I 've never thought about learning a second language , so I didn't pay any attention to English during my intermediate and secondary stages .. it is only after secondary school , I decided to study English at UQU University .. a very late decision , huh ?! ... but it did work ( or at least this is what I think ) ! ..
Like most of ESL students , I used to think in Arabic and write in English and this is a very common mistake leads to funny , unacceptable sentences .. I also had a problem in understanding some of English expressions and fixed phrases .. for instance , I laughed a lot when heared " if you were in my shoes " for the first time ! .. my God ! , in your shoes ?! .. how dare you ?! .. what will I do in your shoes ? :) .. another funny expression was " go break a leg " .. how cruel ! .. why to break a leg ?! .. is it interesting to break others' legs ?! :D ..
However , collocations , idioms and metaphores were torture devices to me ! .. to kill me was much easier than asking me to give the Arabic equivalent for a sentence like : "He is three sheets in the wind " ;) ..
Anyway , my experience learning English was hard and nice at the same time .. I will never forget the sweet memories nor the bitter frustrations which followed that experience :) ..
I'd like to end this page with this nice poem .. Enjoy reading it!..
(Enough to prove that English is a stupid language) ;)
English is a stupid language.
There is no egg in the eggplant,
No ham in the hamburger
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England,
French fries were not invented in France.
We sometimes take English for granted,
but if we examine its paradoxes we find that:
Quicksand takes you down slowly,
Boxing rings are square,
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
If writers write, how come fingers don't fing?
If the plural of tooth is teeth,
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth?
If the teacher taught, Why hasn't the preacher praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables,
What the heck does a humanitarian eat?
Why do people recite at a play,
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways?
How can the weather be as hot as hell on one day
And as cold as hell on another?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language,
Where a house can burn up as it burns down,
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out And a bell is only heard once it goes!
English was invented by people, not computers,
And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn't a race at all.)
That is why:
When the stars are out they are visible,
But when the lights are out they are invisible.
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
It starts,
But when I wind up this poem,
It ends.
