The English language is a confusing thing, with many valid points for and against it. Some notable problems with the language are the sometimes seemingly arbitrary rules of grammar and punctuation, the abundance of homonyms, and the lack of certain features that other languages have that assist with understanding.
Words with differing contextual meanings also don’t help. When we call a crowd big, we’re referring to density, when we say something’s a big deal, we refer to import, when we call a skyscraper big, we mean volume. When we call a pepper hot, we mean Scovilles, when we say it’s hot outside, we mean temperature, when we call a person hot, they’re attractive. I could go on and on. They’re everywhere.
But it’s not all bad. One of the most frustrating bits of misinformation out there is that there’s a word in the English language for throwing a chair out of a window, but not for the day after tomorrow. There ARE words for those two things, they’re defenestration and overmorrow, respectively. (I use Grammarly when I type, and even now, it’s asking me if I want to add overmorrow to the dictionary, as it’s an unknown word. This is what I mean!) The thing is, since English is a language made up of many words borrowed from other languages, it’s become useful for bridging the gap between the languages from which it borrows.
As for the features that other languages have that English could benefit from, there are a few that spring immediately to mind. Some other languages opt for more words with fewer meanings. Greek has many different words for love, each appropriate in its own unique context. The way I love my family is not the same way that I love my wife or friends, but in English, we just have one general use word: love. In Japanese, there are many different words for “you” and “I” and you can glean a lot of information about how the speakers of that language feel about themselves and each other based on which ones they use. In Spanish, certain types of punctuation are placed before and after the sentence, so you can determine the tone before reading it.
I believe that this is a classic case of the grass always being greener on the other side, that we’re only so frustrated with the English language to the point of believing misinformation because we deal with the shortcomings that it DOES have every day. This language is tough, so all the more grateful we should be that we were born into knowing it. That said, there are some things we can do to improve our experience with this language on a day-to-day basis.
Be more specific. Try to use fewer words that have multiple meanings. At least two different contextual meanings for “hot” could apply to food. If there’s a word that means exactly what you want to say, that word is best to use.
Adopt features and words from other languages if native words don’t suit the purpose you need them to. English is an ever-evolving language by design, and I’ve already provided some examples of certain things that other languages do better. There are plenty more that I haven’t thought of, so go nuts.
Most importantly, be more honest. The most effective way to improve your English experience is to say exactly what you mean, to describe exactly how you feel, and to stop using outdated “figures of speech” that are really just excuses to avoid getting to the heart of what you’re trying to say. The sooner that people start being frank with each other and being honest, brutally honest, about how they really feel about things, the sooner people will develop long-lasting relationships that actually matter and find improvements in all interpersonal areas of life.