English words that conflict with your language.

[ajaxfetish]

The point is that if I don't have to learn any grammar, there is no grammar, no matter what you say.

It's really strange that I seem to be able to communicate in this language fairly well although I have never made any effort to learn its grammar, whereas my French skills are zero, although I have put the double effort into learning it's ridiculously difficult grammar and orthography.

You seem to be equating grammar with morphological complexity. Do you think Mandarin Chinese is an easy language to learn? If so, more power to you, but most of us westerners would not agree. I, for one, struggle tremendously distinguishing tonal differences. Yet English has much more morphological complexity than Chinese, and much more phonotactic complexity, especially in syllable codas. English does not have the morphological complexity that some languages do (including older varieties of English), but like all languages, it makes up for lack of complexity in some areas with greater complexity in others. English phonology is quite complex, including interdental fricatives and highly complex syllable codas and onsets (a single syllable may have three segments in both its onset and its coda), and its syntax is quite complex as well. Word paradigms may be quite easy to pick up; correct word order is likely to cause more problems.

The point of language is communication. To accomplish this it must have a fine balance of complexity, or you won't be able to communicate. Your statement that you are able to communicate fairly well in English is a testament to the complexity of the language's grammar. (edit: and by the way, your written grammar is quite impressive, probably indistinguishable from a native speaker. I'd have to hear you speak to know whether you've mastered English phonology as well as its syntax and morphology)

Ajax

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

You seem to be equating grammar with morphological complexity.
[...]

Yes I was. I didn't know there was a difference. Thank your for explaining that.

(edit: and by the way, your written grammar is quite impressive, probably indistinguishable from a native speaker. I'd have to hear you speak to know whether you've mastered English phonology as well as its syntax and morphology)

Ajax

Wow, thank you very much! Though if you would hear me speak you would be disappointed I think, I haven't actually spoken English a long time. All my practice basically comes from the .Org!

If I were to have been being helped, I wouldn't have come to complain

I must confess that I probably get the meaning of your sentence just 75%. You beat my English skills.

[ajaxfetish]

Yes I was. I didn't know there was a difference. Thank your for explaining that.

No problem. I just tend to get a little excitable on this topic, since I'm making the study of grammar, and especially the history of English, my pursuit in life. Incidentally, German's one of the other languages I'm working on picking up, though I'm nowhere near fluent yet (and I'm not exactly surrounded by German speakers I can practice using it with over here).

Ajax

[Azathoth]

Your skill at the language does not make the language itself any less complex. I got a 5 on the AP test, but I still respect how outrageously difficult Spanish grammar can be. What Spanish are we talking about? Spanish 1 is a lot easier than Spanish 4.

T'was in Spanish 3, I'm now in Spanish 7/AP Spanish. Mostly we've just been practising for the AP Exam and going over grammar that we should have learned years ago. I think I'll just start a new language next year, I'm getting tired of Spanish.