US/British: what do you think of English used by us non-native speakers? Also...
- Thread starter U2girl
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
FizzingWhizzbees
ONE love, blood, life
I think anyone who speaks English as well as the people on these forums, despite English not being their native language, is amazing
No, seriously, I have basically no ability to speak of in any language other than English so I'm really impressed by people who speak several languages fluently.
I was an exchange student in the US a couple of years back and I met someone there who was German but spoke English with an American accent. And, even funnier than that, I knew someone who was from Sweden and came to live in Liverpool and then spoke English with a broad Liverpool accent. It was quite amusing, at least to me
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
I have a farm-boy accent. uhehehe!
------------------
Look what you did, you little JERK!
Kevin! You're such a disease!
------------------
Look what you did, you little JERK!
Kevin! You're such a disease!
Originally posted by FizzingWhizzbees:
I think anyone who speaks English as well as the people on these forums, despite English not being their native language, is amazing
Shucks, my English isn't perfect you know! Just wait long enough and i'll make some spelling or grammar mistake.
But i can say i had good teachers and that i was lucky enough not to have any major problems along the way when studying English - everything is a lot easier if you have "an ear" for the language, if you know what i mean.
Erm, i additionally wanted to say thanks to all of the native speakers for putting up with any mistakes we may make when using English.
Salome
you are what you is
I keep my sentences really short
it helps
sometimes
------------------
Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
it helps
sometimes
------------------
Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
christiana
New Yorker
You don't just keep your sentences very short
you generally keep most of your posts very short
very
very
very
short
you generally keep most of your posts very short
very
very
very
short
Angela Harlem
Jesus Online
U2girlie, your English skills are quite amazing. Without you saying otherwise I would have had no idea it was your 2nd language.
I've heard people say its a very hard language to master as so many words have various meanings and a slightly different word can give something a whole new perspective. The only comment I could make on people who dont speak it often, is not the way they talk or ability they have with it, sometimes accents are hard to understand. Which is no problem, if you listen carefully.
I gotta ask a dumb question, how many of you, U2girl, Klod, Slomey, Risti, anyone else, how many of you speak English everyday? Im curious how many countries actually use it on a regular basis.
I've heard people say its a very hard language to master as so many words have various meanings and a slightly different word can give something a whole new perspective. The only comment I could make on people who dont speak it often, is not the way they talk or ability they have with it, sometimes accents are hard to understand. Which is no problem, if you listen carefully.
I gotta ask a dumb question, how many of you, U2girl, Klod, Slomey, Risti, anyone else, how many of you speak English everyday? Im curious how many countries actually use it on a regular basis.
Salome
you are what you is
well, I'm here every day
so I talk english everyday
only on the internet though
------------------
Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
so I talk english everyday
only on the internet though
------------------
Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
The Wanderer
Kid A
well english is my native tongue, but sometimes I forget that many people here are posting in their 2nd or 3rd language, which is quite amazing in some respects...
as for meeting non-native english speakers, I meet them everday in the US, my neighbor is Italian and his wife is German, my other neighbor and his family are Philipino; and I encounter many people who are native spanish-speakers, they always have accents and their accents are based on their native language and birthplace, for instance, someone from Mexico would have a different accent then someone from Cuba or Guatemala (I'm not sure if I answer your question about accents?)
as for meeting non-native english speakers, I meet them everday in the US, my neighbor is Italian and his wife is German, my other neighbor and his family are Philipino; and I encounter many people who are native spanish-speakers, they always have accents and their accents are based on their native language and birthplace, for instance, someone from Mexico would have a different accent then someone from Cuba or Guatemala (I'm not sure if I answer your question about accents?)
Saracene
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Personally I found English a pretty easy language to learn. It's got its challenges, sure, but nowhere near the same maddening amount of complexities and subtleties that Russian language has. Next to my native language, English grammar is so simple it's virtually non-existant,
There was however one major annoyance I had with native English-speakers in the first couple of years in Australia: some people seem to think for some reason that just because you have a heavy foreign accent and can't speak English 100% correct you must have an intelligence of an eight-year-old. So they slip into this patronising mode and treat you as they would a small child, as if you're unaware of the most basic things.
There was however one major annoyance I had with native English-speakers in the first couple of years in Australia: some people seem to think for some reason that just because you have a heavy foreign accent and can't speak English 100% correct you must have an intelligence of an eight-year-old. So they slip into this patronising mode and treat you as they would a small child, as if you're unaware of the most basic things.
christiana
New Yorker
I'm the same as Salomey. I don't speak (type??
)English besides on the Internet and at the English lessons.
I think English is a difficult language for me to learn as my native language is nothing like it. You know how do the Chinese characters look like...
I think English is a difficult language for me to learn as my native language is nothing like it. You know how do the Chinese characters look like...
zoomerang II
War Child
Yes, english used by foreigners may have an accent, obviously if they have gone to learn it in a particular part of the world.
On balance i would say native Asians tend to say more american things while europeans more british things just because of location to where they learnt it, altho this isnt always true. The difference between someone from France and someone from Quebec, both native frencgh speakers, who speak english at the same level, can be staggering.
As for the native accents, well women who originate from french, northern european or slavic areas (even slovenia!) and who speak a reasonable level of english, tend to in my experience sound damn hot!!!!
On balance i would say native Asians tend to say more american things while europeans more british things just because of location to where they learnt it, altho this isnt always true. The difference between someone from France and someone from Quebec, both native frencgh speakers, who speak english at the same level, can be staggering.
As for the native accents, well women who originate from french, northern european or slavic areas (even slovenia!) and who speak a reasonable level of english, tend to in my experience sound damn hot!!!!
elevation
Acrobat
I've found English a very easy language to learn mainly because every Dane is brought up with it through music, movies, internet, and so on. I'm studying social sciences and 90 % is English literature - so I'm learning it the hard way
. In comparison, German is my 3rd language, had it seven years in school but am I able to use it?! Ehh...in short: No
Btw, anybody knows why this forum is so dominated by American users - though there are lots of other users? U2 is equally popular in Europe?
------------------
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is though nothing is a miracle. The other is though everything is a miracle". - A. Einstein
[This message has been edited by elevation (edited 01-20-2002).]
Btw, anybody knows why this forum is so dominated by American users - though there are lots of other users? U2 is equally popular in Europe?
------------------
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is though nothing is a miracle. The other is though everything is a miracle". - A. Einstein
[This message has been edited by elevation (edited 01-20-2002).]
foray
Rock n' Roll Doggie
i speak eng lish with a malaysian accent (actual ly malaysians don't think i do while foreigners can't place my accent, so i am alien). and the most annoying thing for me when i'm in a western country is to change my accent slightly so that i articulate my t's, d's etc perfectly since they don't understand me somtimes. perhaps this is why i don't have close wes tern friends as it's a pain to converse with them. i wish i had stephen hawking's talking mach ine. i am also bilingual and a half (half becos there's one language i can't speak well but understand perfectly when i hear it - any other people klike this?)
i am typing with one finger, alright, with a stupid ergonomic keyboard and a puppy on my lap, hence my typing ,istakes...
foreplay
i am typing with one finger, alright, with a stupid ergonomic keyboard and a puppy on my lap, hence my typing ,istakes...
foreplay
christiana
New Yorker
Angela Harlem
Jesus Online
Thats weird Risti, you just reminded me of something. When i was in college, I was one of only 2 Aussies in my course. All the others were from Asian countries. Anyways, a couple of them spoke Cantonese, and sometimes, i could kinda work out what they were saying. Same with some girls that were Indonesian. it was weird! But cool.
Bonos_glasses
The Fly
I think that english is a pretty easy language
I've learned German too at school (for 5 years) but, BELIEVE ME, i can't speak (or write)German at all...it's really complicated...
------------------
don't believe what you hear
don't believe what you see
I've learned German too at school (for 5 years) but, BELIEVE ME, i can't speak (or write)German at all...it's really complicated...
------------------
don't believe what you hear
don't believe what you see
sulawesigirl4
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Even though I grew up in a different country (Indonesia) I am not bilingual, to my great consternation. I did speak Indonesian well as a child, but then we moved to a mountain area where they spoke a completely different language...not even a dialect of the main language. I started to learn that, and then by the time I was getting it, I went off to boarding school where we all spoke English. So, while I can pretty much "understand" Indonesian, I am not real good at putting my thoughts into sentences in it.
I've also studied French and Japanese and got to a "conversational" level in both languages, but I want to go live somewhere where I could immerse myself in them.
As for hearing others speak English? I know how it feels to struggle through another language, so I always try to do my best never to patronize, but to use alternate words and maybe clearer ones if it seems we are having trouble communicating. I have a lot of respect for anyone who has learned my language and is trying to use it. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there when you're learning a new language...you have to be willing to be foolish and awkward.
Here on interference, I am really impressed with how well people who are not native English speakers can communicate. I know that I could not do as well in any of my "second" languages. The only time that the differences become a bit more apparent is sometimes in the translation of "humor". I've found that it is really very cultural and does not always translate appropriately to someone who speaks the language but doesn't necessarily understand the nuances and idiosycnracies of it. But that's to be expected.
I know my Japanese friends shake their heads at my blank looks when they crack jokes. hehe.
-sula
As for hearing others speak English? I know how it feels to struggle through another language, so I always try to do my best never to patronize, but to use alternate words and maybe clearer ones if it seems we are having trouble communicating. I have a lot of respect for anyone who has learned my language and is trying to use it. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there when you're learning a new language...you have to be willing to be foolish and awkward.
Here on interference, I am really impressed with how well people who are not native English speakers can communicate. I know that I could not do as well in any of my "second" languages. The only time that the differences become a bit more apparent is sometimes in the translation of "humor". I've found that it is really very cultural and does not always translate appropriately to someone who speaks the language but doesn't necessarily understand the nuances and idiosycnracies of it. But that's to be expected.
-sula
Salome
you are what you is
I'm going to use that as an excuse from now one
------------------
Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
Sorry for not replying earlier, but i was away this last week.
That's a good question, not at all dumb. I don't speak English everyday - i use it on a daily basis here. I did talk and read English any time we had English classes in elementary/high school.
Additionally with being lucky with having good teachers and being even more lucky for having a bit of a talent for foreign languages (i also studied German during my high school, also no major problems), i think watching movies and listening to music helps in getting a bigger vocabulary, and learning the pronounciation.
PS: Of course it's easier typing English like this than talking to a native speaker. I met one or two English speakers in my life so far and even though i understood everything they were saying, i was too shy to speak.
Also, there are certain words in English which i'll never pronounce right - for the life of me, i can't say the "rl" combination right - you know, words like "girl" or "world" - i always end up saying something like "gil" or "wold"!
Or the "th" combination - i just can't do that. "beneath" - it just ends up way too close sounding to "beneas" for some reason.
------------------
be uncool, yes be awkward
[This message has been edited by U2girl (edited 01-26-2002).]
pax
ONE love, blood, life
I hate my accent (Northeast PA flavored native English) and I'd do anything to change it. I'm really working on sounding like I'm from nowhere, kinda like Peter Jennings.
I also speak French and Spanish, though I'm not fluent in French; I only remember some basic phrases at this point. I can read and speak Spanish pretty well, but my writing of it is fairly weak.
I know a guy who was born and raised in Scotland, and he didn't move to the States until he was 13. Now, HE has a cool accent. Mrrrrroooooowwwwww.
------------------
If you cannot live together in here, you cannot live together out there, let me tell ya. --Bono
You've got to cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice... --Bono
I also speak French and Spanish, though I'm not fluent in French; I only remember some basic phrases at this point. I can read and speak Spanish pretty well, but my writing of it is fairly weak.
I know a guy who was born and raised in Scotland, and he didn't move to the States until he was 13. Now, HE has a cool accent. Mrrrrroooooowwwwww.
------------------
If you cannot live together in here, you cannot live together out there, let me tell ya. --Bono
You've got to cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice... --Bono
Similar threads
- Sticky
