The many faces of English

The English language is a mystery. Many people have tried decoding it but to no avail. Many more have tried to understand it but failed. There are so many facets of English that are all unknown territory. Not even Christopher Columbus could completely discover this vast piece of land. How many ways can you express sadness? Heartbroken, downhearted, disconsolate, devastated. These are just some of the words that are synonym to "sadness". Unbelievable isn't it? That is probably one of the contributing reasons why some people (me included) find it hard to learn a new language. If there are so many words that have the same meaning then why not use them interchangeably or even eliminate some of them to make things easier? Linguists will say that there are some differences to the different words and although some of them differ by a minute degree, they add colour and variety to the language. They will say it's the beauty of the language. Well, tell that to the normal primary/secondary/tertiary students. It's a massive headache!

On one hand the intricate patterns of the English language can be a terror to learn, on the other hand I must admit that I do enjoy the language especially what is written in books. The different words use in different situations has a magical feel to it, bringing something as two-dimensional as a story in a book to life. They can change something as mundane as going to work/school into vivid pictures and endless adventures. Learning it is difficult but appreciating it makes it much more bearable.