English is a crazy language richard lederer summary

Student Name Professor Name Course Date

Is English Really that Crazy?

“Sometimes you have to believe that all English speakers should be committed to an

asylum for the verbally insane.” This is a quote from the book Crazy English, written by Richard

Lederer in 1989. In the essay “English is Crazy Language”, which is a excerpt from the opening

chapter of his book Crazy English, Lederer takes a witty and rather genius approach of proving

how English is, indeed, a very crazy language.

Lederer starts the book off with facts about the English language, emphasizing about how

it is “the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet.” I find that this is a very

clever way to prove to the readers that he is knowledgeable in this matter. Lederer then states

“nonetheless, it is now time to face the fact that English is a crazy language.” From here on, we

are faced with a whirlwind of Lederer’s ridiculously brilliant examples and play on words of the

English language in an almost poetic-like stance.

He begins with “the blackbird hen is brown, blackboards can be blue or green… if

blackberries were really black and blueberries really blue, what are strawberries, cranberries,

elderberries, huckleberries, raspberries… supposed to look like?” This clearly already shows the

readers how absurd the English language really can be. If a blackboard is green, why is it called a

blackboard and not a greenboard? Why aren’t strawberries called pinkberries and raspberries

redberries? Lederer also includes other examples like “hot dogs can be cold, darkrooms can be

lit, homework can be done in school, nightmares can take place in broad daylight…” These

professor� 4/26/15 8:18 AM Comment [1]: The first paragraph introduces the text that the student will respond to. Both the title and author are identified as well as the general topic of the text.

professor� 4/26/15 8:19 AM Comment [2]: In this paragraph the student gives a little more detail by identifying the thesis of the original text.

  2 examples particularly stood out to me because I feel like they have completely contrasting

meanings. In a way, they can be similar to a juxtaposition of sorts.

Lederer then begins to question what other languages use the same ironic and, shall I

say, confusing phrases used in English. “In what other language do people drive in a parkway

and park in a driveway? In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?”

These examples made me really wonder, is English really the only language that does this? After

giving it much thought, I’ve come to this conclusion: English may be crazy, but it’s not any

crazier than most other languages.

Although they might not have as many ironic phrases and words as English does, I do

believe that there are many other languages that do. One, for example, comes from Spanish:

huevos rancheros is an omelet served along with vegetables for breakfast. When translated, the

meaning of huevos rancheros is eggs from a ranch or farm. Ironically enough, though, the eggs

used in this meal do not particularly come from a ranch, nor is it eaten at a ranch. Another

language comes from my roots, Vietnamese: alligators are called cá sấu which, when translated,

means “ugly fish”. Sharks are called cá mập which means “fat fish” when translated and

dolphins are called cá heo which is translated to “pig fish”. Also, whales are called cá voi which

translates to “elephant fish” and, of course, sounds absolutely ridiculous to me. Another great

example is thương which means “to love”, whereas bị thương means “to be wounded”.

With all this being said, I must commend Lederer on his views and points. Before I

read his excerpt, I thought to myself, there’s no way English is really this crazy. I thought I

wouldn’t agree with what Lederer says but I found that I’ve really appreciated reading this

chapter. It’s really opened my eyes to a broader spectrum. I’ve come to realize that English is, in

fact, absolutely crazy, but so are most other languages. And in the words of the brilliant Richard

Lederer himself, “when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I shall end

it.”

professor� 4/26/15 8:20 AM Comment [3]: In this paragraph the student has summarized the supporting examples for the original text.

professor� 4/26/15 8:28 AM Comment [4]: Here we begin the student’s response and we have the student’s thesis statement.

professor� 4/26/15 8:25 AM Comment [5]: This paragraph includes the students support of his/her thesis. He/She claimed that English is no more crazy than any other language and in this paragraph he/she proves that by giving several specific examples from another language.

professor� 4/26/15 8:29 AM Comment [6]: In the conclusion, the student restates his/he thesis and concludes the essay with a quotation.

  3

Works Cited

Lederer, Richard. "English is a Crazy Language." from Crazy English: The Ultimate

Joy Ride Through Our Language. Atria Books, A Division of Simon and Schuster,

Inc. 1989. Print.

professor� 4/26/15 8:31 AM Comment [7]: Here we have a Works Cited page that includes the text referenced in the essay.

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