Prevailing views about English in Our Society.

[jerry2508]

有關英文一些似是而非/似非而是的說法，你聽過哪些說法呢?


需中文翻譯請點擊：
http://blog.xuite.net/jerry25084266/playground/8177305

There are some prevailing views about the English language circulating in our society. I heard them from, say, English teachers, friends, schoolmates, etc. growing up. I was talked into them like a babe in the woods...I still hear of them every now and then.

It's very likely that we don't have standard answers to them till now.
please put down the numerals of the statements that you've heard of, or comment on any of these statements...well, for fun...for brainstorming. Let's see if we're brought up in the same culture and society.

1. An English-speaking mouth is comparitively round, while Chinese flat. :D

2. Americans speak English with a heavy nasal accent, so, you'll speak more like a native speaker if you squeeze some air into your nose and "talk through your nose". 　:wink:

3. English is spoken with diversely acceptable accents, even in English speaking countries. So, don't worry too much about your pronunciation. They'll understand you just fine.

4. Native speakers of English talk without any grammar at all. No worries. Forget about English grammar.

5. You know what, Americans pronounce [t],[b],[d],[p]...in seven or eight different ways. :o

6.Foriegners(Westerners) talk with expressive, but exaggerated facial and body gestures.

7. We just don't have speaking enviroment. Drop me in an English speaking country for a year or two, and my English will be fabulous... 8)

8. I don't know how to express myself in English. It all boils down to my small vocabulary.

9. Japanese speak very poor and funny English. They didn't understand what I was talking about when I traveled in Janpan.

10. You've got to think in English; Don't think in Chinese.

11. Go learn Japanese if you are good in Taiwanese; Go learn English if you are excelent in Mandarin.

12. Our fellow Taiwanese are annoying. They always correct your English mistakes at the drop of a hat. They don't even speak decent English themself. Ironically, almost all the foreigners don't do that.They just hear what you have to say.

13. Americans are so full of themself. They always start a sentence by saying I, I, I...

[Jenn]

This is very interesting to hear the asian point of view about English and Non-English speakers. I would also like to share some of my English learning experience base on the 13 points mentioned in this article:

1. It's very important to "Open Your Mouth" while speaking English. It doesn't matter what shape your mouth is, round or flat, open your mouth while talking can make your pronunciation better. Yes, you'll be suprised.

2. It depends which part of America they are from, not necessary all Americans have the heavy nasal accent. For example, President Bush has the Texas accent that may sound awkward to some Americans too. Just talk the way you are. Do not try to change your way of talking to be sounded like a native speaker because it can be more difficult for others to understand.

3. Most of the americans can understand non-native English speakers without any problems, even if they have really heavy accents. But, pronunciation is still very important. It's possible to have correct pronunciation with heavy accent, or incorrect pronunciation with no accent. Even if we talk with accent (no matter how good we are, Americans can still tell we are not native speakers), be very careful with some pronunciations with long or short vowels because they can have very different meaning when you pronunce incorrectly.

4. Talking without correct grammar is usual. This also happens when we talk in Chinese. Even we only throw out vocabularies during conversation, people can probably still understand. But, when writing, be very careful with the gramars.

5. I'm not sure if there are eight different ways to pronounce [t], [b], [d], [p], with sounds, air sounds, no sounds, and what else? I've heard some words, for example: "twenty", in this case the second "t" has no sound, so it will sound like "tweny" when we pronounce it. hmm...interesting...

6. Again, I guess it really depends which part of America they are from, eastern or western style. Because of the different culture background some people may also feel offended when others talk with exaggerated body language. It can be very impolite in some situations too.

7. This is very true. You can also see that in America too. Because of the high percentage of Chinese and Mexican population in California, many of immagrants cannot speak English very well after many years living in US, because they only stay with people from the same country at all time.

8. This is somehow true. Lack of vacabularies. In many situations we have hard time to find the correct words to express ourselves or we are repeating ourselves with same words over and over again. With abundant resource in our vocabulary bank, we can avoid this to happen. No matter how good our gramar is, people will still not understand if we can not give out the key words in our sentences.

9. Japanese has very heavy accent while speaking English, but we cannot blame on them for that. These two languages, English and Japanese, have very different pronunciation system. A lot of pronunciation in English cannot be found in Japanese, for example the "R" sound. Same as Americans try to pronounce Chinese words. This also happens to Manderine and Taiwanese speakers.

10. Yes. Have you ever read any novels that were poorly translated from English to Chinese? Although it's in Chinese, you can barely understand it! This is also often seen in Mainland China. In order to translate from one language to the other, we have to speak both language very well. Big "NO NO" for direct translation (translating words by words). Think in English when talk in English; think in Chinese when talk in Chinese. Why is it funny sometimes for ABC to talk in Chinese? Same reason, because they think in English while talking in Chinese (unless you are trying to be funny or you think it sounds cool, then that's a different story.)

11. The pronunciation is more similar between Japanese and Taiwanese. Not necessarily true for everybody, but if so, it's all pronunciation's fault (just kidding~)

12. Asians should learn to take others' advise. Of course, people who try to give others advise should say it in a polite and nice way but not in an arrogant cocky attitude. Americans make mistakes in English too (just like we make mistakes in Chinese), and non-native Eglish speakers may try to correct them as well. Take others opinions and do research to find out the correct answers is what Americans were taught to do since they were kids. We should all learn this positive attitude from them, and our English will definitely improve a lot faster. Don't think "you are not a native speaker either, so you are not good enough to correct me", because they may know something we don't know. Try to learn from each others.

13. It's not just about self-centered. Take it this way, when we talk to specific group of people but we try to be modest by saying, "I heard this from who...," or "That person said...," your listener might as well think, "If I want to know that person's thoughts, why don't I just go talk to him/her instead of you?" or "I ask YOU because I want to hear YOUR opinion, not what other people say about this." Therefore, Americans use "I this this...," "I that that..." a lot while talking. If you want to know Mr. White's thoughts, why don't you go talk to him?! But, try to avoid using "I..." or "You..." when writing an article or essay. As a writer, you are not just talking to a specific group of people but everybody from everywhere may read what you wrote. people, who read your essays that full of your personal opinions but don't know you in person, may feel offened by your aggresive sentences. They may also think, "Who is this person? Who does he thinks he is?!" Using "I, I, I..." can be both appropriate and inappropriate. Make sure who your listners are before deciding what words to use.