The English language has to be near the top of the list for simply being… uh… “strange” in it’s behavior, as anyone trying to learn English I’m sure would attest. For an old example: “If a fortification is basically a large fortress, why isn’t a large rat a ratification…?” Another: paralegal vrs. parakeet (hey, I didn’t do it… lol). Any further examples, sports fans…? 
FWIW, fortification is the process of fortifying, not a large fortress.
Fort in French means strong, which is probably where Middle English picked up the word from.
I did mention “basically…”
Once you’re done"fortifying" you then have…
Same point, tho…
And the General Question you’re asking is what, exactly?
Should have consulted a dictionary before you provided that response.
A fortification can most certainly be a structure. Note the second entry of the word in the above link, as well as the second definition of the first entry.
Not that I’m defending the legitimacy of the OP… but fighting ignorance is important, even if it’s in the wrong forum.
The difference between a fort and a fortress: a fortress has breastworks!
My bad. Even more so, considering that I linked to the same page that you did.
But I do claim that fortification inherently refers to the process of fortifying, since using fortification in the sense of structure ultimately refers to the result of the process. Whereas in the OP, ratification doesn’t make sense since a rat is a err… rat to begin with.
No problem 
I knew you linked the same page…that was part of my point. And one little slip-up doesn’t take the focus away from the fact that the OP was certainly not GQ material.
Descriptive titles are good. I’ve changed the title for you.
Also General Questions is for questions with factual answers. MPSIMS is for Mundane Stuff I Must Share. I’ll move this to MPSIMS for you.
DrMatrix - GQ Moderator
I once tried (and failed) to explain to a non-native speaker : since “on” is the opposite of “off”, why doesnt “to go on” mean the opposite of “to go off”.
He was studying an English lesson on verbs, and the story was about a policeman who arrested a burglar. The criminal broke into a house, and pushed the light switch. Then the cop arrived , because when “the light went on, the burglar alarm went off”… The poor student was confused–why did the cop come running to the scene?–…Naturally, he assumed that the alarm did NOT make any sound, because it was “off”, right?
Striss writes:
> The English language has to be near the top of the list for
> simply being… uh… “strange” in it’s behavior, as anyone
> trying to learn English I’m sure would attest.
English is fairly typical for strange behavior in its vocabulary and grammar. Languages are not logical systems. They are human creations full of oddball quirks.
lol…
geez guys, was just having fun…
not trying to be TOO technical…
thanks chappachula, enjoyed yours… 
Let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant or ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England or french fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So, one moose, 2 meese? One index, two indices?
Is cheese the plural of choose? If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another? When a house burns up, it burns down. You fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm clock goes off by going on.
When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it? Now I know why I flunked my English. It’s not my fault – the silly language doesn’t quite know whether it’s coming or going.
(Courtesy of ccwaterback’s spam archive.)
thanks cc…
Both you and Chappachula seem to have the gist of my post…
P.S.: Thanks, DrMatrix…
I’m a bit of a newb here…
Why do we drive on parkways, but park in driveways?
Why do we call them apartments, sincer they’re so close together?
Best of all, if the opposite of pro is con, what is the opposite of progress?