Using English on TBBS

[Defcon]

Is it strange to "speak" in English to others here on such a frequent basis?

When I first started to post in English it felt strange, but these days 90% of the things I post on the Internet is in English, so I've been getting used to it, I guess. Actually I almost posted in English on a German board one time. It wasn't until mere seconds before I would have hit the reply button that I realized what I was about to do.

Were you very fluent in it before joining TBBS, do you use it frequently in RL?

I joined TrekBBS and some other boards at roughly the same time, and no, I wasn't fluent. I even had a disclaimer in my sigs in which I apologized for my English.

To think that I review books and interview authors in English only a few years later still baffles me more than anyone else.

I use English very, very seldom in real life, so I'm sure my pronunciation sucks.

Are there ever times where it is difficult or you really wish everyone spoke a different language?

Sometimes I just can't remember the right word for something in English off the top of my head, but I guess that's what online dictionaries are for, huh?

 

[lurok]

But I am very fond of the English language, and I appreciate the opportunity to use it here: I would have never learned such an brilliant array of insults in any other place!

But there are many great Italian and Latin insults And I'm sure many would appreciate being able to use Italian language as well as you and others use English. My French is passable, but by no means bi-lingual. Unlike many Europeans, I can use numerous languages badly rather than speak one or more well

 

[creek_chub]

I suppose it's time for Prof Higgans to expound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAYUuspQ6BY&feature=related

That's not the attitude of any linguist I've ever met. Including myself.

Please tell me you're kidding, please.

Nope. Whenever I've discussed dialects with professors or peers the debate of which one is "right" or "wrong" has never come up.

 

[Jax]

Que?

 

[Gov Kodos]

That's not the attitude of any linguist I've ever met. Including myself.

Please tell me you're kidding, please.

Nope. Whenever I've discussed dialects with professors or peers the debate of which one is "right" or "wrong" has never come up.

The stereotypes people associate with languages and social classes never came up in linguistics? Or humor just escapes you?

 

[Santaman]

Just curious about those of you for whom English isn't your first language. Is it strange to "speak" in English to others here on such a frequent basis? Were you very fluent in it before joining TBBS, do you use it frequently in RL? Are there ever times where it is difficult or you really wish everyone spoke a different language?

Also please don't turn this into an American-bashing thread!

Its not strange to me to use English, I was quite fluent at it before I joined TrekBBS, I use it every week because there's an Englishman who sells stuff at a nearby market.
I never had difficulties with the language, I would like it if more people spoke Dutch

 

[Nick086]

I would love to learn Irish Gaelic or Tatar

 

[creek_chub]

Please tell me you're kidding, please.

Nope. Whenever I've discussed dialects with professors or peers the debate of which one is "right" or "wrong" has never come up.

The stereotypes people associate with languages and social classes never came up in linguistics? Or humor just escapes you?

You can discuss stereotypes and social classes and the perceptions of such without actually declaring that one dialect is more correct than another within a language.

For example, an assignment I had in a Linguistics in Literature class required us to read "Uncle Tom's Children" by Richard Wright and then analyze audio samples of southern dialects to assess how the author portrayed the dialect in written form and what may have been the author's intent based on his choices. Nowhere in this assignment were we asked to give a judgement on whether or not southern dialects were the right way to speak English or the wrong way to speak English.

In my studies and in my work I have yet to come across a situation where a linguist has made a personal judgement such as that and portrayed it as a professional opinion, and to me that's what Henry Higgins is doing. Hence why I said what I said. I apologize if my meaning was unclear. Also, if you have had this experience, then that's fine...you'll notice I never said you were wrong, just that no one I had ever come across had said anything like that.

 

[Count Zero]

I think what Gov Kodos wanted to say is that it's a musical and not supposed to be an accurate depiction of linguists and that no one would think that it is.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Nope. Whenever I've discussed dialects with professors or peers the debate of which one is "right" or "wrong" has never come up.

The stereotypes people associate with languages and social classes never came up in linguistics? Or humor just escapes you?

You can discuss stereotypes and social classes and the perceptions of such without actually declaring that one dialect is more correct than another within a language.

For example, an assignment I had in a Linguistics in Literature class required us to read "Uncle Tom's Children" by Richard Wright and then analyze audio samples of southern dialects to assess how the author portrayed the dialect in written form and what may have been the author's intent based on his choices. Nowhere in this assignment were we asked to give a judgement on whether or not southern dialects were the right way to speak English or the wrong way to speak English.

In my studies and in my work I have yet to come across a situation where a linguist has made a personal judgement such as that and portrayed it as a professional opinion, and to me that's what Henry Higgins is doing. Hence why I said what I said. I apologize if my meaning was unclear. Also, if you have had this experience, then that's fine...you'll notice I never said you were wrong, just that no one I had ever come across had said anything like that.

Humor, a difficult concept.

You do realize that the play is an argument against doing that sort of thing, yes?

 

[Jonas Grumby]

No and I'm still not fluent, obviously

Not obvious at all! I think you're being overly modest. From what I can see, your written English is flawless.

 

[scotpens]

. . . Still, it can be difficult for me sometimes, especially when I try to explain complicated stuff, or I get mixed up in my verbal tenses. I know I make a shitload of mistakes, and my sentence structure is still recognizably foreign.

Au contraire, your English grammar and syntax are generally impeccable. And you certainly have a good grasp of English curse words!

 

[iguana_tonante]

I don't think it ever felt strange, but then again, English always came naturally to me, I never had to really study for it.

Just for the sake of curiosity, I was under the impression that, under the obvious pronounce differences, grammatically German and English were quite similar (kinda like Spanish and Italian). Is it true?

There are a number of English words I really like which don't have an appealing equivalent in German, e.g. sophisticated.

I was always amused by the fact that there is no real equivalent in Italian of "self-conscious", and no equivalent in English of "disinvolto" (which translates as casual, relaxed, self-confident and uninhibited, all at the same time).

I can use a lot of nuances and concept in French that I can't express in English because I don't know the vocabulary or simply because the nuance doesn't really exist in English (a language carries the way a particular culture thinks) , so yeah, it's sometimes difficult.

Yup. That's a big part. Sometimes it's quite frustrating. Humour in particular doesn't translate very well.

I use English very, very seldom in real life, so I'm sure my pronunciation sucks.

I use English quite often in real life, and I know my pronunciation sucks. Good grief, just yesterday I had a complete mindfart, and I pronounced the name of the planet Venus as "Vay-nus". It was quite embarrassing.

 

[Count Zero]

I don't think it ever felt strange, but then again, English always came naturally to me, I never had to really study for it.

Just for the sake of curiosity, I was under the impression that, under the obvious pronounce differences, grammatically German and English were quite similar (kinda like Spanish and Italian). Is it true?

Good question. Yes and no. I would say that the structure of the languages are very similar but while some grammar and syntax rules (and also a good chunk of the vocabulary) is similar, others are different. As a rule, it should be a lot easier for Germans to learn English than to learn, say, any of the Romanic languages. I always thought it was really easy but enough of my fellow Germans struggle with the language (just try to listen to our Foreign Minister speaking English if you dare) that I have some doubts now.

 

[Gov Kodos]

I don't think it ever felt strange, but then again, English always came naturally to me, I never had to really study for it.

Just for the sake of curiosity, I was under the impression that, under the obvious pronounce differences, grammatically German and English were quite similar (kinda like Spanish and Italian). Is it true?

Good question. Yes and no. I would say that the structure of the languages are very similar but while some grammar and syntax rules (and also a good chunk of the vocabulary) is similar, others are different. As a rule, it should be a lot easier for Germans to learn English than to learn, say, any of the Romanic languages. I always thought it was really easy but enough of my fellow Germans struggle with the language (just try to listen to our Foreign Minister speaking English if you dare) that I have some doubts now.

The basics of grammar are similar and made studying German much easier for this English speaker than French. I found studying Swedish even easier than German. I've been woefully negligent keeping up with either, though. I can still read German, albeit slowly, speaking is a challenge except for simple daily life interaction.

 

[creek_chub]

You do realize that the play is an argument against doing that sort of thing, yes?

Erm, yes. I just like to argue. I swear, I'm not completely without a sense of humor, in fact, I'm sure I could come up with plenty of cunning linguist jokes if you want to hear them.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I've always been in awe of people who can speak and write in more than one language. It's something I've always wished I could do, but it's a hopeless cause (my brain just isn't wired for it--even simple algebra looks like Romulan to me...

 

[ares93]

Hmm, for me, english is no different from hungarian or swedish. And it was the third language i learned in my life. i was told i was on a university level when i was 13. Otherwise, i speak german decently. Some russian, croatioan and bosnian. I can understand arabic and syrian but cant read or write it.

But then again, one my best friends is british, as is his entire family. His half brother, who i was on incredibly good terms with was american. Ive known the family for years and i've yet to speak a word swedish with them. Even though most of then speak swedish on an daily basis. Another friend of mine is engaged to a yank. My neighbor was born and lived most of her life in australia. I could go on but you catch my drift.

Please forgive the horrid grammar, im on my cell...

 

[RJDiogenes]

My native language is Esperanto. However, I think my English is goodly.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Can we use this thread to bash posters that have no excuse for their terrible english? The ones that can't even manage to use a spell check or type something that is coherent even though english is supposedly their first and only language?

No kidding. There are more than a few posters on this board whose one and only language is English, yet who still cannot put a basic sentence together as well as many of our posters from Germany, France, the Netherlands, or Sweden. It really makes me very concerned about the current day school systems. I mean, basic punctuation should not be 'optional' in one's native language, IMO.

I was always amused by the fact that there is no real equivalent in Italian of "self-conscious", and no equivalent in English of "disinvolto" (which translates as casual, relaxed, self-confident and uninhibited, all at the same time).

While amused as well, somehow this does not surprise me in the slightest. For reasons which you are already aware of.