THREE LITTLE WORDS...

Around 4 a.m. today (so early, huh!) I snail a book of Francis J.Kong and got inspired with his entitled book, THREE LITTLE WORDS. This book talks about the 3 L's ,...LIFE, LOVE, AND LAUGH. On his little words about LAUGH it caught my attention and couldn't stop from reading it due to a wonderful, touching and humurous materials which was sent to him thru email. He said that he got one that tickled his funny bone. It got something to do with the English language. He says that the English language is a crazy language and these are the reasons why:

There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, two geese. So one moose, two meese? hehehehe. One index, two indeces? Gets a little confusing, isn't it?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why don't preachers praught? If a vegetarian ate vegetables, what does humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue? (haiz, really confusing?)

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? HOw can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?

Have you noticed that we talk about a certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? It's a horseless carriage and a strapless gown. Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run ino someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable?And where are all those people who are spring chickens or whould actually hurt a fly?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a languagein which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill i9n a from by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on.

So, 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, when I wind up my watch , I start it, but when I wind up this talk, I end it.

I stop reading for a moment and then sigh...yeah Francis KOng is true about English language craziness...but there are principles for that which brings effective teaching for business and living. I think I should have to start knowing some English words principles...