Aboriginal (black) Australians have no system of counting. To them there is either one person or a mob of people. Then they talk of a big mob or a little mob. They didn't need numbers.
English has developed different names for groups of animals. Instead of saying "There is a GROUP of ducks" or "a group of birds" or a "group of horses", we have a large list of different names just to make it hard.
For example, a group of cattle is called a "herd of cattle". A group of fish is called a "shoal of fish". A group of birds flying is called "a flight", but if the birds are on the ground, they are "a flock".
My favourite is a "gaggle of geese". I sometimes talk about a "gossip of women", but that's my work and not recognised in English (yet).
To see a long list of different names applied to different animal groups to see what I mean, go here.
What do these names achieve that the term group doesn't? This is an example of stupidity in our English language. I doubt if any English speaking person could get them all correct.
What do you think?
Comments
Very true...
..thanx for shariing this value of information...
Thanks for sharing this! And I agree with noaslpls - it seems somebody has intentionally made English a little harder for leaners to learn. If only English were a bit easier to learn!!!
Then, could anyone here share some tips on how to use all of the words?!
I thought it's "school of dolphins" since dolphins are so intelligent, LOL, but it in that list, it's a "pod of dolphins". Sometimes I think English native speakers just want to mess up we English learners with all these terms for group of animals. There's no other reasons. LOL.