The English Language
By celticeagle
@celticeagle (189793)
Boise, Idaho
April 8, 2024 4:43pm CST
I think that the English language is so interesting. I always did well in this subject in school. When I look up a word it is so interesting to me to see what the word is derived from. What language that is.
I have been working to improve my writing in the English language for 60+ years now. I still have a problem with the difference between effect and affect, and the difference between big and large. The correct place to use these two still baffles me at times.
Do you have certain areas of the English language and how it's used that is hard for you to master?
9 people like this
7 responses
@Orson_Kart (8250)
• United Kingdom
9 Apr 24
I often get effect and affect confused. Big and large are the same aren’t they? Opposite of little. There was a comedy double act here in the UK called Little and Large. Syd Little and Eddie Large. Large was bigger than Little. Of course it could have been the other way round, and that would have been confusing. 
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
9 Apr 24
But one sounds better in different situations. Yes, very confusing with the Little and Large.
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@Orson_Kart (8250)
• United Kingdom
10 Apr 24
@LadyDuck I think large can be replaced by big, but not the other way round.
‘Big’ school refers to secondary school. Large doesn’t work.
If you ‘big up’ someone, it means singing their praises.
And bugger is just bigger spelled wrongly!
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
10 Apr 24
@Orson_Kart Thinking back to "English lessons", I think to remember that big and large are used to describe the size (or amount) of something. Large is more formal and used to refer to amounts. Big is used to indicate the size of an object and the the importance of an issue. I hope that what I was taught is correct.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
8 Apr 24
Oh I am sure there are many I have a problem with and words I still have trouble spelling, but in general, I have good comprehension.
I hear English is a difficult language to learn, but to me, aren't they all?
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
8 Apr 24
@sabtraversa Now see Sabrina..the romance languages..I know one of those but I don't speak it anymore.
@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
9 Apr 24
Difficult to learn. Isn't that odd? I used to be a great speller. Not so much anymore.
1 person likes this
@pumpkinjam (8876)
• United Kingdom
10 Apr 24
I love the English language. I think I'm alright with it for a native speaker with an English degree! I've taught English, and I am a grammar perfectionist but even I still get stumped occasionally.
I do enjoy the language and the etymology of it. I understand the confusion between affect and effect (affect is a verb, effect is usually a noun but does have an uncommon use as a verb occasionally). Big and large mean the same thing. Large is more formal and is always used for size while big can also mean famous/well-known/popular.
My favourite words are disseminate and expunge. One word that always troubles me is beguile. I have a vague idea of what it means but seems to have a slightly difficult meaning every time I read it.
but even I still get stumped occasionally.
I do enjoy the language and the etymology of it. I understand the confusion between affect and effect (affect is a verb, effect is usually a noun but does have an uncommon use as a verb occasionally). Big and large mean the same thing. Large is more formal and is always used for size while big can also mean famous/well-known/popular.
My favourite words are disseminate and expunge. One word that always troubles me is beguile. I have a vague idea of what it means but seems to have a slightly difficult meaning every time I read it.1 person likes this
@Orson_Kart (8250)
• United Kingdom
10 Apr 24
At last! An expert on the English language. 
I think I ‘largely’ (not ‘bigly’) agree with what you say.
Delilah was beguiling.
I think I ‘largely’ (not ‘bigly’) agree with what you say.
Delilah was beguiling.1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
9 Apr 24
Spelling is hard, because it depends the country you are visiting, English spoken in the UK is very different form American English. Then it depends which state in the US you visit. Some states have a much easier pronunciation to understand for a foreigner.
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@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
9 Apr 24
The English language is derived from many different languages. That is one thing I find so interesting.
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@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
10 Apr 24
@celticeagle So true. English comes from the dialects of Germanic peoples and Angle Saxons who settled in Britain in the 5th century. It is still a constantly changing language that has been influenced by many different cultures and languages.
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@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
10 Apr 24
@LadyDuck .......I find it very interesting.
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (22199)
• United States
9 Apr 24
Even though I have lived in the US all my life, I still have a tough time with spelling and pronouncing some words.
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@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
9 Apr 24
Some are very foreign. Our language(English) is derived from other languages. I find that interesting.
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@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
9 Apr 24
The English language is certainly a challenge. I have always enjoyed words and have a good grasp of spelling.
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@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
8 Apr 24
For quite a number of years, I was an English as a second language instructor in Latvia and gave private lessons in my house,
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@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
9 Apr 24
Interesting. I think if I had it to again I might be an English teacher.
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