Wonderful World of Words
My granddaughter and I were singing and dancing in my living room last night, crazy songs and even crazier dancing. She was singing a funny little song about mice and other things, which led to a slew of questions about the English language.
I did my best to explain to her that for every rule in English, there seems to be an exception.
She still seemed confused, and I wasn't much better. So, in keeping with our singing and dancing, I decided a little song might be in order-
Here's a crazy little ditty,
A tiny bit witty,
Sung or sang by a not so old bitty.
A little girl, asked her grandma-
About trees, leaves, and, even a lama,
Tell me please, and leave out the drama!
Grandma, she asked, why aren't lice, louses?
If a mouse is just one, are more of them mouses?
And if bees live in hives, why do birds live in houses?
I looked at this little wee slip of a girl,
Twisting my hair into a curl,
And said, honey, I'll try to give it a whirl.
Smiling so sweetly, as cute as could be,
She began asking questions, looking straight at me,
Why does the word phone, have a silent "p"?
If a mouse is just one, and more are called mice,
Does a moose become mooses wouldn't that be nice?
And when, exactly does a di become dice?
A sheep can be one, and so can a bee
Why can't you say sheep's?
But you can say bees?
A deer in the field is the same either way,
As one that is standing, or many at play,
A deer is a deer, any time of day.
A fish is both one, or a school in the sea.
A kid is a goat, and a child you see,
Yet a school is where kids learn their ABC's
The English language is full of exceptions galore,
It's enough to make you crazy in a big uproar,
Remembering these rules can make your head awfully sore!
Like that crazy old question, that makes my head itch,
It makes my eyes water, and my nose start to twitch.
What question you ask? Wich witch is which?
How can a word have more meanings than one?
How do you pick them, when are they done?
And why all these rules? They sure don't sound fun!
My darling, try not to worry, try not to fret,
Antonyms, synonyms, try not to sweat,
The words of this jingle, you're sure to forget.
So honey, just ask me, I promise to try,
To answer your questions, on me you can rely.
And if I don't know them, I'll probably just lie!
I did my best to explain to her that for every rule in English, there seems to be an exception.
She still seemed confused, and I wasn't much better. So, in keeping with our singing and dancing, I decided a little song might be in order-
Here's a crazy little ditty,
A tiny bit witty,
Sung or sang by a not so old bitty.
A little girl, asked her grandma-
About trees, leaves, and, even a lama,
Tell me please, and leave out the drama!
Grandma, she asked, why aren't lice, louses?
If a mouse is just one, are more of them mouses?
And if bees live in hives, why do birds live in houses?
I looked at this little wee slip of a girl,
Twisting my hair into a curl,
And said, honey, I'll try to give it a whirl.
Smiling so sweetly, as cute as could be,
She began asking questions, looking straight at me,
Why does the word phone, have a silent "p"?
If a mouse is just one, and more are called mice,
Does a moose become mooses wouldn't that be nice?
And when, exactly does a di become dice?
A sheep can be one, and so can a bee
Why can't you say sheep's?
But you can say bees?
A deer in the field is the same either way,
As one that is standing, or many at play,
A deer is a deer, any time of day.
A fish is both one, or a school in the sea.
A kid is a goat, and a child you see,
Yet a school is where kids learn their ABC's
The English language is full of exceptions galore,
It's enough to make you crazy in a big uproar,
Remembering these rules can make your head awfully sore!
Like that crazy old question, that makes my head itch,
It makes my eyes water, and my nose start to twitch.
What question you ask? Wich witch is which?
How can a word have more meanings than one?
How do you pick them, when are they done?
And why all these rules? They sure don't sound fun!
My darling, try not to worry, try not to fret,
Antonyms, synonyms, try not to sweat,
The words of this jingle, you're sure to forget.
So honey, just ask me, I promise to try,
To answer your questions, on me you can rely.
And if I don't know them, I'll probably just lie!
Comments
Post a Comment