Why is Learning English So Hard?
Some Unusual Words Follow
By John (born in Great Britain ) Clayton

f you were someone who grew up thinking, speaking and writing English, have you ever thought about how difficult it is to actually learn our language? Especially when it comes to spelling and being absolutely sure which word to use in a sentence or phrase. As we enter the Holiday Season, and knowing the world wide audience of Traveling Boy, I thought our readers who have been born in some other country where English is not spoken, but has to be learned, might get a charge out of the following. It’s also something to share with your friends who are, like me, really conversant with the English (or should that be British?) language.

I was looking through some stuff that had to do with my eldest daughter Michelle when she was at UCLA here in Los Angeles , and knowing how much her dad (that’s me!) loves the written and spoken word, she sent me the following email back in 2002. She called it….

Here are the reasons why the English language is so hard to learn

The bandage was wound around the wound.

The farm was used to produce produce.

The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

We must polish the Polish furniture.

The officer said that the other soldier could lead if he would get the lead out.

The soldier decided to desert his unit in the desert.

Since, as the saying goes, “there is no time like the present,” he knew it was time to present the present.

A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

When shot at, the Dove dove into the bushes.

I did not object to the object.

The insurance man said the insurance was invalid for the invalid.

There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

They were too close to the door to close it.

The Buck does funny things when the Doe’s are present.

The wind was too strong to wind down the sail.

Upon seeing the tear in the lovely painting, I shed a tear.

I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

I was reading this as I got dressed and as I zipped my fly a fly buzzed around my head and I had to fly out of the room and finish reading this on the fly. --- This last one was contributed by Terry of Santa Monica, CA