Hacker News with Generative AI: English Language

College English majors can't read (kittenbeloved.substack.com)
Last month, we were discussing what functional literacy means and how many of us qualify. The excerpt below is about the sliding literacy scale defined by the PIAAC, and what it means to score 4 out of 5.

Education, Literacy, English Language

61 points by thinkingemote 11 hours ago | 97 comments

Why is English so weirdly different from other languages? (aeon.co)
English speakers know that their language is odd. So do people saddled with learning it non-natively. The oddity that we all perceive most readily is its spelling, which is indeed a nightmare. In countries where English isn’t spoken, there is no such thing as a ‘spelling bee’ competition. For a normal language, spelling at least pretends a basic correspondence to the way people pronounce the words. But English is not normal.

English Language, Linguistics, Language Learning

20 points by ColinWright 22 days ago | 16 comments

Fear and loathing of the English passive [pdf] (ed.ac.uk)

Grammar, English Language, Linguistics, Academia, Research

7 points by fanf2 34 days ago | 0 comments

English Multinyms (sc.fsu.edu)
multinyms are examples of triple/quadruple/quintuple/sextuple homonyms.

English Language, Linguistics, Wordplay, Homonyms

64 points by myroon5 70 days ago | 74 comments

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo (wikipedia.org)
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a grammatically correct sentence in English that is often presented as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs through lexical ambiguity.

Linguistics, Grammar, English Language, Wordplay

19 points by jcartw 84 days ago | 3 comments

Affixes: The Building Blocks of English (affixes.org)
This dictionary contains more than 1,250 entries, illustrated by some 10,000 examples, all defined and explained.

English Language, Linguistics, Dictionaries, Vocabulary, Education

135 points by everybodyknows 86 days ago | 15 comments

What happened to the n in restaurateur? (ciachef.edu)
Restaurateur is one of the most difficult words for new students at the Culinary Institute of America to spell on their tests and papers.

English Language, Culinary Arts, Education

60 points by turtlegrids 88 days ago | 70 comments

Surnames from nicknames nobody has any more (plover.com)
English has a pattern of common patronymic names. For example, "John Peters" and "John Peterson" are someone whose father was named "Peter". ("Peters" should be understood as "Peter's".) Similarly we have John Williams and John Williamson, John Roberts and John Robertson, John Richards and John Richardson, John James and John Jameson, John Johns and John Johnson, and so on.

English Language, Etymology, History, Names, Surname Origins

993 points by JNRowe 102 days ago | 449 comments

Why is zero plural? (2024) (stackexchange.com)
For example, if we choose two 2s, zero 3s, and one 5, we get the divisor

Grammar, Linguistics, English Language, Math

125 points by not_a_boat 122 days ago | 200 comments

Why China is losing interest in English (economist.com)
IN PREPARATION FOR the summer Olympics in 2008, the authorities in Beijing, the host city and China’s capital, launched a campaign to teach English to residents likely to come in contact with foreign visitors.

China, English Language, Language Learning, Education, Culture

21 points by teractiveodular 133 days ago | 31 comments

Why China is losing interest in English (economist.com)
IN PREPARATION FOR the summer Olympics in 2008, the authorities in Beijing, the host city and China’s capital, launched a campaign to teach English to residents likely to come in contact with foreign visitors.

China, English Language, Education, Culture, Olympics

15 points by United857 160 days ago | 0 comments

The English Esoteric Programming Language (esolangs.org)
English is a declarative programming language. Many people are familiar with it even if they don't know any other programming language.

Programming Languages, Esoteric Languages, English Language

31 points by LordRatte 185 days ago | 8 comments

Germans decry influence of English as 'idiot's apostrophe' gets approval (theguardian.com)
A relaxation of official rules around the correct use of apostrophes in German has not only irritated grammar sticklers but triggered existential fears around the pervasive influence of English.

Grammar, Language, German Language, English Language

232 points by pseudolus 226 days ago | 560 comments

Is English a “creole Language”? (ldc.upenn.edu)
The premise seems to be that King Arthur has arisen again, to deal with socio-economic crises in today's Britain. I'll leave interpretation of the Arthur legend to others, and focus on the description of English as "this weird French-German creole language".

Linguistics, English Language, History

108 points by 082349872349872 237 days ago | 154 comments

Cellar Door: a quest to find the most beautiful word in English (cellar-door.co.uk)

Language, Linguistics, English Language, Literature, Aesthetics

22 points by ArisC 270 days ago | 19 comments

Constructive ways to say you think something is a bad idea (englishwithkirsty.com)

Communication, Feedback, Ideas, English Language

22 points by squircle 298 days ago | 6 comments

Five common English words we don't know the origins of–including 'boy' and 'dog' (phys.org)

Etymology, Language, English Language, History, Words

57 points by bikenaga 322 days ago | 67 comments

Inventing my own writing system for English, VJScript (vkethana.com)