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Island has an 's' in it. This was started as a stylistic choice to make the word look more Latin despite the fact that the English word has no Latin roots.
This is proof enough that English is a stupid language for the unwashed masses. There are no rules, all that matters is how it is used and understood. Anyone who tries argue that "literally can not mean figuratively" or that gif has to be pronouced a specific way is an idiot trying to force logic into a system that has none. Don't waste your time trying to explain that you know the only true and proper rules to Calvinball.
That 's,' that's what broke me.
Seems a little more complex than that, according to this. Specifically, the first syllable was modified by association to the word "isle", which does have a Latin root word (insula, same root word for "insulate").
I have a surprising number of language nerd friends, and my contention that English spelling should be torn down and rebuilt is not popular with them.
as a French speaker, I'd say the same about French... I don't know how many languages are based strongly on logic though
Sanskrit could be a candidate.
Natural languages, not many. Constructed languages, though - check out lojban.
And the Bri'ish accent was made up by fancy bois and was supposed to be a cool way to speak. It's entirely artificial. So if some try-hard tries to criticize your English scream "Gubnuh!“ at then and tell them to go have a wank.
My hot take is that, of all the intensifiers, “literally” is the one that makes the most sense.
What are the options? “Really”, “actually”, and “literally”. What do they mean?
So if you’re trying to say that you’re scared rather than that you actually soiled yourself, which makes the most sense as a sentence: “I really shit myself”, “I actually shit myself”, or “I literally shit myself”? It’s the latter, right? Because (most) literature is fictional. And reality is reality.
I mean, none of it really matters because, as you say, the “rules” of English are just cobbled-together-nonsense. But to take the “you don’t mean literally because you didn’t have shit up your back” people at face value and apply their logic - “literally” makes the most sense.
Somewhat related - if “flammable” and “inflammable” can both mean “catches on fire easily” so that “doesn’t catch on fire easily” has to be the ridiculous “nonflammable”, then there’s no reason why people can’t use “irregardless”. No, the construction of the word doesn’t make strict logical sense. And…?
A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with!
This isn't Latin, it's fine.
My mother-in-law went absolutely insane when I told her that was a rule in Latin and not in English.
She was rather sheepish when she did her own research and discovered... I was right.