One of the things that I imagine can be a problem for a computer is the fact that the same English word can function in several parts of speech (typically as a verb, noun and adjective) without having to change its form. I am not sure how a computer would resolve that ambiguity but I think it's something a human gets used to quite quickly and the added flexibility is useful in generating speech but makes it harder to analyse syntax. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
I would put phrasal verbs in the same category as learning vocabulary - it's something you acquire over the long term, gradually. The added difficulty is that the verb and the preposition can be separated and also sometimes the ambiguity between a standalone preposition and a preposition that is part of the verb.
Another thing you only learn through exposure, if that, is what "sounds natural" over and above being grammatically correct. And idioms, too. And sometimes even after many years you still get caught in idioms such as "I hear you" vs. "I can hear you" (this happened to me once not so long ago, to general hilarity). When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
Then toss in the American/English differences and things can get sticky. My favorite example is, "I'm stuffed."
American = "The meal you served filled my stomach to fullness"
English = something rather different
;-) A doo run-run-run, a doo run-run
English people - even polite English people - wouldn't often say 'I'm stuffed' to mean 'I'm screwed.'
But they might say 'You're stuffed' or 'We're stuffed' or 'They're stuffed.'
Or they could say 'Well, that's me stuffed.'
Or 'I'm seriously stuffed.'
But without modification in the first person 'I'm stuffed' usually just means 'I'm full.'
Wonder if the American usage has spread through films/books? A doo run-run-run, a doo run-run
Today English is much more about exaggeration - hence 'seriously, 'so', 'totally', etc.
This makes machine translation hard because you don't just have to parse the words, you have to parse that specific kind of formation, and also know something about the class and age of the person speaking.
This is where machine translation goes wrong - a lot of communication is at least as much about role play with canned phrases and constructions as about grammar.
For spoken language you can't make sense of the meaning just from the grammar rules on their own. You need to know the role play context and also have a library of current constructions.
Written language is simpler because it's more formal and structured, but you can still fall over some of the wackier constructions that turn up.
I thought it was normal that one could have fun with language. It wasn't till high school that I found it necessary to restrict the fun a bit. But that 'fun with language' of my childhood remains a major component of my writing today, though I find it harder in Finnish because you can't mistreat it in the same way and still expect to make sense. You can't be me, I'm taken
And what about the English biscuit company who failed to export their main product to the US - Ginger Nuts. You can't be me, I'm taken
After college I went to Poland and ended up teaching English and translating. The first day of class I asked the same question, and got the same answer. I nervously said we'd cover that later. Unfortunately, I'd never heard of phrasal verbs or prepositional verbs or anything like that. At the first break I asked one of my colleagues what the hell is this phrasal verb stuff - he patiently explained, in perfect English with just a slight accent. He of course had proper training in both teaching and the language - yet I got more money cause the parents liked the idea of 'native speakers' teaching their kids. Beginning teachers generally suck, untrained ones... poor kids.
And everything I know about Polish grammar comes from Russian class. I've never taken a Polish language class in my life, whether for foreigners or native speakers. In retrospect the funniest part of Russian class was learning about verb aspect, which is both one of the most fundamental parts of Polish (and Russian) grammar, and generally the hardest thing for (non Slav) foreigners to get - I had no idea that aspect existed even though I'd been using it correctly my entire life.
Clearly you haven't taken much interest in your own language. I love learning languages and still try to expand my adequate French, my almost-passable Spanish and my few dozen words and phrases of Mandarin Chinese.
As for phrasal verbs, I've known about their existence, and the problems associated with them, for... well, for a full six or seven minutes now... since I started reading the comments to this post.
Get with it, man!
Este medio es el más importante. and got this: Middle East is the most important.
After, this:
Esta manera es la más importante. and got this: This way is the most important. When Procrustes looks after you, you're sure to fit in.
Este medium es el más importante. This is the most important medium.
Este medio es el más importante. Middle East is the most important.
Este medium es el más importante one. This medium is the most important one.
Este medium es el más importante This medium is the most important (Only without end point!)
But if you know English, you do not need translator! When Procrustes looks after you, you're sure to fit in.
