English is perhaps the first or second (with the Chinese) most-used language in the world today for various reasons. Many schools teaching English as a second language (ESL) flourish in many areas for the non-English who want to study it. A portion of the normal curriculum are vocabulary quizzes on English words that get more complex as the learning continue, especially with the countless exceptions to the rules and different regulations that pertain to syntax, spelling, figures of speech and many other articles specific to the tongue. And once in a while the rules get somewhat conflicting.
There was a joke once upon a time on what kind of being is a ghoce. No one knew. Then the correct answer given was fish, which happened to go this way: the gh is f’ from enough (enunciated as enuf); i is o from women (wimmen) and the ce is sh from malice (maliz). Hence the word fish may likewise be spelled ghoce if we follow the English way of articulation from this single case; and there are many, actually. This is one reason why English is not an uncomplicated language to study.
Another basis is that English originated from many languages. There are English terms and root words that were from Latin, Scotch, Greek, French, Irish, Spanish, Germanic and very many others, even Sanskrit and aborigine. The percentages of adaptation are of course in great variations, not considering even the divergences in terms of districts, lands and peoples. What is correct for one source language may be incorrect for the others in many cases, so it can get to be very complicated at times. Open up any large dictionary and read the initial pages and you will understand how English came about as a modern language.
The third rationale is continental differences. In World War II an American bomber fell near an island in the Pacific so the team was able to swim to shore. There they were met by a group led by a large Polynesian. The pilot asked him, Do you speak English? The Polynesian replied, No. Flabbergasted, the pilot queried again, But you speak American? For which the happy reply was, Oh yes, and rather good at it, too. British and American English have certain basic variations. In England, to cite some, the American apartment is flat, and the elevator is a lift. The color is French colour and the center will push the latter e to the ultimate place.
Next is that many English words have different meanings even if of a single spelling. For the word great, for instance. It means diversely as wide, large, big, numerous, significant, important, powerful, influential, eminent, well-known, genealogic, enthusiastic, chief, principal, skillful and even pregnant as in ‘great with child’. If you are just trying to learn the language, how would you mean each of them in a single word? Till you grow well-versed in English, you might not be able to.
English is a good language: vibrant, adaptable and masculine. It is the tongue of commerce and international transactions. And it is hardly an easy language to master.