I used to work as Copyeditor in SPi Global years ago. We used make fun at some Phds, scientists, academe personalities, etc draft, some of them really suck in english and ridiculously given up on what theyre trying to write as they personally place a note to copyeditors telling us to write their idea in our own words. It was fun though. wait until i msobeerrr,.O-|
Cherry, your English sounds pretty good to me, I can understand exactly what you mean to convey to the listener, and purism is irrelevant when it comes to the spoken word over the written word. Verbs and adverbs, adjectives, nouns and pronouns mean very little unless you are a purist or a student of English grammar. The English language is widespread and has many variations, all of which are correct within their own environment, and is only relevant according to your audience. Accent and dialect are intermingled, and usually the only people that are bothered about whether the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed are lawyers, and I think that most of us are agreed that they are a sub-species that permeate beneath pond life. On my many visits to the U.S. I found that I could understand those in New England, New Hampshire, Virginia, Maryland and D.C. without any difficulty. Going south and listening to Southern Belles I was completely flummoxed. But equally in U.K., the Geordie dialect around Newcastle is often as hard to interpret as the Scouse accent from Liverpool. In spite of having a Scottish wife (nightmare), when the military sent me to Scotland I could understand those on the Dundee east coast, but didn't have a clue of what they were talking about on the Glasgow west coast. So what is written and what is spoken don't always tie up, but provided the speaker manages to convey to the listener without any misinterpretation, does it really matter ? When it comes to the written word, then of course one would and should want to come over as correct. But what is written is influenced by the nationality of the recipient. As Cherry rightly pointed out, the difference between labor and labour is relevant only to the reader of the transcript. I shudder to think of what a call centre operator would make listening to the exasperations of a Bow Bells Cockney from the east end of London blasting forth in almost indecypherable rhyming slang, but an instructional example can be given should anyone so desire. I'm not sure of whether the word favoriteisationalism really exists, but if it did, then it would have a "u" in it.:D Take care one and all, Roger, Generally British but specifically English
Thank you Roger. The discussion was mainly about someone who posted about a salary increase. Then someone corrected me that "good English" is wrong. I stand firm when I say that it is not wrong. That it is grammatically correct as I have references to prove it so. Well, anyways, it is a matter of opinion and I respect the opinions of other persons just as I hope mine is respected as well. Now, I will have free lessons from mr john carson! I will email him soon... So this thread is winding up great.
Simple Mind, I’m fairly certain you are a native English speaker. If not, then I’d say that, far from having a simple mind, yours is quite complex, if not brilliant. Most who post on this forum make themselves understood, and that’s all that really matters. The finer points of grammatical correctness are relevant only to those whose professions or obsessions require it.
I looked it up as well and saying "you have good English" is correct, although it is not pleasing to read or hear for me. Personally, I would structure the sentence differently so it would be more pleasing to my tastes, but that's just opinion/personal prefference. Nothing grammatically wrong with it. I have to say, you have very good written english (likely much better than mine), I would have never guessed you were a filipino by your writing. It would be very beneficial to the country if the school system here would teach to the level you have obtained.
the discussion here reminds me of a course I once took up in college, English as a Foreign Language... discussions about pidgen english and creole english... whew...
Thank you for your reply John, I am flattered by your comment but I could not see where I would appear to be "Brilliant", maybe you could point out to me what or how you meant it... I agree with you on the point, that the important thing is to get the message across. If all parties involved in a discussion are first of all interested in getting their message out, then the stronger personalities will dominate the the scene and the weak will give in, there needs to be tolerance as the first principle...
I don’t know many simple minded people who are as conversant in a second or third language as you are in English – if you’re not a native speaker. “Brilliant” may be a bit over the top, but I definitely wouldn’t call you simple.
If you read my thread "How and why did you end up in the Philippines", you will know almost everything about me... Regards
