"We have a dog named Buddy, a Staffordshire bull terrier. We found it almost five years ago. It was just a puppy, around three months old, and was wondering the streets in the freezing winter." - Trent Whiddon, cast member of Burn The Floor.
I read this interview in the newspaper this morning and had a laugh. Definitely the interviewer made a typo mistake. The word should be "wandering" instead of "wondering". Unforgivable for a seasoned journalist? Maybe. But how many readers actually noticed, I wonder (no pun intended).
Yet, the use of the word "wonder" instead of "wander" was actually quite accurate in meaning, and fit into the sentence very well. If the dog could find his way home, it wouldn't be in "wonder" at all. Perhaps the dog hadn't been to that part of the neighbourhood and was fascinated by what it was seeing. At the same time, it was definitely "wandering" since it was lost.
Either way, the journalist made good sense despite having hit the wrong key when typing the article. Brilliant, if you ask me.
It takes years of practice to master any language, English or any other language. But, sometimes, a new learner of the language can say something so quaint that expressed the thought so well that a native speaker would be hard-pressed to think of a grammatically correct alternative. Each one of us adds colour to the English language by bringing in words from our own native languages and culture. The world is a much more beautiful and interesting place because of that.
I interact almost daily with people from many different countries and cultures. Each one has a varying mastery of the English language. As difficult as it is sometimes to understand what my friends are trying to say, I appreciate the way each one makes such an effort to express himself in English. It's definitely not perfect, but I wouldn't trade the colourful interaction for anything in the world. My life is richer because of all the human interaction.
So, daily as I wander through this labyrinth called the worldwide web, I stand in wonder at the multi-faceted nature of all that is expressed, both good and bad. I take in whatever I can. My life is full and enriched because of that.
Have fun learning a language!
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