Dnas Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 I saw this while poking around a Linux forum. Thought it was funny.The english-student, where his classmate had had "had", had had "had had". "Had had" had had the tutor's approval.I can see why English is considered a difficult language to learn.Well.... other languages probably have things like that too.Anyway, I think it's funny. Especially that, as far as I can tell, it's a grammatically correct sentence (Err.... two sentences). (Unless, of course, there is a grammatical rule that words should be chosen sensibly in a sentence.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKen132 Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 LOL that's great.English is the worst language ever. I really wish I was fluent in some others. Eleven "hads" in a row Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yiuel Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 In French, we have "Surcomposé" where composed forms become composed themselves. Hence :J'ai aimé = I have lovedJ'ai eu aimé = I have had lovedJ'ai eu été aimé = I have had been lovedAnd indeed, French would permit (but it isn't that stylish), that any "ai" turn into a "ai eu" without any problem. Japanese is also such language, but it can get freakier :Iku = I goItte iru = I am goingItte ite shimau = I finally am goingMotte itte ite shimau = I finally am bringing (lit. holding and going)Motte itte ite kudasatte shimau = I finally am bringing for somone's else benefitMotte itte ite kudasatte shimaimasita = I finally was bringing for someone's else benefit...Japanese is cool for such verbal formation, but it's a pain for most student. It's easy to align a half dozen of -te forms like that, though it is uncommon to go over three. ("motte itte kudasaimasita" AND "motte itte shimaimasita" are normal sentences to intermediate students like me.)EDITEsperanto also has freaky expressions like that,Mi estis estanta estonta fari tion.Literally, it means : I was being going to do this.And, unlike with French, such construction have no stylish feeling : if you need so much details to make it clear, go for it!And, I won't speak of other languages (as my conlang Thenqol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
av_nefardec Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 I'm taking a diachronic linguistics course right now about the development of English from its roots to present day, and we talk a lot about some of these crazy things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorian Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 Man that just confused me, and I'm English! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion_13 Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 I think there should be a rule where if the same word is repeated more than thrice in a row, you should think of another way of saying it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnas Posted January 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 lol... yeah there should be.My dad showed me this word in Russian:длинношеее животноеIt means "long-necked animal" (aka giraffe).Anyway, it's has three vowels in a row. And (Russian is a phonetic language) they are all pronounced separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yiuel Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 "Eien" (Eternity, in Japanese). Three vowels in a row, and not the same (though most Japanese will pronounce it as a three mora long e )"Ryouude" (Both arms, in Japanese0"Taiyou" (Sun, in Japanese) : This word I hate the most. It has an awful Y in the middle of nowhere. Iya."Arasoou" (Let's fight!, in Japanese) : This is an awfully long "o"There are a lot of vowels in Japanese. I'm lucky, since I love vowels But, sometimes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKen132 Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Well a lot of words have vowels in a row, especially french. Yiuel, do you know Voltaire's riddle "cinq voyelles, une consonne..."? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yiuel Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Never heard of it, but knows the answer :oiseau (all five primary vowels plus 1 consonant) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenratiophi Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 C is a much more logical language than English... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueitt Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 I think the English language RULES\ROCKS! That's my opinion. It's harder to lean French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yiuel Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Well, I could say just the same about French, since I'm French-speakling But, no, I wont, I prefer Japanese and Esperanto The first one is crazily easy, and second one is just so easy that's you can have fun with it the month after you've begin to learn it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorian Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 oiseau (all five primary vowels plus 1 consonant)←It's generally aeiou, and why the consanant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Giant Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 I think the English language RULES\ROCKS! That's my opinion. It's harder to lean French.←I vote for the opposite . It has been much easier for me to learn English than it is to learn French (still, I need to keep in mind that I've been doing English for six years now, while I've only completed one and a half year of French ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akya Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 @Lorian : it means "bird"he just resolved the riddle^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirindu Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Yeah. English is definitly harder to learn than French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkisacolor Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 lol... yeah there should be.My dad showed me this word in Russian:длинношеее животноеIt means "long-necked animal" (aka giraffe).Anyway, it's has three vowels in a row. And (Russian is a phonetic language) they are all pronounced separately.←hows it pronounced??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakayaro Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 Best language ever: Latin!Nobody ever speaks in it, just songs and techno-babble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion_13 Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 Absolutely agree. latin is the best, I need to find a new latin teacher but. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaevictis_Music Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 "A u å æ ø i æ å" - Southern Danish for "I'm out on the isle in the creek." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakayaro Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 All right, let's get back on topic.The english Subjunctive: this verb tense is nearly extinct in english, but in other languages it's used fairly often.example of the Subjunctive: If I WERE you, I'd eat that souffle now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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