Curious English

Written by: Dain Hong / Accent Modification / December 02, 2020 / 8 minutes read

The Hodgepodge that is the English Language

A common question I get from many of my clients of accent modification is, “why does it sound like that?” They are referring to the lack of one-to-one correspondence between sound and symbol. We can see different letters standing for the same sound, as in the letters “s” and “c” in sent and cent. Then again, different sounds can be represented by one letter, as observed in /k/’s capability of being written with a “c” and a “k” in coffee and kitchen, respectively. Still yet, there are letters that seem to be not at all pronounced. We can observe this phenomenon in words like comb and tomb, but not in tumble. English seems to be a toss salad with five exceptions accompanying each rule. 

The reason that “ph” and “f” sound alike, along with the rationales for the craziness above, is that English is a melange of various languages. Modern English, of Indo-European origin, has roots in Germanic, Greek, Latin and Celtic. Germanic, at least the western variety, branched off to modern day Dutch, Afrikaans, German and Yiddish. Latin has formed the foundation of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. Celtic includes Welsh, Irish and Scots Gaelic. The loanwords that have been brought into English have maintained their pronunciation and stress patterns. While the pronunciation and stress patterns in Modern English seem to follow no rule, it is only that each word follows a rule from its origin. 

English seems to be a toss salad with five exceptions accompanying each rule. 

Vivid Imagery

When words are broken down for analysis of roots, mostly of Greek and Latin origin, readers can get a vivid imagery of the meaning. Take the word appendectomy, for example. This is a word loaded with meaning. Pend is an element meaning ‘to hang’, as we can see in words like pendulum and pendant. Ec is an element that means ‘out’, as seen in the word exit. Moreover, tom is an element that means ‘to cut’, as seen in the word atom—referring to something so small that is it unable to be cut. Finally, the ap- at the beginning is a derivation of the form ad- meaning ‘to’, and the -y at the end makes something a noun, likely referring to ‘the process of’. Putting this all together, the word appendectomy literally means the ‘process of cutting out something that hangs’. 

When a learner begins to understand the elements that compose all words, they are urged to move past its simple meaning. That is because the words begin to paint a picture and challenges readers to re-envision its meaning. It compels users of English to expand its meaning outside of the typical meaning for which it is used. 

Some examples may help to strengthen this point. Consider the commonly used word reveal. We use this synonymously with tell, give away, or leak. The elements that compose it are re-, meaning ‘back’, and vel meaning ‘curtain’. Re- is seen in words like reject (throw ‘back’), recede (move ‘back’), and reflect (bend ‘back’). Similarly, vel can be captured in the word velum—a membranous curtain hanging down from the hard palate inside your mouth. Putting together re- and –vel, we get the word reveal, meaning ‘a pulling back of a curtain.’

Another colorful example could be the word suffer. The elements of this word include suf (derivatie of sub) and fer. Sub means ‘under’, as seen in words like subway and subhuman. Fer is the same element found in ferry, and means ‘to carry.’ Combining these elements, the average word suffer, means to ‘be carrying from under.’  The analysis provides a strong imagery of an individual struggling underneath a heavy load. Yet, it provides hope in reminding readers that to carry something is a choice. Here, a distinction can be made between pain and suffering. While pain is inevitable, we are not vulnerable to suffering. In fact, to carry the burden or not is a choice that we can make.  

New Perspectives

Let this blog post be an encouragement to readers to look into the mundane, everyday words and behold the captivating curiosities behind them. In fact, I would like to ‘put in courage’ to see this analogy extending beyond words. 

To speak with one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.