I agree with you assessment of the English language. The German
language follows its 'rules' more consistently than English. When I studied the
language, I found the rules concerning grammar and spelling much easier to
understand and remember than those in English. I also found when I was living in
Berlin that the Germans follow the rules of their language more consistently
than we Americans do.
I learned to read fraktur when I was a student; I only wish that we had
also been acquainted with the handwritten German used prior to the 1939-1945
war! It would have made it easier for me to read German language church
records. I have had to teach myself to read the old handwriting, but it has
opened a new world to me! I find it interesting that most of the old handwritten
records I have read were written in Nebraska and Missouri in the United
States.
The ability to read the old handwritten German has allowed me to read
and translate church records for churches where there is no longer anyone in
the church who can read their own old records.
The English language is bad enough. In its embryonic stage it still resembled the German from once it sprung, then was infused upon by one and all (the French, the Roman-Latins, the Scandinavians, the Celts, et al). By the time America got through hammering on it, it was hopeless. There may be more exceptions than rules to follow! The lack of spelling consistency alone could turn your hair gray, or leave you gnashing your teeth. Only Merriam-Webster seems to be smiling. The verb action running before the object alone is pretty novel, considering how it runs counter to the rest of the Indo-European languages. The mass assimilation of colloquial and slang expressions from across the American landscape further spun its idiom into no man's land. Fact of the matter is, it's become one of the most complex (and convoluted) languages on earth. If it wasn't for the Chinese character intricacies, it might be THE most complex.
I feel for anyone having to learn it from scratch. How so many Europeans do it - and do it rather well - still mazes me. Most of it comes from hard work and practice. To truly master it takes incredible determination, and a reckoning with frustration. Of course the same can be said for our immigrant ancestors. In their days, the formal backdrops to learn it were not as structured, and thus it often became a lifelong struggle to master even at the most rudimentary level.