r/mildlyinfuriating 1d ago

English for Beginners

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u/Fartout92 1d ago

I've learned English as a second language by myself throughout my life just by watching and hearing it from movies, videogames, music and TV shows. I've searched for this specific issue several times and I couldn't find a clear answer for it. Is there an actual set of rules for vowel pronunciation other than short and long sounds? Can't take a "is an exception to the rule" as an answer anymore lmao.

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u/xXLordGabbenXx 20h ago

Think about it like this England had ancient Germanic tribes, the Romans (parts of which used Greek), the anglicans, the saxons, a bunch of Germanic tribes and Vikings, the French, the Dutch, and then the old English. Add on the new terms from globalization and Native American words and you get American English But in general, look for the origin of the word: Germanic, Latin, or Greek (and sometimes Anglo-Saxon)

That’s why the grammmer and vocabulary are funky

At least it’s not French: Eye = œil Eyes = yeux