Buzz
Across numerous cultures, English is often regarded as one of the most challenging languages to master. Not necessarily because of its vocabulary, but due to its numerous oddities and contradictory rules. A simple glance at an English textbook reveals countless peculiarities that can drive anyone to frustration. Below are 25 examples of the strange characteristics that make the English language unique.
Unusual Features 21 – 25
25. “Rhythms” holds the title of the longest English word that lacks the common vowels— a, e, i, o, or u.
24. Aside from derivatives, there are only two English words that end with -shion, despite the fact that many words feature this sound. These words are cushion and fashion.
23. “THEREIN” is a seven-letter word that contains thirteen words formed by consecutive letters: the, he, her, er, here, I, there, ere, rein, re, in, therein, and herein.
22. The only common English word with five consecutive vowels is queueing.
21. Soupspoons is the longest word composed entirely of letters from the latter half of the alphabet.
Unusual Features 16 – 20
20. “Almost” is the longest frequently used word in the English language with all its letters arranged in alphabetical order.
19. Aegilops, an uncommon eight-letter word referring to a grass genus, is the longest word with its letters in alphabetical order.
18. Some of the longest common single-word palindromes are deified, racecar, repaper, reviver, and rotator.
17. The phrase “one thousand” contains the letter A, while none of the words from one to nine hundred ninety-nine include it.
16. “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick” is considered the most difficult tongue twister in the English language.
Unusual Features 11 – 15
15. Cwm (pronounced “koom”), a term for a steep-walled hollow on a hillside, is a rare example of an English word where ‘w’ acts as the nucleus vowel, as is crwth (pronounced “krooth”), a type of stringed instrument. Both of these words, though of Welsh origin, are accepted in English.
14. “Asthma” and “isthmi” are the only six-letter words that start and end with a vowel and have no other vowels in between.
13. The nine-word progression I, in, sin, sing, sting, string, staring, starting (or starling), startling can be created by adding one letter to each previous word.
12. “Underground” and “underfund” are the only words in English that both begin and end with the letters “und.”
11. “Stewardesses” holds the record as the longest word that can be typed using only the left hand.
Unusual Features 6 – 10
10. Antidisestablishmentarianism, once regarded as the longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary, held this title for quite a long period. However, today, the medical term pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is often considered the longest, despite being coined specifically to answer the question, ‘What is the longest English word?’.
9. “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends with the letters “mt.”
8. Several words contain all five regular vowels in alphabetical order, with the most common being abstemious, adventitious, and facetious.
7. The extraordinarily long word honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters) alternates consonants and vowels.
6. “Fickleheaded” and “fiddledeedee” are the longest words that consist exclusively of letters from the first half of the alphabet.
Oddities 1 – 5
5. The two longest words containing only one of the six vowels, including ‘y,’ are the 15-letter words defenselessness and respectlessness.
4. “Forty” is the only number whose letters appear in alphabetical order, while “One” is the only number whose letters appear in reverse alphabetical order.
3. Bookkeeper is the only word with three consecutive double letters.
2. Contrary to the claims of a famous riddle, there are no three common English words ending in -gry. Angry and hungry are the only two that fit this pattern.
1. The letters “ough” can be pronounced in eight different ways. The following sentence demonstrates all of them: “A rough-coated, dough-faced ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing thoughtfully.”
