Have you ever wondered why American English is so complicated to learn; or why it has so many grammar rules that we have to learn at school? Well, it is probably because it is hardly English at all! If you are bilingual like me, you might have even, at one point in your life, wondered why some words are pronounced differently than expected. I for one, pronounced the word pint as pent instead of pie-nt. I cannot tell you how embarrassing it is for me when someone corrects my speech after pronouncing words wrong my entire life not knowing it (although I do secretly appreciate it!). Yes, the word pint was one of them. In fact, my husband was the one to correct me on that back when we were dating. We were just talking about ice cream and I mentioned how I loved buying pints of pistachio flavored ice cream. He just looked at me and laughed! Then he asked me to repeat what I had said… he was lucky that I usually have a great sense of humor; or else he would’ve landed on the floor with a red mark on his face and a broken nose. (just kidding) On a serious note, the American English language is still to this day complicated for me because not all letters are pronounced the way we are taught in elementary.

Even as an English major at the university, I have noticed that I will never be able to write perfectly, nor speak perfect English. Even my grammar will be off according to English grammar standards, but at least people can understand what I am trying to say. I do, however, consider myself to be fluent in Spanish and English. Yet, even after having 20+ years of fluency in Spanish and English, I feel that one always has room for improvement. Thus, I set out to take course in college that would help me fill in the gaps. Perhaps one of the most helpful courses I took at UTPB is English Grammar. Oh yes, there is a course for that. While in this course and many essays later, I discovered that languages all over the world are in a state of flux; meaning that they are always changing. Because of this, unfortunately, learning the English language (or any language for that matter) is not as easy as learning how to ride a bike.

So, why is the English language so complicated? American English is not entirely native to England (like most like to think); but it is actually a combination of many other languages such as German, French, Native American, or even obsolete languages (no longer in use) like Greek and Latin. Geez, is American English even English at all?!Check out this video below. It’s really fun to watch and you can learn something new! Knowing the origins of a language helps us understand something so complex like language itself.

If you have ever tried to learn a second language, one of the first things you usually start off learning is the language’s grammar. Grammar is basically a set of rules of a language. In English, for instance, one of the rules consists of identifying particular words as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs (without going into fancier terms). We also learn semantics and phonemic rules. Now, imagine all the other rules included in the English language like “I before E except after C”. Did you know that these phonemic rules don’t apply to all words, but they do for most? Well, if you watched the video, you probably already know that although we have English grammar standards, there will always be exceptions because of the origin of the words in American English. This is probably why we have so many words that end in the “e” but are not pronounced. Like, why is it even there to begin with if it will be silent?! For example, the words “wine”, “dine”, “where”, “here”, “crate”, and “save” are only a pinch of the words in our English language that are of common use that silent out the letter “e”. If that is not overwhelming enough, then I don’t know what is; except deciding what to eat for lunch when “I don’t care” is not a restaurant around my area.

DID YOU KNOW? William Shakespeare invented over 1,000 words that we use today in the English language!

Needless to say, we might not ever learn how to speak English at its optimal point. In fact, we might not ever be able to learn it properly considering how even the internet has changed the English language. We now have internet slang like “LOL” (laughing out loud) and “WRUD” (what are you doing) in text messaging and social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, or Snap Chat.

BTW, wrud 2nite?

Some of these acronyms have even made their way into speech like “FYI” (for your information). I know for a fact that I have used acronyms during casual talk. Have you? Wow, at this rate, we will be creating an entirely new language. I wouldn’t be surprised if at one point in the future our grandchildren will be required to take a course for it at their school.

So what does all this information really mean? It means that I’m allowed to make mistakes when writing and speaking English. I’m also allowed to make mistakes in Spanish or any other language; and so are you! All the languages across the globe are in a state of flux and it could be nearly impossible to learn any language at 100% proficiency. Particularly because there are even different dialects. Here in America we have northern, southern, eastern, and western dialects. For example, people from New York end some of their sentences with “don’tcha know”; and most people in Texas say “ya’ll” instead of “you all”. Different cultures and different regions have their own way of speaking a language. So if you are trying to learn how to speak English, or any language, don’t feel like you will never be able to do it. We just have to become accustomed to the language that is being used around us. Now, if you are thinking about learning the American English language for academic or professional purposes (like writing essays for school or hitting a home run on that next job interview), then you might as well start practicing the most common grammar rules. One of the books I recommend would be English Grammar: Language as Human Behavior by Anita Barry. This book helped me understand a little about the standard grammar rules we use in our English language. Of course there are many other resources out there, this is just a book I actually own and have found very helpful.

Well, I hope to be able to narrow down on this topic in the future and provide more information that you can use. I think it is important that we learn about how language is formed and how it changes because it is part of who we are; no matter where we live. Communication is important!