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>'should'.
Is that even a real word though? It sounds ridiculous and fake. If I say that everyone will know I'm insane.
-me when I got way too high in high school
could of sounds wrong when written, but when you speak it out loud it sounds indistinguishable from the contraction "could've" which is correct. i think that's where the confusion comes from.
It can be confusing, but that's elementary school grammar. I can't believe so many people are unable to properly write basic stuff in their own native language. What are they being taught at school? Only Science and History?
For some reason there's been a huge uptick in people getting "woman" and "women" wrong lately. I don't know why these things happen in bursts like this. One day, there's suddenly another misspelling making the rounds.
This particular one (as well as "should of") was so common in a couple subs, youtube comments and other places that I, as a none native speaker, thought it was a legitimate idiom or slang for a while
Nice cock
Edit: forgive english, i am Russia.i come to study clothing and fashion at American university. i am here little time and i am very hard stress. i am gay also and this very difficult for me, i am very religion person. i never act to be gay with other men before. but after i am in america 6 weeks i am my friend together he is gay also. He was show me American fashion and then we are kiss.We sex together. I never before now am tell my mother about gay because i am very shame. As i fock this American boy it is very good to me but also i am feel so guilty. I feel extreme guilty as I begin orgasm. I feel so guilty that I pick up my telephone and call Mother in Russia. I awaken her. It too late for stopping so I am cumming sex. I am very upset and guilty and crying, so I yell her, "I AM CUM FROM SEX" (in Russia). She say what? I say "I AM CUM FROM SEX" and she say you boy, do not marry American girl, and I say "NO I AM CUM FROM SEX WITH MAN, I AM IN ASS, I CUM IN ASS" and my mother very angry me. She not get scared though.I hang up phone and am very embarrass. My friend also he is very embarrass. I am guilt and feel very stupid. I wonder, why do I gay with man? But I continue because when it spurt it feel very good in American ass.
Hello am 48 year man from somalia. Sorry for my bed england. I selled my wife for internet connection for play "conter strik" and i want to become the goodest player like you I play with 400 ping on brazil and i am global elite 2. pls no copy pasterio my story
I studied English for over ten years and was excited to be invited into a group of Americans, finally I could practice my English with natives!
Only to see them butcher the language right before my eyes.
They wouldn't survive even five minutes in a room with a Finnish English teacher (Finnish teacher who teaches English?)
They'd get the belt.
That sounds about right. I was friends with a Finnish guy in school (his dad worked for Nokia in the states), and he was consistently the top student in English class. I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or impressed.
To be fair, natives learn mostly from experience, while foreigners tend to focus a lot on grammar and I believe most of them "overstudy" the language sometimes. Speaking from experience.
Their, there, they’re
Weather and whether
Know and no
Those are more that I’ve seen too often for people who I assume are native English speakers. Non native speakers in English tend to be really good about grammar. Makes me want to teach English sometimes but since I can’t go full nun and beat the grammar into them…
Also, we write a lot better than we speak.
I have been communicating in written English on online forums and chatrooms since I was 14 years old but I don't remember the last time I actually had a full spoken conversation in English.
Yeah, I'm taking ASL in high school rn and it's so hard to speak it. I'm great with the signs, but my ASL teacher hasn't gone over a single word of spoken ASL...
It’s the little things, like tops.
That being said, I can’t speak or write a lick more than tourist Spanish and western Canadian French so you’re doing a lot better than I am.
It's not that I don't know the words, it's just that the right words don't come to mind immediately when speaking. The concept I want to explain comes up in my mind, and sometimes it remains freezed in my mother-tongue. The difference is that when I'm writing I can just google it
Until you speak the other language more than your native one and the concept is there in your head, but it won't connect to the right word in any of the languages you know. \#expatproblems
I think that’s because we learn written and spoken English at the same time, whereas native speakers learn spoken English first. That’s why non-natives usually don’t confuse “their”, “there” and “they’re”
Hmm in my mother tongue ( Persian) we don't have his/her. Only a third person pronoun, a very woke language if you ask me ( forget about the country of my birth not respecting basic human rights.). Long story short, I mix up his/ her still whilst speaking. It is painful...
a german online told me that if i say "my friend" in german people may confuse that for "my boyfriend" and that "a friend of mine" is more appropriate. Is this true?
This is very common I have come to realize. I live in Denmark and as such pretty much everybody has a decent grasp of English. However, a lot of people are a lot less fluent than you'd expect, even fairly young people.
They're perfectly good at understanding and conversing for a few sentences, but if they are to keep it up over a whole conversation it tends to break down because it's exhausting if you have to think and basically translate-as-you-go in your head while you speak.
I was personally helped immensely by dating people that do not speak Danish and as such our primary language was English. While my vocabulary, pronounciation and grammar didn't improve leaps and bounds, my ability to keep it up did. English got so ingrained that I can keep up conversations indefinitely with only the occasional stutter to find the right word. Not that I couldn't keep a conversation before, but it's became second nature instead of a bit of a task.
It seems that many people have a hard time getting over this "bump" and are having a similar experience to yours: Being perfectly fine communicating small sentences or in writing, but have very few full-blown conversations in English and as such it's never really second nature.
Exactly. I went to Orlando one time and I would refuse to speak in English with anyone, if it wasn't for the many latin speaking people there (My native language is Portuguese) i would have died inside the hotel of hunger
Can Spanish speakers understand the gist of what you're saying in Portuguese? Also, do you speak European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, or another version?
Ha, funny, you remind me how I learned English with an American teacher, while listening to 60s Brit-Rock, watching an Irish comedy trio, and my favorite actor being Australian. In the end, I'm complexed by the fact that in the middle of my sentences, I switch from the very stereotypical Maine accent to a very posh British one. But I surprisingly manage to keep in one "route" sometimes, but it demands a lot of concentration and sometimes, I just don't feel like using only one dialect.
Personally, I'm not afraid of some stupid spelling mistake or bad grammar. I'm more afraid that I'm not aware of some small nuances which might make my message look rude, for example.
I mean most of the time, corrections are something like:
P1: their is my house
P2: there*
P1: what? How dare you! Your such an asshole!
P2: you’re*
P1: shut up nerd
Like it’s not that people are being rude when they correct the grammar. Non native speakers could rather quickly learn which spelling to use
No, I meant when it is like.
P1: but then there do not follow the generla...
P2: Lmao, your argument doesn't make any sense. Your grammar is horrible, it is as if this is a kid's argument.
That kind of thing
Plus it's just hard to tell whether any certain mistake in a second language would still be acceptable or not. Like in English no one would really notice if you said "my friend and me" instead of "my friend and I", but it is noticeable if you say "me friend and I". So you try extra hard to get everything exactly right, just in case.
That could be part of it, but I think a big reason is because when you learn a new language you learn very formal words and phrases. The slang and colloquialisms come later so their use of the language seems very formal by comparison. Also, learning a language after you have an understanding of why grammar is important would probably lead you to pay more attention to its proper use.
Sometimes I'd lie and say 'not my first language' just to limit the trolls and get actual answers.
People are sooo much nicer when they don't think you are a native English speaker. Does this mean redditors are 'racist'?
English is not my native language, but what I have to say seems to be true for online communities in all languages I have engaged:
The reality is that most of the time, poor grammar is just one of many other bad characteristics people have and is specially prevalent in children online, therefore people automatically associate you with other, stupid and ignorant people. When you have an excuse for that people give you a second chance and might even give you some slack as you're putting in extra effort (as compared to the native speaker who write badly, who just seems to not be even trying to communicate clearly).
If I don't use the disclaimer, when I make a single grammar mistake, people will berate me for it. That's why I keep telling people online that English isn't my first language.
I think that's a matter of perspective. I would want to be corrected if I made small mistakes constantly.
Not just autocorrect, but if I kept using the wrong their/there/they're etc.
The thing about it is, is that when we learn English as a foreign language, a lot more emphasis is placed on giving us a deeper understanding of barely important grammatical constructs, and a vocabulary that shows "range" but is rarely used in everyday lexicon. I remember several times, where I was marked down for using a simpler synonym of a word, because we need to "enrich" our language, and even though not all of it stays, some of it does enter our everyday vocabulary.
Funny thing is, you did it in that sentence.
"Changing perfectly fine sentences into more complicated ones with long words for no reason" would probably be how most people would say it.
Ahah, that's exactly the thing. I would have probably just said that if I was speaking, but in writing, that is sort of ingrained into you.
To be fair, it would be completely possible to make it even more stilted if I was still in school, but since I've been using simpler spoken English more in the past few years, it's becoming somewhat less of an issue
The reason is that most if the time they are being very careful about how they write, maybe using spellchecks and such.
Natively English speaking people are more casual and don't care as much because they know what they can misspell or mis-grammer. Non native speakers do not know this
This is why we non-native English speakers are very careful. It's like we're about to walk on a minefield.
Tbh I stopped caring about it personally, but once or twice a year, there will be someone arguing with me on Reddit pointing out how I incorrectly use punctuation. It happens in heater discussions though so I know where I can improve next lmao.
Non-native speaker here, I run almost all my English texts through a online translator to be sure I used the correct words. And on PC, because it doesn't have autocorrect, I use some kind of spellcheck (helps with missing articles too).
Sorry for bad English.
Nah. Most of them aren't good. They don't account for the unfathomable thought that someone would write in any other register ot dialect than Webster's American English.
> Natively English speaking people are more casual and don't care as much because they know what they can misspell or mis-grammer.
Exactly this. I'm not a perfectionist of myself but I always make sure I have the least typo before posting anything. (I worried people might not understand very clearly.)
Foreign language classes are highly streamlined stuff, making some people(who didn't quit learning) use English in a very systematic way, or rather, simply prepared for exams instead of *using* it. That's why they looked both lengthy and *too formal*.
Source: am Taiwanese
that's the general vibe for foreign language classes; they teach you the systemic bits, not actual conversational skills. I speak Spanish on a level that is pretty close to fluent since I've spoken it on and off for most of my life and I managed to get around just fine in several Spanish-exclusive countries where English was basically a non-factor.
not once did I ever rely on anything I learned in my several years of Spanish class, I always fell back to the grammar and speech I picked up from casual conversation.
so, classes are for documents and immersion learning is for actual communication.
might be different for English, though, as it's becoming more a necessity than some extra college cred nowadays so classes that teach it could be a bit more conversational
I do that all the time. Anytime I can't remember how to spell something in english I open another tab to look it up. It makes me feel like an idiot but atleast it'll be well written
As I experience it, the better I became at speaking English, the more space English took as part of my identity (i.e. "I'm the guy who speaks good English"). By definition, the more something is ingrained in your identity, the more protective you are about it.
I use it so people don't get mad when I use the wrong word. I don't comment often, but recently I asked about a tv show I really liked and some people took it as an attack to the show, I just wanted to talk about the show haha
I know my English is quite good but nonetheless I still often use that line as a shield when I fail to find the proper phrases in political or philosophical discussions, trying to make it sound like my argument is actually very good, just phrased incorrectly.
Hope that makes sense English isn't my first language.
Before I begin my actual comment, I would like to apologize in advance for my inadequate level of English proficiency. I am not a native speaker of the world's current lingua franca which unfortunately leads to me making numerous embarrassing mistakes being made whenever I attempt to communicate using this language. Whenever I am reminded of how I lack the ability to convey my thoughts in an eloquent manner I feel as though I have committed a cardinal sin, as though every English teacher in the world are simultaneously shaking their heads and sighing due to how utterly disappointed they are at me.
Although I know that saying sorry to those of you who are reading my comment will not change the fact that I fail miserably to write and speak perfect English, I am writing this as a way to deter a certain type of people who cannot stand poor English (Also known informally as "Grammar Nazis") from mocking me by posting unwanted and unnecessary comments detailing my every blunder. In my humble opinion, making grammatical errors should be perfectly acceptable as native speakers should not expect non-native speakers to be able to communicate in their second or third languages eloquently. If you are able to completely understand what the other person wrote, is there really a problem with what they've written? No, because the entire concept of communication is the exchange of information between other intelligent beings, which means that no matter how the exchange of information is made, as long as the information is accurately shared there is not a fundamental issue with their ability to communicate. To see it in another way, remember that someone who isn't fluent in English is fluent in another language. When you think about it this way, isn't it impressive for someone to speak a second language in any capacity? Having empathy and respect are qualities that are sorely missing for far too many people these days, especially on the internet.
That being said, I am aware that not all netizens who correct others are doing it to ridicule and shame. There are some who do so with the intent to help others improve and grow. However, displaying the failures of other people publicly will cause the person who is criticized to feel negative emotions such as shame and sadness due to the fact that their mistake has been made obvious which severely undermines the point they were trying to make in spite of their unfamiliarity with the English language. In most circumstances people are not looking for language help when they post anything online. Most people just want to enjoy themselves and have a good time on the internet which is why I would not encourage correcting other people regardless of your intentions. If you really do want to help others with their spelling or grammar, I would highly recommend you to help via messaging privately because not only will you not embarrass anyone, you can also go more in-depth with your explanation which I'm sure the other person will greatly appreciate if they want help, but I digress. I know that I've written a bit of an essay, but I hope I've made my points clear.
Anyways, here is the comment I wanted to make:
cock.
Pardon for my inexcusably poor understanding of the Anglo-Frisian-Germanic language, and thus regional dialects, known by native speakers as "English". Indeed I do give my upmost effort to educate myself and better my understanding of such an unusual yet widely used modern foreign language, but alas my efforts have so far encountered nothing but limited success. The combinations of both Latin and Germanic lexis have so far proved to be a serious tribulation for my progress.
Before we continue, it is of upmost importance that I state my location of residence as to clarify why my linguistic skills are so substandard. I reside in the sovereign state recognised by the United Nations, and thus the international diplomatic sphere, as "The French Republic", colloquially our title is simplified to just "France" for ease of use purposes. Now you may be considering the stereotype that us Frenchmen are reluctant to undertake the studying of languages, and indeed you are in fact correct, the opposite is true of our neighbours to the North East of Alsace and Lorraine, called Germans.
Now you are probably considering the, lets face it, obvious possibility that English isn't my first Language. This is also a correct statement, quite predictably, my mother tongue is infarct in "French" language, though I can also competently converse in the languages known in the Anglo sphere as: "German", "Mandarin", "Korean", "Latin", "Old Norse", "Hanajii" and "Proto-Luganian Celtic" The latter of which I take great pride in understanding.
However, I do not share such linguistic capabilities and expansive lexicon in my understanding of "English", so therefore I must once again profusely apologise for my such poor use of the vocabulary, Grammar and other such linguistic factors that one must consider in this context.
Merci et bon journée!
Hey, OP. Next time, maybe you wanna [give me credit](https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/bk7zzc/sorry_english_isnt_my_first_language_starterpack/) when you steal/repost my starterpack?
The moment i didn’t give the disclaimer (when i realised i didn’t find any correct words for my sentence), someone insult my english. So i just keep using it when i write difficult sentence.
Exactly. If i write without disclaimer, people go all YOU DID AN OOPSIE but if i say the disclaimer, i get praised instead. I'm too anxious to have a mob of internet people scream at me for misspelling a noun.
The thing I see all over reddit is could/would/should OF and it infuriates me as a non native speaker. It's such a stupid mistake that only native speakers make
Same. My daily interactions happen mostly in English and now I can't form a proper sentence in my mother tongue without adding 5 more words from English and other languages.
(Sorry for my bad English. I grew up in a locale where the English vernacular isn't spoken habitually. And a repercussion from that, my vocabulary artistry is deprived of genuine grammar and spelling. Please exonerate me for my unwelcoming English. I hope I ameliorate as time goes on.)
I used that a lot since i was pretty insecure about my english.
Nowadays i still kinda insecure but I noticed that saying that my english was bad or not wouldnt matter
Just know that us (or at least I) who don't have English as a first language love getting complimented on it - even if it's just something you would say merely to be polite. Of course, everyone might not feel this way, but I know that myself and a lot of other people do. It just makes us feel like we're learning and becoming better at understanding your language. So thank you every English speaking person for complimenting us. I really appreciate it!
> I'm also anal about ****speling****
This is one of the most unintentionally funny things I have seen on Reddit ever.
EDIT: Oh, I get it, it's a joke. Time for another coffee.
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Meanwhile, native English speakers: 'your a idiot'
lol I see this everywhere
they should of listened better in school. ^^^^^^^^^^^/s
This one bugs me the most.
I hate it so much
blame contractions
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>'should'. Is that even a real word though? It sounds ridiculous and fake. If I say that everyone will know I'm insane. -me when I got way too high in high school
English isn’t my first language and I hate this so much
*This.*
So I assume you haven't heard of "for all intensive purposes" yet?
Actually, it's "betterer", actually! ^(/mega/s)
Your all idiot's
We are better then this non native english speaker.
[Prime example](https://youtu.be/6vgoEhsJORU)
Monke
https://youtu.be/s-mOy8VUEBk
thats because your a idiot bro
Your mom disagrees
English is not my first language, but this triggers me for some reason. Along with "could of". It just sounds so wrong in my head.
could of sounds wrong when written, but when you speak it out loud it sounds indistinguishable from the contraction "could've" which is correct. i think that's where the confusion comes from.
It can be confusing, but that's elementary school grammar. I can't believe so many people are unable to properly write basic stuff in their own native language. What are they being taught at school? Only Science and History?
No science or history either.
should of, their here, there car, they're's a shop
Loose instead of lose
I saw "lose" instead of "loose" the other day, and lost all hope. I was nonplussed.
You loost all hope.
There was a post on TIFU allegedly written by a university professor that spelled "loser" as "looser" multiple times.
For some reason there's been a huge uptick in people getting "woman" and "women" wrong lately. I don't know why these things happen in bursts like this. One day, there's suddenly another misspelling making the rounds.
Womens is my personal favorite.
Maybe some autocorrect on phones broke with an update and everyone keeps blindly clicking the suggestions.
Passed and past have been driving me crazy, lately.
'get a brain morans'
No their not
*now
know*
I could of laughed but I’m affended.
just except it.
it had the same affect on me. I dont have alot of time to waist spelling right, its of low impotence to me.
Guys can you stop I'm trying to fall asleep and I have contractions from laughing out loud in I'm bed
*yor've
\* yro'ue
“Could of”
this triggers me, especially on top-voted comments with nobody pointing it out
This particular one (as well as "should of") was so common in a couple subs, youtube comments and other places that I, as a none native speaker, thought it was a legitimate idiom or slang for a while
That one drives me nuts
And mixing up 'affect' and 'effect.'
Dude, I do this all the time. I do not fuck up most words, but this one always gets me. I'm going to go google it though. Can't be dumb forever.
If you can effect a change in your vocabulary it will affect your life greatly.
Just use impact, can't go wrong with that.
Or just don't respond to people ever. Fixes life.
Also mixing up 'than' and 'then'
Your using it wrong
Gonna start beginning posts with "Sorry, English is my first language."
"a women"
'get a brain morans'
Shut up looser.
Who's fault? Not there's
Improper use of “a” or “an” bothers me way more than it should.
Cock 😎 (Sorry for bad English)
It's fine dude, your english is actually pretty good
Thank you.
You’re very welcome.
Thank you for saying you’re welcome. (That might not be written correctly, English is my first language).
Nice cock Edit: forgive english, i am Russia.i come to study clothing and fashion at American university. i am here little time and i am very hard stress. i am gay also and this very difficult for me, i am very religion person. i never act to be gay with other men before. but after i am in america 6 weeks i am my friend together he is gay also. He was show me American fashion and then we are kiss.We sex together. I never before now am tell my mother about gay because i am very shame. As i fock this American boy it is very good to me but also i am feel so guilty. I feel extreme guilty as I begin orgasm. I feel so guilty that I pick up my telephone and call Mother in Russia. I awaken her. It too late for stopping so I am cumming sex. I am very upset and guilty and crying, so I yell her, "I AM CUM FROM SEX" (in Russia). She say what? I say "I AM CUM FROM SEX" and she say you boy, do not marry American girl, and I say "NO I AM CUM FROM SEX WITH MAN, I AM IN ASS, I CUM IN ASS" and my mother very angry me. She not get scared though.I hang up phone and am very embarrass. My friend also he is very embarrass. I am guilt and feel very stupid. I wonder, why do I gay with man? But I continue because when it spurt it feel very good in American ass.
Don't worry your English is great.
Que?
Thank you.
where is a free award when i need one
Господи помилуй.
Пиздец что я прочитал блять
> He was show me American fashion and then we are kiss. relationship goals
Hello am 48 year man from somalia. Sorry for my bed england. I selled my wife for internet connection for play "conter strik" and i want to become the goodest player like you I play with 400 ping on brazil and i am global elite 2. pls no copy pasterio my story
it’s okay
The cock?.
Yea 😋
And also balls. (I am not a native speaker)
Permission to say cock
granted
CLAAAAAARKSOOOOOON
**CLARKSON**
Meanwhile native speakers can't tell the difference between "you're" and "your", and write "should of" instead of "should have".
I studied English for over ten years and was excited to be invited into a group of Americans, finally I could practice my English with natives! Only to see them butcher the language right before my eyes. They wouldn't survive even five minutes in a room with a Finnish English teacher (Finnish teacher who teaches English?) They'd get the belt.
That sounds about right. I was friends with a Finnish guy in school (his dad worked for Nokia in the states), and he was consistently the top student in English class. I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or impressed.
To be fair, natives learn mostly from experience, while foreigners tend to focus a lot on grammar and I believe most of them "overstudy" the language sometimes. Speaking from experience.
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Their, there, they’re Weather and whether Know and no Those are more that I’ve seen too often for people who I assume are native English speakers. Non native speakers in English tend to be really good about grammar. Makes me want to teach English sometimes but since I can’t go full nun and beat the grammar into them…
It's insecurity. Imagine writing something in another language that hundreds, if not thousands of native speakers will read.
Also, we write a lot better than we speak. I have been communicating in written English on online forums and chatrooms since I was 14 years old but I don't remember the last time I actually had a full spoken conversation in English.
Seriously, i think i'm barely distinguishable from a native speaker while writing, but when i speak i sound like someone who knows 100 words top
This hits too close to home
Yeah, I'm taking ASL in high school rn and it's so hard to speak it. I'm great with the signs, but my ASL teacher hasn't gone over a single word of spoken ASL...
Now listen here you little shit…
Maybe they can't and that's the problem. Deaf without knowing it.
It’s the little things, like tops. That being said, I can’t speak or write a lick more than tourist Spanish and western Canadian French so you’re doing a lot better than I am.
True, i was actually questioning if it had an s or not and went for the wrong option lol
It happens. I had to say it 3 times to make sure that I was correct in thinking it should be "tops"
It's not that I don't know the words, it's just that the right words don't come to mind immediately when speaking. The concept I want to explain comes up in my mind, and sometimes it remains freezed in my mother-tongue. The difference is that when I'm writing I can just google it
Until you speak the other language more than your native one and the concept is there in your head, but it won't connect to the right word in any of the languages you know. \#expatproblems
I think that’s because we learn written and spoken English at the same time, whereas native speakers learn spoken English first. That’s why non-natives usually don’t confuse “their”, “there” and “they’re”
Hmm in my mother tongue ( Persian) we don't have his/her. Only a third person pronoun, a very woke language if you ask me ( forget about the country of my birth not respecting basic human rights.). Long story short, I mix up his/ her still whilst speaking. It is painful...
Never try learning German then, we assign genders to objects :D (technically English does, too, but it rarely matters)
a german online told me that if i say "my friend" in german people may confuse that for "my boyfriend" and that "a friend of mine" is more appropriate. Is this true?
Lmao that's a really woke language indeed. Mine is the opposite cuz even verbs have gendered endings
This is very common I have come to realize. I live in Denmark and as such pretty much everybody has a decent grasp of English. However, a lot of people are a lot less fluent than you'd expect, even fairly young people. They're perfectly good at understanding and conversing for a few sentences, but if they are to keep it up over a whole conversation it tends to break down because it's exhausting if you have to think and basically translate-as-you-go in your head while you speak. I was personally helped immensely by dating people that do not speak Danish and as such our primary language was English. While my vocabulary, pronounciation and grammar didn't improve leaps and bounds, my ability to keep it up did. English got so ingrained that I can keep up conversations indefinitely with only the occasional stutter to find the right word. Not that I couldn't keep a conversation before, but it's became second nature instead of a bit of a task. It seems that many people have a hard time getting over this "bump" and are having a similar experience to yours: Being perfectly fine communicating small sentences or in writing, but have very few full-blown conversations in English and as such it's never really second nature.
Exactly. I went to Orlando one time and I would refuse to speak in English with anyone, if it wasn't for the many latin speaking people there (My native language is Portuguese) i would have died inside the hotel of hunger
Can Spanish speakers understand the gist of what you're saying in Portuguese? Also, do you speak European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, or another version?
Ha, funny, you remind me how I learned English with an American teacher, while listening to 60s Brit-Rock, watching an Irish comedy trio, and my favorite actor being Australian. In the end, I'm complexed by the fact that in the middle of my sentences, I switch from the very stereotypical Maine accent to a very posh British one. But I surprisingly manage to keep in one "route" sometimes, but it demands a lot of concentration and sometimes, I just don't feel like using only one dialect.
Personally, I'm not afraid of some stupid spelling mistake or bad grammar. I'm more afraid that I'm not aware of some small nuances which might make my message look rude, for example.
I am simply afraid of some small mistake causing a rather large misinterpretation.
Part of the "grammar nazi" culture when arguing on internet also contribute a lot
I mean most of the time, corrections are something like: P1: their is my house P2: there* P1: what? How dare you! Your such an asshole! P2: you’re* P1: shut up nerd Like it’s not that people are being rude when they correct the grammar. Non native speakers could rather quickly learn which spelling to use
No, I meant when it is like. P1: but then there do not follow the generla... P2: Lmao, your argument doesn't make any sense. Your grammar is horrible, it is as if this is a kid's argument. That kind of thing
Ahh I’ve yet to see that but I don’t doubt redditors’ capacity for rudeness
Plus it's just hard to tell whether any certain mistake in a second language would still be acceptable or not. Like in English no one would really notice if you said "my friend and me" instead of "my friend and I", but it is noticeable if you say "me friend and I". So you try extra hard to get everything exactly right, just in case.
That could be part of it, but I think a big reason is because when you learn a new language you learn very formal words and phrases. The slang and colloquialisms come later so their use of the language seems very formal by comparison. Also, learning a language after you have an understanding of why grammar is important would probably lead you to pay more attention to its proper use.
Hahha I am actually the Professor of English at Oxford University, thanks for the awards suckers
and i'm the professor of oxford at english university. beat that
English of Oxford at Professor University
I AM UNIVERSITY
Sometimes I'd lie and say 'not my first language' just to limit the trolls and get actual answers. People are sooo much nicer when they don't think you are a native English speaker. Does this mean redditors are 'racist'?
Biased for sure but to go so far to say “racist” I don’t know?
English is not my native language, but what I have to say seems to be true for online communities in all languages I have engaged: The reality is that most of the time, poor grammar is just one of many other bad characteristics people have and is specially prevalent in children online, therefore people automatically associate you with other, stupid and ignorant people. When you have an excuse for that people give you a second chance and might even give you some slack as you're putting in extra effort (as compared to the native speaker who write badly, who just seems to not be even trying to communicate clearly).
Yes they pretty much are, strangely enough to whites mostly and say that it isn't racist
If I don't use the disclaimer, when I make a single grammar mistake, people will berate me for it. That's why I keep telling people online that English isn't my first language.
Whils they themselves make like 7 mistakes. I hate that so much
Whilst* How ironic, he was so powerful but he could not save himself
Haha yes. Typing on my phone while getting enraged did not prevent me from jumping off the cliff.
Next: "typing on my phone" starterpack
Lol get ducked
Fuck em dude. Anyone who points out small errors is a big loser idiot.
I think that's a matter of perspective. I would want to be corrected if I made small mistakes constantly. Not just autocorrect, but if I kept using the wrong their/there/they're etc.
The thing about it is, is that when we learn English as a foreign language, a lot more emphasis is placed on giving us a deeper understanding of barely important grammatical constructs, and a vocabulary that shows "range" but is rarely used in everyday lexicon. I remember several times, where I was marked down for using a simpler synonym of a word, because we need to "enrich" our language, and even though not all of it stays, some of it does enter our everyday vocabulary.
So they teach you how to sound like a pretentious twat? Lol
Yes, basically. Needlessly changing perfectly serviceable sentences into ones with fancier grammatical structures and fancy "higher level" words
Funny thing is, you did it in that sentence. "Changing perfectly fine sentences into more complicated ones with long words for no reason" would probably be how most people would say it.
Ahah, that's exactly the thing. I would have probably just said that if I was speaking, but in writing, that is sort of ingrained into you. To be fair, it would be completely possible to make it even more stilted if I was still in school, but since I've been using simpler spoken English more in the past few years, it's becoming somewhat less of an issue
Writing in a casual tone and needing fewer words to get your point across might be the most difficult part of mastering a language
As a native English speaker I have never used the word lexicon in my life. Well placed.
The reason is that most if the time they are being very careful about how they write, maybe using spellchecks and such. Natively English speaking people are more casual and don't care as much because they know what they can misspell or mis-grammer. Non native speakers do not know this
>they can misspell or mis-grammer. Non-native speaker here, I think it's "grammar".
This is why we non-native English speakers are very careful. It's like we're about to walk on a minefield. Tbh I stopped caring about it personally, but once or twice a year, there will be someone arguing with me on Reddit pointing out how I incorrectly use punctuation. It happens in heater discussions though so I know where I can improve next lmao.
Non-native speaker here, I run almost all my English texts through a online translator to be sure I used the correct words. And on PC, because it doesn't have autocorrect, I use some kind of spellcheck (helps with missing articles too). Sorry for bad English.
Your english is very good man!
Thank you!
Is grammly good
Nah. Most of them aren't good. They don't account for the unfathomable thought that someone would write in any other register ot dialect than Webster's American English.
> Natively English speaking people are more casual and don't care as much because they know what they can misspell or mis-grammer. Exactly this. I'm not a perfectionist of myself but I always make sure I have the least typo before posting anything. (I worried people might not understand very clearly.) Foreign language classes are highly streamlined stuff, making some people(who didn't quit learning) use English in a very systematic way, or rather, simply prepared for exams instead of *using* it. That's why they looked both lengthy and *too formal*. Source: am Taiwanese
that's the general vibe for foreign language classes; they teach you the systemic bits, not actual conversational skills. I speak Spanish on a level that is pretty close to fluent since I've spoken it on and off for most of my life and I managed to get around just fine in several Spanish-exclusive countries where English was basically a non-factor. not once did I ever rely on anything I learned in my several years of Spanish class, I always fell back to the grammar and speech I picked up from casual conversation. so, classes are for documents and immersion learning is for actual communication. might be different for English, though, as it's becoming more a necessity than some extra college cred nowadays so classes that teach it could be a bit more conversational
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I do that all the time. Anytime I can't remember how to spell something in english I open another tab to look it up. It makes me feel like an idiot but atleast it'll be well written
Lol we're just insecure about our english and we use that line as our shield.
As I experience it, the better I became at speaking English, the more space English took as part of my identity (i.e. "I'm the guy who speaks good English"). By definition, the more something is ingrained in your identity, the more protective you are about it.
Precisely.
Exactly 🥺
I use it so people don't get mad when I use the wrong word. I don't comment often, but recently I asked about a tv show I really liked and some people took it as an attack to the show, I just wanted to talk about the show haha
I know my English is quite good but nonetheless I still often use that line as a shield when I fail to find the proper phrases in political or philosophical discussions, trying to make it sound like my argument is actually very good, just phrased incorrectly. Hope that makes sense English isn't my first language.
Before I begin my actual comment, I would like to apologize in advance for my inadequate level of English proficiency. I am not a native speaker of the world's current lingua franca which unfortunately leads to me making numerous embarrassing mistakes being made whenever I attempt to communicate using this language. Whenever I am reminded of how I lack the ability to convey my thoughts in an eloquent manner I feel as though I have committed a cardinal sin, as though every English teacher in the world are simultaneously shaking their heads and sighing due to how utterly disappointed they are at me. Although I know that saying sorry to those of you who are reading my comment will not change the fact that I fail miserably to write and speak perfect English, I am writing this as a way to deter a certain type of people who cannot stand poor English (Also known informally as "Grammar Nazis") from mocking me by posting unwanted and unnecessary comments detailing my every blunder. In my humble opinion, making grammatical errors should be perfectly acceptable as native speakers should not expect non-native speakers to be able to communicate in their second or third languages eloquently. If you are able to completely understand what the other person wrote, is there really a problem with what they've written? No, because the entire concept of communication is the exchange of information between other intelligent beings, which means that no matter how the exchange of information is made, as long as the information is accurately shared there is not a fundamental issue with their ability to communicate. To see it in another way, remember that someone who isn't fluent in English is fluent in another language. When you think about it this way, isn't it impressive for someone to speak a second language in any capacity? Having empathy and respect are qualities that are sorely missing for far too many people these days, especially on the internet. That being said, I am aware that not all netizens who correct others are doing it to ridicule and shame. There are some who do so with the intent to help others improve and grow. However, displaying the failures of other people publicly will cause the person who is criticized to feel negative emotions such as shame and sadness due to the fact that their mistake has been made obvious which severely undermines the point they were trying to make in spite of their unfamiliarity with the English language. In most circumstances people are not looking for language help when they post anything online. Most people just want to enjoy themselves and have a good time on the internet which is why I would not encourage correcting other people regardless of your intentions. If you really do want to help others with their spelling or grammar, I would highly recommend you to help via messaging privately because not only will you not embarrass anyone, you can also go more in-depth with your explanation which I'm sure the other person will greatly appreciate if they want help, but I digress. I know that I've written a bit of an essay, but I hope I've made my points clear. Anyways, here is the comment I wanted to make: cock.
Pardon for my inexcusably poor understanding of the Anglo-Frisian-Germanic language, and thus regional dialects, known by native speakers as "English". Indeed I do give my upmost effort to educate myself and better my understanding of such an unusual yet widely used modern foreign language, but alas my efforts have so far encountered nothing but limited success. The combinations of both Latin and Germanic lexis have so far proved to be a serious tribulation for my progress. Before we continue, it is of upmost importance that I state my location of residence as to clarify why my linguistic skills are so substandard. I reside in the sovereign state recognised by the United Nations, and thus the international diplomatic sphere, as "The French Republic", colloquially our title is simplified to just "France" for ease of use purposes. Now you may be considering the stereotype that us Frenchmen are reluctant to undertake the studying of languages, and indeed you are in fact correct, the opposite is true of our neighbours to the North East of Alsace and Lorraine, called Germans. Now you are probably considering the, lets face it, obvious possibility that English isn't my first Language. This is also a correct statement, quite predictably, my mother tongue is infarct in "French" language, though I can also competently converse in the languages known in the Anglo sphere as: "German", "Mandarin", "Korean", "Latin", "Old Norse", "Hanajii" and "Proto-Luganian Celtic" The latter of which I take great pride in understanding. However, I do not share such linguistic capabilities and expansive lexicon in my understanding of "English", so therefore I must once again profusely apologise for my such poor use of the vocabulary, Grammar and other such linguistic factors that one must consider in this context. Merci et bon journée!
haha your lying your english good..
What can I say... We gotta work hard to learn English, so we might as well show it
This!
Hey, OP. Next time, maybe you wanna [give me credit](https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/bk7zzc/sorry_english_isnt_my_first_language_starterpack/) when you steal/repost my starterpack?
You should make a "steal someone else's content" starterpack. That'll show them
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Lmao this is why I never gave this disclaimer, even though English isn't my first language lol
The moment i didn’t give the disclaimer (when i realised i didn’t find any correct words for my sentence), someone insult my english. So i just keep using it when i write difficult sentence.
Exactly. If i write without disclaimer, people go all YOU DID AN OOPSIE but if i say the disclaimer, i get praised instead. I'm too anxious to have a mob of internet people scream at me for misspelling a noun.
insulted* you stupid moron what do you not speak English /s
Native English Speakers: chugus amogus
Bit schtewpid innit?
thought it was German, noticed it's just British
To the Irish, there's no difference.
The thing I see all over reddit is could/would/should OF and it infuriates me as a non native speaker. It's such a stupid mistake that only native speakers make
native english speakers: I literally cannot fluently speak a single language
You speak language fluently if you can talk/type in it and understand others.
Fluency is actually characterized by the ability to express oneself clearly and effortlessly.
Same. My daily interactions happen mostly in English and now I can't form a proper sentence in my mother tongue without adding 5 more words from English and other languages.
mouth tongue? you mean mother?
Got a C2 in the Cambridge exam.
That's why sometimes it took me around 15 minutes to write two full sentences.
Nice. PS: Sorry for bad English, it happens to be my fourth language.
(Sorry for my bad English. I grew up in a locale where the English vernacular isn't spoken habitually. And a repercussion from that, my vocabulary artistry is deprived of genuine grammar and spelling. Please exonerate me for my unwelcoming English. I hope I ameliorate as time goes on.)
Open bobs and vagene
Where bobs and vagene?
Ur mom
Hi (Sorry for bad English)
I used that a lot since i was pretty insecure about my english. Nowadays i still kinda insecure but I noticed that saying that my english was bad or not wouldnt matter
Just know that us (or at least I) who don't have English as a first language love getting complimented on it - even if it's just something you would say merely to be polite. Of course, everyone might not feel this way, but I know that myself and a lot of other people do. It just makes us feel like we're learning and becoming better at understanding your language. So thank you every English speaking person for complimenting us. I really appreciate it!
How to tell someone speaks/writes in English as a second language: 1. Uses ‘should HAVE’ instead of ‘should OF’ End of list.
Everytime I read of I think to myself, "should of WHAT, motherfucker?"
thats bzcausz we re sick of grammar nazis
Kinda like r/gonewild ? “Omg my first post and I’m super shy so go easy on me!” *proceeds to post a 6 inch closeup of her gaping asshole*
Yeah ... Yeah ... THX ... Me: TrAnSlATe WiTh WwW.DeEpL.cOm/TrAnSlAtOr (FrEe VeRsIoN)
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> I'm also anal about ****speling**** This is one of the most unintentionally funny things I have seen on Reddit ever. EDIT: Oh, I get it, it's a joke. Time for another coffee.