Сейчас в интернете можно найти немало сообщений о странностях русского языка. Несколько лет назад мой коллега прислал мне небольшое эссе с таким названием, написанное, по его словам, одним американским профессором (фамилию он не указал). Даже не поняв сразу всё, я смеялся от души. Разобрав внимательно весь текст со словарем и друзьями, я поразился его чувству родного языка. И ещё я понял, что этот небольшой текст помог мне лучше понять язык. Поэтому я предлагаю его вам. Какие-то места, связанные со специфическими фразеологизмами, я дам в конце этого сообщения.
Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant (баклажан), nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in Englandor French fries in France. Sweetmeats (конфеты) 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 Guineanor it is a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t 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 (лось), 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn’t it seems 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 preachers praught? If vegetarian eats vegetables, what does humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to a asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at 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 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 and 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 AREspring chickens 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.
Take for granted – принимать на веру.
Odds and ends – обрывки, хлам.
Recite at a play and play at recital – вероятно, декламировать на представлении (спектакле) и играть на сольном концерте.
Overlook – недосмотр; пропустить, просмотреть; oversee– случайно увидеть.
Думаю, что с horseful все разобрались. Остальные слова в этом разделе тоже не существуют. Зато есть STRAPless gown – вечернее платье без бретелек; unSUNG hero – невоспетый герой; unREQUITED love – неразделённая любовь; disCOMBOBULATED – сбитый с толку; disGRUNTED – раздраженный (grunt - ворчание); unRULY – непокорный; imPECCABLE – безупречный, непорочный.
Spring chicken – наивный, неопытный человек, обычно женщина; hurt a fly – “обидеть муху”.
Unique lunacy – ужасная глупость.
Go off – в данном случае убежать (о часах).
Wind up – заводить (о часах) или завершить (эссе). Кстати, читается как [waind].