The English Language

Have you ever wondered why foreigners have trouble with the English Language?

 

Let's face it - English is a stupid language.
There is no egg in the eggplant,
No ham in the hamburger,
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England,
French fries were not invented in France.

let's face it – spójrzmy prawdzie w oczy

eggplant – bakłażan

pine – sosna

pineapple – ananas

English muffin – drożdżówka (jedzona na ciepło)

French fries – frytki

We sometimes take English for granted,
But if we examine its paradoxes we find that
Quicksand takes you down slowly,
Boxing rings are square,
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

take for granted – uznać za coś oczywistego

quicksand – ruchome piaski

boxing ring – ring bokserski

ring – pierścień

square – kwadratowy

guinea pig – świnka morska

If writers write, how come fingers don't fing?
If the plural of tooth is teeth,
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth?
If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught?

how come – jak to możliwe

phone booth – budka telefoniczna

preacher – kaznodzieja

If a vegetarian eats vegetables,
What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways
And drive on parkways?

what the heck – co u licha

recite – recytować

recital – recital; recytacja

driveway – podjazd, dojazd (do domu)

parkway – aleja

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy
Of a language where a house can burn up
As it burns down.
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out.

marvel – zachwycać się

unique – wyjątkowy

lunacy – głupota, szaleństwo, obłęd

burn up – spalić się

burn down – spalić się

fill in a form – wypełniać formularz

fill a form out – wypełniać formularz

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).

reflect – odzwierciedlać

creativity – kreatywność

human race – rasa ludzka

race – wyścig

That is why
When the stars are out they are visible,
But when the lights are out they are invisible.
And why it is that when I wind up my watch,
It starts,
But when I wind up this observation,
It ends.

visible – widoczny

invisible – niewidoczny

wind up – nakręcać; zakończyć