If there were any sense to the English language...............

[MROSS]

If there were any sense to the English Language, the word 'Consensus' would also be a verb, and not just a noun. Example: Can 'Consensicize' or British spelling 'Consensicise' apply?

 

[Fino]

A lot of the English language makes more sense when you understand the where the words come from, like other languages and so on. I don't know if it would help in this example, though.

 

[MROSS]

If there were any sense in the English language-speaking world, the word, 'proact' would be commonly applied - that the adjective 'proactive' can become a (verb) via the word 'proact.'

 

[Xinyta]

American English is the hardest, if not one of the hardest, language to learn. There are so many rules, exceptions, and other grammatical gymnastics involved.

Truthfully. I don't know if there is any inherent sense in how our language functions.

But I speak it. Alot of others speak it. But it still kinda makes me wonder about it.

 

[Misty Avich]

I am British but I tend to Americanize words on internet forums because the majority are American or Canadian and often don't understand what I'm saying if I use British English. But as a Brit I seem to know 99% of American English.

 

[Seladon]

Atm I’m learning cymraeg (Welsh) as an adult (I have family ties and live in Wales), and let me tell you, it puts into perspective how evolved and structured English is in many ways, even being as it is a mongrel tongue of low birth and loanwords. Cymraeg if transliterated back into English without contextual adjustment often sounds as if it’s anastrophic, like Yoda talking.

 

[MROSS]

Here is an Italian word famillar with adults on the Autism Spectrum (even adults who are largely independent - as with High Functioning Autism (HFA)) who are struggling with family dynamics involving trustworthy, caring family, and friends who are ripe-for 'doing the wrong things for the right reasons' in order to "supposedly" accomodate an HFA adult . In short, misguided intentions which end-up yielding much regret for all parties involved in the end.

Here is a word which can catch-on with people concerned with the Autism Spectrum, 'Rimpianto' (Italian): This word refers to a feeling of regret or remorse, often stemming from actions taken with good intentions but that ultimately lead to undesirable outcomes. It conveys the sense of hindsight and the recognition of unintended consequences.

 

[Outdated]

If there were any sense to the English Language, the word 'Consensus' would also be a verb, and not just a noun. Example: Can 'Consensicize' or British spelling 'Consensicise' apply?

The conjugations you're looking for are Consensual and Consensualise.

English is a very extensive language, it's actually a mix of 4 different languages which is why the original spelling is important, the spelling gives hints as to the language of origin of words and helps us decipher different nuances of meaning.

Trivia:
The Italian language consists of approximately 80,000 words.
The French language consists of approximately 120,000 words.
The English language has over 500,000 words.
Very few people have a vocabulary of more than 20,000 words.

 

[jsilver256]

One of my earliest memories is getting corrected on "but" and "put" all the time. Phonetic spelling my butt.

 

[Crossbreed]

that the adjective 'proactive' can become a (verb) via the word 'proact.'

It will always be an adjective with its "-ive" ending.

Schoolhouse Rock: Unpack Your Adjectives (1974)

Here is a word which can catch-on with people concerned with the Autism Spectrum, 'Rimpianto' (Italian): This word refers to a feeling of regret or remorse, often stemming from actions taken with good intentions but that ultimately lead to undesirable outcomes. It conveys the sense of hindsight and the recognition of unintended consequences.

That sounds like "repentant..."

 

[Outdated]

One of my earliest memories is getting corrected on "but" and "put" all the time. Phonetic spelling my butt.

A lot of Asian people struggle with different bits of the English language. A Malaysian coworker asked me one day about the difference between the words Bin and Been. He wanted to know if it was a tonal difference and I burst out laughing, then had to explain that I wasn't laughing at him but at the idea of Aussies trying to speak a tonal language. Then I explained that it's a long sound and a short sound, that made sense to him.

 

[AuAL]

@MROSS, perhaps a close match is that in a “consensus” we “concur”.

 

[Mary Terry]

A lot of Asian people struggle with different bits of the English language. A Malaysian coworker asked me one day about the difference between the words Bin and Been. He wanted to know if it was a tonal difference and I burst out laughing, then had to explain that I wasn't laughing at him but at the idea of Aussies trying to speak a tonal language. Then I explained that it's a long sound and a short sound, that made sense to him.

A Mexican chef asked me the difference between puff and fluff. The best illustration I could come up with is that puff pastry "puffs" up when you bake it, but you need to "fluff" up wheat flour before you measure it.

 

[Judge]

He wanted to know if it was a tonal difference and I burst out laughing, then had to explain that I wasn't laughing at him but at the idea of Aussies trying to speak a tonal language. Then I explained that it's a long sound and a short sound, that made sense to him.

Reminds me of how Paul McCartney pronounces "been" like "bean" at least in his songs. Not something Americans would say....or at least I never encountered it myself.

But then I was raised with two dialects of American English. Where we emphasized different syllables depending on the dialect.

Like in the movie "Marnie" where Sean Connery calls out Tippi Hedren based on the way she pronounced the word "insurance". Accenting the first syllable rather than the second. Giving away her Southern roots while pretending to be a Northerner.

 

[Mary Terry]

Reminds me of how Paul McCartney pronounces "been" like "bean" at least in his songs. Not something Americans would say....or at least I never encountered it myself.

But then I was raised with two dialects of American English. Where we emphasized different syllables depending on the dialect.

Like in the movie "Marnie" where Sean Connery calls out Tippi Hedren based on the way she pronounced the word "insurance". Accenting the first syllable rather than the second. Giving away her Southern roots while pretending to be Northerner.

LOL, like calling the PO-lese instead of the police. Or the HO-tel instead of the hotel.

Worst imitation southern accent ever is Daniel Craig in his movie "Knives Out". It's cringeworthy.

 

[Judge]

Worst imitation southern accent ever is Daniel Craig in his movie "Knives Out". It's cringeworthy.

Geez, never thought about it but I still pronounce hotel as HO-tel. (Sic Semper Tyrannis)

LOL. You must have missed Richard Burton in "The Klan". Or James Mason in "Mandingo".

OMG. Embarrassing performances by otherwise great actors.

And there's always Andrew Lincoln (TWD) "Where's Carl?????"

 

[Mary Terry]

LOL. You must have missed Richard Burton in "The Klan". Or James Mason in "Mandingo".

OMG. Embarrassing performances by otherwise great actors.

Gregory Peck didn't even try to fake a southern accent in "To Kill A Mockingbird". I don't think Clark Gable did, either, in "Gone With The Wind".

 

[Judge]

Gregory Peck didn't even try to fake a southern accent in "To Kill A Mockingbird". I don't think Clark Gable did, either, in "Gone With The Wind".

Good observation! Probably wise decisions on their parts.

But then with "Gone With The Wind" Clark Gable was often playing off two Brits (Lesley Howard and Vivien Leigh) whose Southern accents were uh..."uneven" at best IMO. Howard more so than Leigh.

Seemed Gregory Peck feigned a very mild Southern accent at best in "How The West Was Won".

 

[Outdated]

But then I was raised with two dialects of American English. Where we emphasized different syllables depending on the dialect.

There's a few different accents across Australia too but they're not as pronounced as the variations you get in the US or Britain. As I travelled around the country a lot of people asked me how long I'd been in Australia, or if I was Kiwi.

I grew up in Adelaide, which was never a penal colony. Instead it was a free settlement opened up for those that could afford it and was aimed at being a holiday destination for wealthy Brits. Beautiful beaches and a mediteranean climate but everyone still speaks English and behaves properly.

So there's always been a touch of upper class English in our accent, and it's also the city that's attracted the greatest number of British migrants over the years so the accent sort of stuck.

 

[Forest Cat]

Reminds me of how Paul McCartney pronounces "been" like "bean" at least in his songs. Not something Americans would say....or at least I never encountered it myself.

I saw something delightful the other day, two Americans in Britain getting into an argument with an elderly British gentleman about the word "aluminium"... or was it aluminum It was really funny.