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Why Americans can't speak (or write in) English properly.
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Post by
Wildhorn
@Alcotraz: Didnt forget it, it is the example pelf gave :P
Post by
495174
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Aurran
I realize we're now at 3 pages of discussion, but as far as the main topic goes, it is great to know I am not the only one who feels this way. Personally, I am left feeling a tad bit OCD when someone (whether it be in WoW, school, work, anything) uses incorrect grammar, or is flat out lazy. I can understand using shorthand for writing, especially if taking notes. But if you are typing, and must type like dis cus u r so lazy, then there is something wrong. Typing is (for anyone who's been around computers a while) much faster than manually writing. There's no sense in needing to shorten things when typing, as it's already simplified enough.
/rant
Oh and the PST thing, also glad to see I'm not alone. It drives me crazy to see "LFM Random H PST Me", and just knowing they obviously never stopped to think of the meaning for PST in the first place.
/rant again
Post by
327381
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Krow
I've got a short post to add as an American.
The school system in this country is incredibly flawed, it teaches useless things and skips things that people actually need to know. Yesterday I asked my mom how to file taxes because school didn't teach me.
Basicly the American school system is here to give society a general outline of a model citizen. "This" is what you have to be to be a typical American. The reason I've chosen to drop out from the school system was due to the fact that I work my ass off for
years
for a piece of paper seemed incredibly demeaning and quiet frankly insulting.
And of course, then I realize that I cannot do anything in this country without the piece of paper so I must go back as an adult to get the friggen paper.
Off Topic: I start a program in the fall that will let me get my high school diploma and college credits at the same time =D
Post by
jefflovealex
Sorry but i call bull*!@# on britain being a single race.i'm not a racist but there has been an immigration influx of middle easterns , afro americans and european countries.
Post by
166824
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
pelf
Sorry but i call bull*!@# on britain being a single race.i'm not a racist but there has been an immigration influx of middle easterns , afro americans and european countries.
I don't think he was saying that. He was just making a comparison of degrees where the US just has more kinds of people thrown in together than most.
Post by
224056
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
RedwoodElf
Sorry but i call bull*!@# on britain being a single race.i'm not a racist but there has been an immigration influx of middle easterns , afro americans and european countries.
There's no such thing as an "afro-American" - real americans lost their hyphens ages ago, that's PC Bull. Everyone of African ancestry is NOT an American, either, as you seem to be implying.
Post by
pelf
Yeah what would they be ... African-Europeans? African-United-Kingdomian? :)
Post by
pak52b
/sigh
I don't really know what's wrong with the way
Americans
speak English - I was born and raised in the United States and believe that I have a firm grip on the language.
There is a difference between American and European English, and granted, A.E. is a bit more "relaxed" than its counterpart.
However, I think the largest difference is with the person being spoken to. At least I have noticed it here in Germany - speaking with members of the US army, for example, is not the best way to get to an intellectual conversation; nor with some 14 year old kid online in WoW.
Regarding the second post:
that Americans have changed so much of the language to suit their needs. That applies to every language I have ever heard. Swiss German is different than Austrian German, which in turn is different from German German. Don't even mention local dialects... (If languages weren't meant to adapt, we would still be speaking "ye olde English"... )
About the "laziness aspect": I really wouldn't call it lazy, but more situational. I think Americans are indeed more casual in the way they speak English. However, in a working environment (referring to typical office and upwards type jobs, not working at a gas station or burger joint ;-) ) using formal English is not that uncommon.
Personally, I like the German language more because of its precision, but that is another story.
To sum things up, I don't agree with associating a persons language skills with his nationality.
Post by
Wanderingfox
You know, I've been thinking, and I think the best way to combat this whole laziness in regards to the language may just be to embrace it. Japanese, for example, does an excellent job of making a language efficient with structured and logical omissions of words.
To elaborate:
The sentence "I speak a little Japanese." is written as "watashiwa nihongoga sukoshi hanasemasu." However, if it is just you and me speaking and you just asked me if I speak another language then the sentence can be shortened to just "nihongoga sukoshi hanasemasu." because the fact that I'm responding to you implies that I'm referring to myself.
This trend continues deeper as well. If the conversation had also previously been about the Japanese language then it would be shortened to just "sukoshi hanasemasu." and if we had been talking about speaking Japanese specifically it gets shortened to just "sukoshi".
Granted, this happens in English as well, but not nearly to this extent. The specific example above happens in the form of "Do you speak Japanese?" "A little." and we have articles to carry over subjects, but in Japanese you can have a perfectly correct sentence containing nothing but a single verb.
Post by
pak52b
I think lazyness may also be confused with efficiency... ;-) Sentences, or even single words, don't have to be complete to convey their points.
Post by
495174
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
windstrum
Like anything else in the US educational system, we're taught that we should learn things and retain them just long enough to be tested and then forget them. Once you reach the real world, nobody seems to be penalized or finger-wagged for bad composition either.
Sounds like Australia too I'm afraid. The parts of our school system have different names, but they're all the same thing: Get taught only what is on the exam, study the night before an exam until your eyes bleed, hold the information just long enough to sit the exam, then forget everything you'd read.
Edit: Spelling, of all things. :)
Post by
pak52b
Sounds like Australia too I'm afraid. The parts of our school system have different names, but they're all the same thing: Get taught only what is on the exam, study the night before an exam until your eyes bleed, hold the information just long enough to sit the exam, then forget everything you'd read. Yeah, well, I personally think that that is not neccessarily the system's fault - you're not going to be able to force anyone to learn anything if they don't want to.
Perhaps the systems don't motivate people to learn, but if the person doesn't do it for himself, and his future life, then it's kind of his own fault.
On the other hand, not everything you learn is needed... ;-)
Post by
495174
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
pak52b
Well, regarding that, I had an economics course during my high school days, and they covered filing taxes (albeit rather briefly... ).
Many schools also teach practical skills (the basics of using a computer, etc. ), and don't limit their curriculum towards mathematics, science, and so on. (In Germany, It's common to learn basic things like cooking and woodworking, or whatnot in a normal, non vocational school) (For the record, I have an American high school diploma, not a German one)
IMHO, people need to know what to expect, and not to blame the system for their level of intelligence or credentials if they are the ones not putting any effort into it.
Post by
495174
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
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