March 2013
Beginner to intermediate
256 pages
5h 35m
English
book
Say Anything to Anyone, Anywhere: 5 Keys To Successful Cross-Cultural Communication
by Gayle Cotton
Content preview from Say Anything to Anyone, Anywhere: 5 Keys To Successful Cross-Cultural CommunicationBecome an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Chapter 29
Paradoxes of the English Language
How Can a Wise Man and a Wise Guy Be Opposites?
Despite the fact that English is the “international language,” there is no denying that it is also a crazy language. This chapter looks at the humorous paradoxes, opposite meanings, exceptions, and sometimes just plain nonsense that English frequently serves up.
There is no egg in eggplant, nor is there ham in hamburger. There is neither apple nor pine in pineapple. And while no one knows for sure what is in a hotdog, you can be pretty sure it isn’t any kind of canine! English muffins were not invented in England, nor were French fries invented in France.
We take English for granted; however, if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand works slowly and that boxing “rings” are actually square. And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea, nor is it a pig!
A lot of the same questions come to mind when we look at plurals. If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? If you have one goose and two geese, why don’t you have one moose and two meese? If there is one mouse and two mice and there is one louse and two lice, why isn’t there one house and two hice?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, can anyone tell me what a humanitarian eats?
Why do people recite at a play, and play at a recital? Why do they have noses that run and feet that smell? Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?
Why do you get in and out ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access
More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.