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Reflections of a working writer and reader

 

 

On the English Language

john baker, April 7th, 2007. 10 comments. Filed under humour, quotations, reading, writing.

I have removed this poem at the request of the publisher, Lutterworth Press.

Written by Harry Hemsley

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10 Responses to “On the English Language”

  1. Brian Hadd says:
    7th April 2007 at 9:39 pm

    English is hard to explain too by United States lights. Politesse.

    jb says: Interesting, though, isn’t it, that English novels are quite often translated into American; whereas American novels are never translated into English. I’ve never been given a really good reason for this.

  2. Paul says:
    8th April 2007 at 7:05 am

    Lovely poem.
    I don’t think we’ve ever forgiven the Americans for Dick Van Dyke’s “cockney” accent in “Mary Poppins.”
    I also wonder if there is such a thing as a uniform American accent/language/way of speaking?
    I was once talking to an American in Florida who observed that I did not speak like a local and asked, not if I was British, but if I was from New York, a place I’ve never visited in my life.

  3. Brian Hadd says:
    9th April 2007 at 5:29 pm

    American novels aren’t translated into English because English novels aren’t could be, but I wouldn’t disparage my mother tongue.

    Floridians are backward as hosts methinks.

    jb says: Say what, Brian?

  4. Winifred Akpieyi says:
    5th July 2007 at 2:39 pm

    Wonderful!! I have been looking for this poem for eons. I learnt it from a literature book when I was a kid and could remember only a few lines. Thank you for publishing and thanks to google for finding it!!

  5. ramesh says:
    10th December 2007 at 4:37 am

    Ever wonder all “Question” words in English begin with “Wh”?

    What, Why, Whom, Which, When, Who, Whether, Where, Whither?

    jb says: Does? How? Could? Are?

  6. ramesh says:
    11th December 2007 at 6:26 pm

    Except “How”, Others cannot be accepted as “Question” words in the proper sense of the word. They can be used both ways – Questions and answers.

    Does it? It does. Could you? You could. Are you? You are.

    Another Wh – Whose

  7. Frank Gerace says:
    5th July 2008 at 3:15 am

    Dic Van Dyck didn’t do to well but Meryl Streep sounds authentic in any accent she uses. I guess some people can do it better than others. But not only actors, why do some people conquer their foreign accent and others hang on to it throughout their life no matter how much and at what level they use their new language?

  8. isabelle says:
    24th November 2008 at 4:21 pm

    i am useing this poem for my e.s.b (english speaking board) it quite easy to learn because it rhymes

  9. Shoaib says:
    15th March 2010 at 8:32 am

    Where’s the summary

  10. john baker says:
    15th March 2010 at 9:13 am

    http://www.vplicei.ru/vc/vc8.pdf