means dung.
Ponygirl: I should have known there were no moose in Moose Jaw.
I love English and it was my favorite class in school. By the time I graduated in 1998 (oh god I feel old) I was pretty damn good at it considering it was my second language. It fascinates me.
Welcome!
T-Birdy: I've never actually concentrated on the actual rules and such. I use what sounds right and it's always paid off. Then of course my last 3 years in school my teacher brought out the books and told me to study the rules to make my English perfect. It never did become perfect but it improved. But I read a lot of English texts and books and listened to English radio and TV. The BBC programming especially.
They do have pretty eyes. I like their fuzzy horns too.
Both Moose Jaw and “Moosomin” are mentioned in the lyrics of Running Back to Saskatoon by Canada’s “The Guess Who”.
ReplyDeleteMoosomin means “moose berries” in the Cree language and is also the name of a town in the Province of Saskatchewan.
I don't think I want to know about a moose berries
ReplyDeleteSomehow it just doesn't seem right
CP, there are also some confusing regional dialects in the US that give the same thing different names!
ReplyDeletei.e., soda. I call it soda; when I was in Chicago, they looked at me kind of funny when asked for a soda; they called it a 'pop'
When I moved to Texas, they called it a Coke...regardless of the brand. I remember the first time I heard it when friend asked for one over lunch.
Friend, "I'd like a Coke."
Waitress,"What kind?"
Friend, "A Coke."
that's odd. But then you are like a country of 52 (?) countries so it does kind of make sense.
ReplyDeleteTo me Pop is a genre of music
That's true. 50 states--Canada of course, separates Alaska from the other 48 states, and Hawaii being separate by an ocean--and a couple of other possessions world wide...there's bound to be some language variations! It's kind of fun to guess where people are from just by listening to the words they say, their pronunciations, and how fast they talk!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
ReplyDeletePeople have different accents and pronounciations here too. Even in a country this small. Moving to Copenhagen has really opened my eyes to the cultural differences between Jutland and Zealand and even our fair capital.
YOU feel old having graduated in '98???? Try '76.... that's me. Can't believe I have been out of high school 32 years.
ReplyDeleteI remembered living in the US (I am Canadian) and telling someone I was pissed (meaning drunk); he thought I meant I was angry. That took a bit of explaining!
Lots of geographic variations. Even across Canada, you can tell if someone is from the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec or the Maritimes (especially Newfoundland, where they could like they come from rural England) by their accent or even just inflections. But I guess when the country spans 5000 kms., you've got to expect some kind of differences!