Following on from my statement “… Use less jargon and more basic English …” in my previous blog, it transpires that the English Language itself may actually be the problem, as the following sentences attest to:

1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
4. When shot at, the dove dove into the bush.
5. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
6. There was a row amongst the oarsmen about how to row.
7. They were too close to the door to close it.
8. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
9. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
10. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

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. 

Why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing?  And if teachers taught, why don’t preachers praught?  If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?  How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

English was invented by people, not computers and it reflects the creativity and ingenuity of the human race (which, of course, is not a race at all).

P.S. does anyone know why “Buick” doesn’t rhyme with “quick”?

Credit to: http://english-zone.com/language/english.html and http://www.appleseeds.org/english1.htm