I have mad respect for people who learn English. Let me cite an example, brought to my attention by Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader:
The plural form of moose is moose.
The plural form of goose is geese.
The plural form of mongoose is mongooses.
That makes no sense at all does it?
9 years ago
6 comments:
that is true but it's still my favorite language
It was pretty easy for me to learn!!!
ha ha...seriously! Have you heard the skit on this by Brian Regan?
"Brian, what's the plural of ox?"
"ummm"
"It's oxen"
"Brian, what's the plural of box?"
"boxen?!"
K...that's not dead on, but you get the point! :o)
The word mongoose is derived from the Marathi name mangus (मंगूस) The word Goose is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-European root, *ghans-. They are derived from separate languages, therefore the plurals will differ. Mongoose and goose are therefore false cognates (two words that have a common origin are cognates).
that is funny, Joe's explanation sure makes sense tho' wow, joe did you just know that or did you google it or googlese that
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