Over the Hedge by T Lewis and Michael Fry for September 18, 2020

The English language is weird.

George isn’t ready for heavy content like language Verne. Just read to him is best.

Blame the French!

Other than “loan words,” Spanish and German: If you see it, you say it. And the vowels have set sounds.

Not so the French. In fact, it seems as if half the letters in a word are silent (but you’ll still be marked wrong if you miss them while writing).

I’ve even seen sentences where whole words are silent.

We had a Germanic language when the Anglos came from Saxony.

But along came the Normans in 1100, who brought French with them.

So, our language is half German, half French, with another two halves worth of “loan words” from the world over.

No wonder our language is a mess.

Then there’s British English and American English.

This comes of adopting words from every other language but none of the pronunciation rules.

English is the most fucked-up, mongrel language on Earth.

Verne just teach George how to read. Forget about the micro-management parts that are for folks with nothing better to do ;-)

Well – from experience: If you really want to communicate, it will work.

Having been in South Korea several times; my husband (German) speaks it quite well, me (German) not that much. The interest in the language and the culture(!!!) was enough to open the locals’ hearts.

See Tom. See Tom run. Run, Tom, run. See Tom’s dog. Tom’s dog is Spot. Here, Spot. Good dog.

George should watch “Between the Lions”. They have a dinosaur character.

I started learning how to read by reading the Sunday funnies with my father. Maybe that’s why I’m still draw to the funnies today.

Vern, just start with “See Spot run”…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZV40f0cXF4

Yes, why is “Y” so weird???

Why is Y such a bitch !!!!! ??

This is why we started with, “Dick and Jane,” you jump into the complexity of English in the beginning and you’ll never learn to read.

You just read that in English! Good work. I’m proud of you. Here’s a goldish paper star.

Start him off with the 25-letter alphabet.

Y is it like that? Y ask Y?

Actually, ‘y’ is never a vowel, it just plays one in words sometimes.

Diphthong still makes me chuckle like I was back in third grade. That word is a joke waiting to be written.

If you ask me, W should be considered a part-time vowel as well. Never mind Welsh words like “cwm”; consider how it works like a U in diphthongs.

I’d never seen “and sometimes Y” explained before.

Some one I’d read many years back once said that a language dies when it stops being adaptable. Such was the fate of Latin. It evolved into other languages. The Tower of Babel still has its influence.

Ewe wood bee write two ball you’re ayes ought.

C D B? D B S A BZ B, O S ND!

Teaching adults to read is among the most heartbreaking of undertakings — particularly if they’ve reached middle age.

Come on Verne, take it a bit easier on George. He simply wants to learn to read and needs to start on the basics first.

I wonder how I ever learned to read.