Let's face it -- English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England, nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
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.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another.
Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable?
And where are all those people who ARE spring chickens or who would ACTUALLY hurt a fly?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.
sounds very much like fun, what you guys are doing there - but you must realise that all languages are favoured to human beings by Allah. We should not look at one language as superior over another because all languages come from common roots. They developed in isolation into many dialects which over time, and through the process of etymology, morphology and philology - change from dialect, to language...
...And all languages contain words which are misused, because the speakers of the language are careless with how they use their language. Let me give you an example.
I'm an English speaking Muslim - and i find many Muslims say things like "that was lucky" or "wow, what luck" or "just my luck eh?" - the word that concerns me here is "luck".
See, the word LUCK, implies that the result by which the "luck" was achieved is purely down to chance... but as Muslims, we don't believe in concepts such as "chance", so we should not use words such as "luck" - instead, we should replace it with the word "Fortune" or "Misfortune" - because we understand as Muslims that "fortune or Misfortune is by divine decree, and not down to chance...
or how about the word "coincidence" ??? this word (coincidence) is the play thing of the unbeliever, and by using this word (coincidence) he/she negates that Allah wills.
Another example, Hassan is waking in a market and thinking about his friend Imran who he hasn't seen for weeks, and out of the blue - he meets Imran and says "wow, what a coincidence, i was just thinking about you, and lo, here you are"...
...Hassan failed to realise that it is Allah who unites hearts and instead negated that theological understadning by claiming it was a "coincidence" - ie: a chance meeting.
Only a note though about using English. It's the common language of the users here. Won't appeal to many at all if I were to crack a joke about Malay language ..
I've been told that English is a godless language anyway. Hence the terminologies that evolved removed the prospects of divine decree and puts it to random chance in the worldly scheme of things. It only add fuel to my 'stoked' perception about English as being a godless language.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers groce and hammers don't ham?
God knows,
A good thing it's not constant.
If sum1 who builds is a builder,
and someone who cleans is a cleaner,
Thank God that it's not logical that someone who's an adult must be an.......
The word alphabet itself is from greek, whch is in turn from a semitic and phoenician origin whose first letters are alpha beta, arabic and aramaic and hebrew also use alif ba in different forms, apparently they all evolved from egyptian heiroglyphics.
format_quote Originally Posted by Eesaa_F
Wikipedia can not be trusted, anyone without the required knowledge on a certain topic may edit article on wikipedia
Still has a useful collection of statements and information on any given topic which can be further researched, remember, it's just an extention of the internet where almost anything can be written.
You can write anything on a forum too, until someone challenges your statement.
We're told to confirm the report if it's from a faasiq.
I'm an English speaking Muslim - and i find many Muslims say things like "that was lucky" or "wow, what luck" or "just my luck eh?" - the word that concerns me here is "luck".
See, the word LUCK, implies that the result by which the "luck" was achieved is purely down to chance... but as Muslims, we don't believe in concepts such as "chance", so we should not use words such as "luck" - instead, we should replace it with the word "Fortune" or "Misfortune" - because we understand as Muslims that "fortune or Misfortune is by divine decree, and not down to chance...
nuance
...your thoughts are welcome,
Scimi
Assalaamu alaikum Scimi,
(smile) I agree with you, in that I do not believe in "luck". However, I'm not sure that "fortune" is a good replacement, or that implies what you were suggesting it did. Personally, I prefer to say "Blessed", or use some formula that evokes God.
Examples:
I am so Blessed = I am so lucky.
God Grant that… = I hope I'm lucky enough to...
(smile) There are other ways we can use the English language. The problem is not the language, but the fact that those using it don't use it as it could be used. Many of the phrases that we could use sound archaic, because English-speakers used to be very God-conscious, but they no longer are very much. And there is a negative feedback loop: the less we use references to God in our speech, the less relevant He seems… and the less we think to refer to Him.
Instead of saying: I hope that…, we could say: God Willing. Instead of: Maybe… if God Wills… Instead of: have fun… may God Gift you with a good time. (smile) I know that Muslims may use Arabic phrases that convey these meanings, but it seems to me if we used such English phrases in our everyday speech with people in general, we could have a subtle effect on how those around us would perceive life.
(smile) A gentle way of transforming hearts...
May Allah, the Preserver, Help us to remind ourselves and remember Him.
(smile) I agree with you, in that I do not believe in "luck". However, I'm not sure that "fortune" is a good replacement, or that implies what you were suggesting it did. Personally, I prefer to say "Blessed", or use some formula that evokes God.
Examples:
I am so Blessed = I am so lucky.
God Grant that… = I hope I'm lucky enough to...
(smile) There are other ways we can use the English language. The problem is not the language, but the fact that those using it don't use it as it could be used. Many of the phrases that we could use sound archaic, because English-speakers used to be very God-conscious, but they no longer are very much. And there is a negative feedback loop: the less we use references to God in our speech, the less relevant He seems… and the less we think to refer to Him.
Instead of saying: I hope that…, we could say: God Willing. Instead of: Maybe… if God Wills… Instead of: have fun… may God Gift you with a good time. (smile) I know that Muslims may use Arabic phrases that convey these meanings, but it seems to me if we used such English phrases in our everyday speech with people in general, we could have a subtle effect on how those around us would perceive life.
(smile) A gentle way of transforming hearts...
May Allah, the Preserver, Help us to remind ourselves and remember Him.
Ameen sister
we can use whatever comes naturally to our vocab, blessed is fine by me, so is fortune - so is destiny, so is fate... we're starting to get pedantic for all the right reasons lol
...Hassan failed to realise that it is Allah who unites hearts and instead negated that theological understanding by claiming it was a "coincidence" - ie: a chance meeting.
I don't know whether it is a pre-Islamic saying or after its advent but in Arabic we use a term القلوب عند بعضها
A close phrase in English is Great mind think alike.However,former refer to a spiritual or emotional bond that some people have with each other, one that causes them to have similar thoughts, often about each other.
Also noticed how English use word "mind(intellect)" instead of "Qalb(heart)".(And we all know the context in which heart is mentioned in Qur'an)
format_quote Originally Posted by Scimitar
Another example, Hassan is waking in a market and thinking about his friend Imran who he hasn't seen for weeks, and out of the blue - he meets Imran and says "wow, what a coincidence, i was just thinking about you, and lo, here you are"...
Interestingly,you also used word "friend" and I was reading this hadith another day:
The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam said, "When souls recognize one another, they will become friends, if not, they will simply part ways." [Muslim]
Heart and Soul - Never Ending Connection....food for thought?
Colleges are not schools, They are learning institutions.
Problems don’t have answers, They have viable solutions.
People don’t spend money, They re-allocate resources.
Newsmen don't use tipsters,They rely on informed sources.
Speakers don’t make speeches, They give oral presentations.
Bosses don’t set quotas, They just indicate objectives.
Workers don’t take orders, Though they implement directives.
Machinery can’t breakdown , But components can malfunction.
A court does not command It just issues an injunction.
Programs don’t have failures, They have qualified successes.
And jargon doesn’t hurt you— It just constantly distresses!
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MuslimInshallah liked this post
Wikipedia has an interesting article on English.
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