@andyb It IS obtuse and arbitrary. Language is like that. Do. you say "I went to hospital" or "I went to the hospital"? When to use "the" is as obtuse and arbitrary as the "u" in "colour". Is "in" the opposite of "out"? How about "Roll the carpet out"? Oops, that's "Roll the carpet _up_". So yeah, welcome to language. It's been our friend for a long, long time, but it's always been like this. Free free to unfriend it 🙂
@andyb I have a theory: All languages have a complexity budget. English spends it on spelling and vocabulary size. Japanese spends it on different ways to speak depending on relative status. And so on. So I don't think English is worse. I think it's just weird in some different ways (and some of the same ones.)
@andyb Also, among the oldest writing we have is people complaining how Kids These Days™ are destroying the language. It's really just how languages evolve, and old folks get cranky about it. I have resolved to be on the right side of this change 🙂
@kcrca Yeah, the "kids these days" rants from thousands of years ago are always fun, be they bemoaning slang, work ethics, or vices.
@kcrca Yeah, English is weird, especially when you get into the differences between American English and International English. All languages have quirks, but I feel English has more than average, probably thanks to having so many roots.