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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 7:52 pm
If it comforts - People from everywhere around the world speak their mother tongues with vulgar and obscene, poorly articulated grammar. You can find that in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin - You name it and I guarantee a lot of people don't even know how to speak the language they've been learning since birth. I don't speak English as a first language so it makes me feel good when people assume I'm British or American - I think foreigners put a lot of effort into it because they're ashamed their grammar and fluency will be too obvious or just plain suck, so they end up doing a good job.
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 7:53 pm
Any foreigner can be made to understand English, provided you speak it loudly and slowly. It also helps if you tack an 'o' sound onto the ends of random words ('Please bring-o fresh towels to room-o 314-o.')
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 7:54 pm
(July 14, 2015 at 7:53 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: Any foreigner can be made to understand English, provided you speak it loudly and slowly. It also helps if you tack an 'o' sound onto the ends of random words ('Please bring-o fresh towels to room-o 314-o.')
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That makes no sense!
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 7:56 pm
(July 14, 2015 at 7:42 pm)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: (July 14, 2015 at 7:38 pm)Minimalist Wrote: When we visited Turkey in 2007 I was astounded by the English skills of virtually everyone we came in contact with.. I asked our guide about it and he explained the immersion process they use for learning languages in school.
I've always thought we should try that in the US. It's embarrassing to go to another country and only half know language. Not to mention there's the stereotype about Americans expecting everyone to speak English.
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 7:57 pm
(July 14, 2015 at 7:56 pm)Minimalist Wrote: (July 14, 2015 at 7:42 pm)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: I've always thought we should try that in the US. It's embarrassing to go to another country and only half know language. Not to mention there's the stereotype about Americans expecting everyone to speak English.
Costs money, dear.
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 8:29 pm
(July 14, 2015 at 7:24 pm)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: It happens here in the U.S. to a ridiculous degree. The biggest thing we get are Southerners whining about some newbie speaking Spanish when for fucks sake "y'all" isn't a word! Then there are the people in urban areas who say I'm "acting white" because I don't use shitty grammar when speaking.
I don't think that anyone should whine about someone with an accent. If someone is learning a new language and tries to speak it then they are far braver than I am. They deserve praise and respect. I have been trying for years to self teach myself Spanish. Now I can read a lot in that language but I still can't understand spoken Spanish. The reason that reading is easier for me than speaking is that I am not brave enough to risk making a fool of myself by talking to native speakers(who I could easily find, by the way)
The English language needs a plural form of the word, you. Y'all fits the bill. It is a word just like can't and don't.
Adolescents and young adult have been inventing their own slang for a long time. They need to learn when to turn it off and on but it doesn't really bother me.
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 8:30 pm
We did have French lessons (German optional) in school but none of the kids ever gave a shit, everyone saw it as a doss lesson. I think it really is because we just assume the whole world speaks English, it's that complacency in speaking the most common language, you don't think you need another.
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 11:09 pm
(July 14, 2015 at 8:29 pm)Nope Wrote: ...
The English language needs a plural form of the word, you. ...
It has one. It is "you." "You" is both singular and plural. It works well for both. If you need to make it clear that you mean more than one person, you can say "all of you," as in the sentence "all of you are invited to dinner."
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 11:26 pm
Yous don't know nuffin bout nuffin!
Seriously, as an Aussie, I can't get over "anyways"!
That plural doesn't exist here.
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RE: Many English people can't speak English?
July 14, 2015 at 11:47 pm
(July 14, 2015 at 11:26 pm)ignoramus Wrote: Yous don't know nuffin bout nuffin!
Seriously, as an Aussie, I can't get over "anyways"!
That plural doesn't exist here.
Oxford calls it "informal" and North American:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defini...ctCode=all
Notice, it means the same thing as "anyway." So it is not a plural. It is completely useless. Except if one wishes to sound uneducated. Saying "anyways" does not make one sound well-educated.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
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