Friday, April 23, 2010

Qestions about the krazy English language

Here are a few posts from Twitter yesterday afternoon.

cbethblog (me): Is there really a need for the letter "C" in English when we have "S" and "K"? Oh yeah, there's "ch". "Ch" should be combined into 1 letter.

lestes65: @cbethblog I think the entire alphabet should be reworked. Like, what's with the need for "qu"? Why can't Q handle that alone???

cbethblog: Agreed! (Then I "Re-Tweeted" the "qu" Tweet so all my Tweeps could read it.)

Kama_: @cbethblog i am out of the loop. Have you declared war on the alphabet?

cbethblog: @Kama_ Ha ha! Well, Chickie was singing a song she made up about Costco starting with K. I explained it starts with C and then got to thinking how silly it is that we use the letter "C" for words that would be perfectly fine with a "K" or an "S." :)

And as I typed that, I realized...as bizarre as our English alphabet can be, it is perhaps even more bizarre that my daughter is making up songs about a warehouse store.

Perhaps a sign we're spending a wee bit too much time at Costco?

Note: Klearly, Kama_, lestes65, and I are Tweeps worth following, no qestion about it! So klick on our Twitter names above if you'd like to follow us.

Another note: lestes65 got so into this little conversation that she wrote an entertaining blog post proposing a NEW alphabet. Must-read!

Yet one more note: showmyface (also worth following!) Tweeted, "If you think the letter C is so superfluous, why the whole C Beth thing? Huh?" My response: "@showmyface I'm not giving up my C. Beth. K. Beth would make no sense." Of course, "K. Beth Blog" does sound sort of like "Que Beth Blog." Translate a bit of Spanish, and you've got "Why does Beth Blog?" Which, really, after this post...might be a valid question.

9 comments:

Kara said...

Since both of my girls say "Yay!!" whenever I announce that we are going to Costco, I don't think Chickie's song is even slightly odd. Who doesn't love Costco enough to serenade it?!

And as a mom teaching her 4-year-old how to spell various words: yes. C is useless. The whole c/k confusion is too much for Abby!

Unknown said...

I think that Chickie and I would get along very well, because I also like to make up songs to give simple tasks a little zing. We have a socks and shoes song, and a making a sandwich song. As for English, it is just about the most messed up, jumble of a language out there. Sometimes a mess is just too messy to fix.

Call Me Cate said...

Melinda - I have an awesome song about going to the zoo. I have a feeling we'd get along just fine!

K Beth - Fabulous post. And yet another reason for you to visit Spain!

Of course, under your rules, I guess I'd be Kalled Kate. As a Cate, I really don't wanna be Kate.

Ryan Ashley Scott said...

Trying to teach phonics to your kids and watching them get confused over those letters is irritating.

It's not just kids, though. My grandma used to call my sister K-K as a pet name. It ticked my sister off because, well, her name starts with a C.

Unknown said...

Just wanted to let you know that although I have nothing real to contribute to the discussion here I loved this post...it made me smile!

InspiredDreamer said...

LOL you're too funny. K Beth Blog? Because she's so good at it!

SurvivorBlessing said...

I do agree that the English language can be confusing at times - I mean you guys need spelling for how many grades???
In other countries, you learn the alphabet in first grade and with that (!) ONLY you are able to read EVERY single word. No spelling needed. Like in German! We never had spelling! You would be able to read EVERY word after the first grade, not including internationalized ones, of course!

But I kind of like K. Beth!!! Just because I find the letter K is not represented enough in the English language and I miss it!

LEstes65 said...

I'm sure I'm not the first one to rework the alphabet. And if I had actually taken some REAL TIME, I would have had different signs for both long and short vowels. OY!!!

jessjess77 said...

My 2 year old yells out "Hot Dog!" When we pull into the Costco parking lot. Since we always get $1.50 Polish dogs and drinks. I'm sure she'll make up a song about it soon. lol