Some nations pride themselves on having a clear and logical language. The French, for instance, point to their language as being the clearest and most logical in the world. The Germans, similarly, tend to point to their own language as the best in the world. The British have never made any such claim. We know that it is one of the muddiest languages in the world. Sometimes we cannot even hear what people are saying. We find it hard to tell the difference between “fourteen” and “forty.” We can spell words in different ways ( hullo, hallo, hello) and we can pronounce some words different ways ( either “eether” or “ither”). Meanings of certain English words or phrases waver all over the place, too. Let’s consider the case of the word “funny.” When someone uses it we often have to ask them which meaning they intend: Is that “funny ha, ha” (as in “you look really funny in that hat.”) or “funny strange”? (as in “your keys aren’t here.” “That’s funny—I’m sure I left them on the table.”) Take “next Monday” for another example. How often do you hear conversations such as this: “When are you going off on holiday?” “Next Monday.” “The day after tomorrow?” “No, not this Monday—next Monday.” “But the day after tomorrow is next Monday. It’s the next Monday we have.” “Yes, but ‘next Monday’ is what we call the one after this one. This Monday is Monday next.” And so on. It is all very confusing, isn’t it? In fact, there are plenty more like this if you look for such examples around you.