As a german the commentary here strikes me as sadly defensive.<p>I&#x27;m in contact with and kinda familiar with a lot of languages, and out of the ones i know English is the weirdest one, if only by its most basic property:<p>English text does not remotely map to english pronounciation.<p>This may sound weird to native english speakers, but it&#x27;s the truth. To give a more concrete example: With many languages in movies, it is easy for me to listen to them, i.e. in a movie, even when whispered, and accurately transcribe them into script; even when i don&#x27;t actually speak them. English movies consistently keep me getting subtitles because i can&#x27;t make out what&#x27;s being said even at normal volume.<p>His mention of the existence of a &quot;spelling bee&quot; as a sign of how weird english is was spot-on.