# Why do Americans use English so poorly?



## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Now this idea popped into mind in large part because I live next door to a family of rednecks. (I'm not using the term offensively; it's just a fact. And yes you might be a redneck if you have a portable meat smoker parked in your driveway 24/7 and or you think wearing a camo hunting jacket during the summer midday sun is "cool" or the like) 

But yeah the kids of this family, besides being racist little pricks (My first day back instead of being greeted by: "Hello, neighbor." It was more akin to "CHING CHONG YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?") seem to have failed out of Elementary school grammar. 

Which of course irks me a little. Why? Because I keep meeting people from around the world (Especially on this forum). English definitely wasn't their first language. And yet their mastery of it makes individuals who are native to this country look bad. 

I will make note that having lived in more than one State (Bounced between Alabama and Florida a bit as a child) and having experienced both private and public schools; there is a quite a difference between education levels within each area. Nonetheless why is it that Americans can't even do a half-decent job on their own language while Europeans/Asians/Austalians can master 2 to 5 different languages seemingly flawlessly? (My Serbian International Relations professor could speak in 7 different languages...)


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## Schwimmwagen (Apr 19, 2012)

I have a feeling a real can of worms has been opened here.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Gibby said:


> I have a feeling a real can of worms has been opened here.



Well it's not like I'm saying American's are not intelligent. I'm just saying that people from other countries use the English language better.


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## Kangamutt (Apr 19, 2012)

You're in the deep south, Fen. Of course nobody's going to speak English there. :V


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## Ansitru (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari: You'll find that any native speaker, when given the opportunity, can and will butcher their mother tongue. 
It's a shame, really.


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## greg-the-fox (Apr 19, 2012)

Ignorance is our nation's most cherished resource :V


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## Yago (Apr 19, 2012)

One's grammar is better for a second language rather than his/her first. This is most often the case in my experience. My Spanish teacher's English grammar is god awful, but her Spanish is amazing. Same with a few other professors I've noted.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Kangaroo_Boy said:


> You're in the deep south, Fen. Of course nobody's going to speak English there. :V



But that's the thing Florida can't be considered the Deep South. Especially the First Coast area. This is where all the rich white Northerners (and associated better education) come to die. 



Ansitru said:


> Fenrari: You'll find that any native speaker, when given the opportunity, can and will butcher their mother tongue.
> It's a shame, really.



I'm not talking about dialectal differences, differences in word spelling and usage. Instead I'm focusing on how America is the worlds best known cultural melting pot, yet it's hard for me to find people who are competent in a single language (the universally accepted core language of the US).



greg-the-fox said:


> Ignorance is our nation's most cherished resource :V



Ignorance in what sense?


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## Dreaming (Apr 19, 2012)

Weird, most of the Americans I've spoken to had good grammar. Apart from the odd Americanisms, there were no problems with their English at all. To be honest, out of all the bad grammar using people I've met, the majority of them were British.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Dreaming said:


> Weird, most of the Americans I've spoken to had good grammar. Apart from the odd Americanisms, there were no problems with their English at all. To be honest, out of all the bad grammar using people I've met, the majority of them were British.



May I ask where you live?


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## sunshyne (Apr 19, 2012)

Poor public education? Yeah, basically that.


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## Kaspar Avaan (Apr 19, 2012)

I think it's because non-native speakers have a motivation most natives (especially those in the USA) haven't: many people who chose to learn language in their adult lives learn for their career and for the opportunity to either move to or do business with the US; people in the US don't need to learn another language to do business because of the prevalence of English as a second language globally. Another possible reason is that native speakers appear to be overly critical of non-native speakers' grammar, and that can make non-native speakers want to perfect their grammar so they aren't mocked or called out for mistakes that would be acceptable for a native speaker.

It's why I'm against the idea that 'Americans are bad at learning languages', because they aren't: it's that many never leave their own state and have no motivation and goal for which they should learn a language. Many who become fluent in another language have either been exposed to that culture from a young age (possibly by travelling or living close to native speakers), or have an interest in that culture. If your brain has no reason to learn another language, it just won't take in the information. The brain is happy to throw out anything that it deems unimportant, which is why immersion is important.

I'm guessing as well that it has a lot to do with specialist literature, too: native speakers rarely pick up grammar books for their own language because they don't consider they may learn something from it. You can guarantee that non-native speakers who have a high level of fluency will, at one point, have read a book or resource that has grammar drills and grammar guides.


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## greg-the-fox (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> Ignorance in what sense?



Ignorance for the sake of ignorance. Pride in being uneducated and 'hard working' (i.e. so stupid that they are only capable of manual labor) Anyone with half a brain to these people is an 'elitist liberal' who has been 'indoctrinated' by the 'liberal universities' and wants to 'take away their rights'

They can't cope with their own stupidity so they resort to concealed jealousy and petty circle jerking. It's a national pastime. Also guns.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

greg-the-fox said:


> Ignorance for the sake of ignorance. Pride in being uneducated and 'hard working' (i.e. so stupid that they are only capable of manual labor) Anyone with half a brain to these people is an 'elitist liberal' who has been 'indoctrinated' by the 'liberal universities' and wants to 'take away their rights'
> 
> They can't cope with their own stupidity so they resort to concealed jealousy and petty circle jerking. It's a national pastime. Also guns.



You sound like you're describing the "DEY TOK OUR JERBS!!!!" people from South Park. No?


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## Kangamutt (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> But that's the thing Florida can't be considered the Deep South. Especially the First Coast area. This is where all the rich white Northerners (and associated better education) come to die.



Regardless of what migrants and carpetbaggers move down there, you're still well below the Mason-Dixon line, which means speech is more and more incomprehensible as far as the native population is concerned. :V

ADD:


Dreaming said:


> Weird, most of the Americans I've spoken to had  good grammar. Apart from the odd Americanisms, there were no problems  with their English at all. To be honest, out of all the bad grammar  using people I've met, the majority of them were British.


I've had a lot of Brits tell me this. Then I helped a guest at my work who was from the UK. Almost completely incomprehensible. Way too fast, and nothing was enunciated. Turned out he was looking for a restroom.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Kangaroo_Boy said:


> Regardless of what migrants and carpetbaggers move down there, you're still well below the Mason-Dixon line, which means speech is more and more incomprehensible as far as the native population is concerned. :V



You've obviously never met someone from the Minnesota/Great Lakes area... Or backwoods Pennsylvania.


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## Unsilenced (Apr 19, 2012)

[yt]EAYUuspQ6BY[/yt]

Relevant, if no-one has posted it yet.


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## Kangamutt (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> You've obviously never met someone from the Minnesota/Great Lakes area... Or backwoods Pennsylvania.



Ok yeah those regions are bad too. Frankly, the further from a coast you are here, the worst it is it seems.


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## CaptainCool (Apr 19, 2012)

its weird, for some weird reason america do everything half assed. not even their own language is being spared


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## greg-the-fox (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> You sound like you're describing the "DEY TOK OUR JERBS!!!!" people from South Park. No?



Pretty much. But a large portion of the population is really like that. It's who the republican candidates are pandering to.


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## Thatch (Apr 19, 2012)

Ok, leaving stupid rednecks completely on the side - you're comparing individuals to the many. Of course you'll find many foreigners on this forum for whom english is a second language and yet we speak it without flaw - we're the only foreigners who both CAN and WANT to post a lot and for prolonged periods of time. Unlike natives who speak sup-par english and simply don't have a choice, foreigners who are not perfectly fluent in english will keep to sites in their own language, because it'll be easier for them. But just because for me english is just as natural as polish, doesn't mean all, or even a majority, of poles will be fluent. Sure it's popular, but most won't be able to get past the "struggling to form basic sentences" phase. And that's because I learned it for YEARS.  We're individuals, and you're comparing us to masses, so naturally we'll come off better. 
And it's not like your school teach you english. If you recall, you were able to speak before you went to school. You learned to speak from the adults around you, in a CASUAL enviroment. And even if they DO know perfect, classical english, they sure as hell don't use it at home, only sitcom people talk like that. So what you pick up sloppy, day-to-day speach, build in a large part on idioms. So the worse the adults are at english, the worse their kids will be. And they have it double hard to learn "correct" english, because they have not only to learn it, but UNlearn what they already know.
On the other hand, I (and other foreigners) wasn't subjected to this homely, careless way of talking. We were tought to use semantically,  grammatically, and ortographically correct english from the very start (altough I had really great teachers who also tought us a lot about idioms and casual speach, but only AFTER we were fluent in the classical base). So naturally our speech and writing will be more "correct". So you cannot compare people like me to neither YOUR compatriots nor OURS. We have the advantage of (sometimes) individual skill and (more often) far better education in that matter.


Having said that, some people ARE just retards :V


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## greg-the-fox (Apr 19, 2012)

CaptainCool said:


> *I*t*'*s weird, for some weird reason *A*merica*ns* do everything half*-*assed. *N*ot even their own language is being spared



Can't tell if pot calling kettle black, or intentional irony/trolling :V
(I noticed you're from Germany though and probably ASL so just messing with you)


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## Aetius (Apr 19, 2012)

This thread has too many generalizations for my liking.


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## Fay V (Apr 19, 2012)

Unsilenced said:


> [yt]EAYUuspQ6BY[/yt]
> 
> Relevant, if no-one has posted it yet.



Dammit that is the first damn thing I thought of and you beat me to it you glorious bastard. 

OP- first of all, you have a confirmation bias. When comparing natives to people in other countries you are comparing them with those that had the education and motivation to come over to the states, that's a big deal. If you look at the red neck population in any country you'll get the same abuse of the language. 
You have a benefit with your native tongue where the meaning is intuitive. People that are learning English as a second language are more technically correct in their usage because casual speech is so much harder to understand. In the same way that I can only speak extremely formal french, or basic casual phrases.
ESL speakers are forced to learn every tiny rule, every exception to understand, where as a native speaker intuitively picks it up and thus slouches on the rules a bit.


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## Metalmeerkat (Apr 19, 2012)

That's cause we speak American here. We will NOT be contim... conanim... condiman... uh, dirtied with your elitist european languages! :x
(also, antecedents don't prove anything. 300 million americans, that requires some actual analysis to say anything)


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## Grimfang (Apr 19, 2012)

Native speakers of a language are much more likely to speak improperly. It's not only in the US that this occurs.

When learning a second language, you learn the language according to its rules, rather than growing up with colloquialisms and dialects. You might even speak the second language better than your own mother tongue eventually if you go on to progress that far. It seems kind of backwards, but it makes sense when you think about it.

On the note about how seemingly everyone learns up to five languages flawlessly... that's simply not true. A lot of people around the world learn multiple languages, but many people aren't conversational in multiple languages. It seems everyone "learns" English, for example, but many don't really use it in speech.

Another problem with Americans learning other languages: How the hell are they supposed to use them? It's fun to joke about the linguistics of Americans and all, but be realistic about it. In Germany, for example, you can learn other languages that might be used in the country, or maybe just ~200 miles away in any direction. While people from all over the world live in the US, there isn't much opportunity for people to experience, appreciate, nor practice a second language.


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## Gryphoneer (Apr 19, 2012)

Rednecks speak English?


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## CaptainCool (Apr 19, 2012)

greg-the-fox said:


> Can't tell if pot calling kettle black, or intentional irony/trolling :V
> (I noticed you're from Germany though and probably ASL so just messing with you)



yes, im german. and tired. and i dont care enough. so obviously my english is kind of shit today^^
you are right though, i did miss the "ns" in americans and i wasnt sure about the "being". my english isnt perfect but its good enough to talk to people here without soundling like an utter fool


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## Roose Hurro (Apr 19, 2012)

greg-the-fox said:


> *Ignorance for the sake of ignorance.* Pride in being uneducated and 'hard working' (i.e. so stupid that they are only capable of manual labor) Anyone with half a brain to these people is an 'elitist liberal' who has been 'indoctrinated' by the 'liberal universities' and wants to 'take away their rights'
> 
> They can't cope with their own stupidity so they resort to concealed jealousy and petty circle jerking. It's a national pastime. Also guns.



I find it funny that you start off with the bolded line, then go about and prove yourself ignorant by associating ignorance with those who support their rights and own guns.  It is possible to be well-educated, smart, and a supporter of people's rights... which includes the right to keep and bear arms.  All without jealousy or petty circle jerking.


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## greg-the-fox (Apr 19, 2012)

Roose Hurro said:


> I find it funny that you start off with the bolded line, then go about and prove yourself ignorant by associating ignorance with those who support their rights and own guns.  It is possible to be well-educated, smart, and a supporter of people's rights... which includes the right to keep and bear arms.  All without jealousy or petty circle jerking.



You can be a gun owner and not be a redneck. But you CAN'T be a redneck and not be obsessed with guns :V It's mandatory.
And of course you'd want to start an argument over that, wouldn't you? It was a low blow, I admit. This thread is bringing out my trolling urges, big time.


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## Thatch (Apr 19, 2012)

CaptainCool said:


> yes, im german. and tired. and i dont care enough. so obviously my english is kind of shit today^^
> you are right though, i did miss the "ns" in americans and i wasnt sure about the "being". my english isnt perfect but its good enough to talk to people here without soundling like an utter fool



You obviously don't care about capital letters either :V



Roose Hurro said:


> I find it funny that you start off with the bolded line, then go about and prove yourself ignorant by associating ignorance with those who support their rights and own guns.  It is possible to be well-educated, smart, and a supporter of people's rights... which includes the right to keep and bear arms.  All without jealousy or petty circle jerking.



He was joking. It wasn't supposed to be a 100% logically airtight statement. So leave your guns out on the porch, this is about something completely different.


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## Mxpklx (Apr 19, 2012)

Thatch said:


> You obviously don't care about capital letters either :V


If you spoke German, you'd understand how strange our language is with it's capital letters.


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## greg-the-fox (Apr 19, 2012)

Mxpklx said:


> If you spoke German, you'd understand how strange our language is with it's capital letters.



I thought everything was in capital letters, at least that's how I hear it in my head :V


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Hm... That's interesting. For a second there I got the "You don't have permission to reply to this thread." note which usually means the threads been closed/locked/deleted.

Anyway back on topic.

I admit a bias in my approach. (And I should note that I can't really be considered an ESL student since I moved here when I was 5 and started kindergarten in an American school). This topic is as much because I'm irked by the fact that my neighbors are rednecks (argue with me about the subject if you like but I stand that they are). And I will note that having tried learning 4 different languages to varying levels of success (Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Italian); that there is undoubtedly the fact remaining that individuals speaking in other languages will follow inherent "book learning" stratagems.


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## Catilda Lily (Apr 19, 2012)

Because every American ever born and that has english as their first language butchers it right?


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## Captain Howdy (Apr 19, 2012)

English is also one of the most retarded languages.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

catilda lily said:


> Because every American ever born and that has english as their first language butchers it right?



I went to a public school in Alabama for 8th grade. One located in a bad neighborhood. And while not EVERONE seems to try to do a poor job with the language, my experience there has changed my belief that people give a damn about using their native language in a positive fashion.



Lastdirewolf said:


> English is also one of the most retarded languages.



You've obviously never tried learning to read and write Chinese.


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## Thatch (Apr 19, 2012)

Mxpklx said:


> If you spoke German, you'd understand how strange our language is with it's capital letters.



I learned german. It has too many, not too few. So unless you mean that a person has a specified quota of capital letters they can and he simply used up his for speaking german, then this really isn't an excuse.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (Apr 19, 2012)

I'm an American, I don't have to good English speak.


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## Catilda Lily (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> I went to a public school in Alabama for 8th grade. One located in a bad neighborhood. And while not EVERONE seems to try to do a poor job with the language, my experience there has changed my belief that people give a damn about using their native language in a positive fashion.



I have to admit that when I was in school I didn't really care how I wrote. After graduating though I looked back through some of my papers and realised I looked like a moron, so now I try to do things right.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

ShÃ nwÃ ng said:


> I'm an American, I don't have to good English speak.



I think I should make the distinction that I think you're capable of it at least...


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## Bliss (Apr 19, 2012)

Why, of all things Americans took from the British, could not language have been one of them? :V


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## Xenke (Apr 19, 2012)

Lizzie said:


> Why, of all things Americans took from the British, could not language have been one of them? :V



If only France had been the conqueror of the new world, mais non.


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## Thatch (Apr 19, 2012)

Xenke said:


> If only France had been the conqueror of the new world, mais non.



You would want to have a WHOLE CONTINENT of FRENCH people?

Madness.


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## Bliss (Apr 19, 2012)

Xenke said:


> If only France had been the conqueror of the new world, mais non.


Then they got reeeaaally jealous and helped to overthrow the Crown.


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## Xenke (Apr 19, 2012)

Thatch said:


> You would want to have a WHOLE CONTINENT of FRENCH people?
> 
> Madness.



Think of the Arts!

AMERICA, PINNACLE OF CULTURE.


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## Aleu (Apr 19, 2012)

Xenke said:


> If only France had been the conqueror of the new world, mais non.



United States of Canada :'3


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## Aetius (Apr 19, 2012)

Aleu said:


> United States of other Canada :'3



Fix'd :v


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Aleu said:


> United States of Canada :'3



But then we'd all look like this http://theoneleggedpigeon.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/canadians1.jpg


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## Roose Hurro (Apr 19, 2012)

greg-the-fox said:


> You can be a gun owner and not be a redneck. But you CAN'T be a redneck and not be obsessed with guns :V It's mandatory.
> *And of course you'd want to start an argument over that, wouldn't you?* It was a low blow, I admit. This thread is bringing out my trolling urges, big time.



Nope, no argument.  There is not argument when someone makes a generalization.  There is only a correction.  So, next time you have trolling urges, take a deep breath, back slowly away from the computer, and go get yourself a soothing cup of tea.




Thatch said:


> *He was joking.* It wasn't supposed to be a 100% logically airtight statement. So leave your guns out on the porch, this is about something completely different.



I hope he still has a day job.  It wasn't all that funny.




Fenrari said:


> I admit a bias in my approach. (And I should note that I can't really be considered an ESL student since I moved here when I was 5 and started kindergarten in an American school). This topic is as much because I'm irked by the fact that my neighbors are rednecks (argue with me about the subject if you like but I stand that they are). And I will note that having tried learning 4 different languages to varying levels of success (Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Italian); that there is undoubtedly the fact remaining that *individuals speaking in other languages will follow inherent "book learning" stratagems*.



That's a reasonable assumption to make.


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## Kaizy (Apr 19, 2012)

Maybe youre English is just terrible

But who cares, there just words


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## Thatch (Apr 19, 2012)

Roose Hurro said:


> I hope he still has a day job.  It wasn't all that funny.



It's wasn't supposed to be HA-HA slapstic funny because he was mocking a stereotype.


And why the hell do I even have to explain this to you? You always had a problem with this stuff, but damn, it's is a new level.


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## Leadbelly (Apr 19, 2012)

Speaking as an American, I am offended by this.

Speaking as who I actually am though, Americans use English no better or worse than other anglophone countries. You'll find the same questions being asked by the English about Northerners and Scousers.


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## greg-the-fox (Apr 19, 2012)

Kaizy said:


> Maybe *youre* English is just terrible
> 
> But who cares, *there* just words



Boy, you better be trolling with those words :T
If so, well played


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## Kaizy (Apr 19, 2012)

greg-the-fox said:


> Boy, you better be trolling with those words :T


Do I look retarded?


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

greg-the-fox said:


> Boy, you better be trolling with those words :T
> If so, well played



I had an aggressive eye twitch when I saw it too :/


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## Kaizy (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> I had an aggressive eye twitch when I saw it too :/


Success


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## Bipolar Bear (Apr 19, 2012)

If you can understand what they're saying, then they're doing it right.


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Kaizy said:


> Do I look retarded?



Your avatar is a unicorn with a pink tube top. Yes. I can only assume you are.


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## Kaizy (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> Your avatar is a unicorn with a pink tube top. Yes. I can only assume you are.


Because I am clearly a unicorn with a pink tube top


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## Fenrari (Apr 19, 2012)

Kaizy said:


> Because I am clearly a unicorn with a pink tube top



Well you list yourself as an emotional mess and from my personal interactions with you in the past I know to be so.


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## Kaizy (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> Well you list yourself as an emotional mess and from my personal interactions with you in the past I know to be so.


We had personal interactions?


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## Ariosto (Apr 19, 2012)

Foxecality said:


> If you can understand what they're saying, then they're doing it right.


Basically.

Nowadays, some linguists stand by every form of speech being valid as long as it allows for effective communication between speakers, meaning they have the share a common code of signs. Of course, Academic and Proffesional writing go for the canonical and registered forms because they're the most prestigious and hence widely researched, doccumented, and easily consulted, though not necessarily the most diffunded among speakers.


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## Vaelarsa (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> you might be a redneck if you have a portable meat smoker parked in your driveway 24/7 and or you think wearing a camo hunting jacket during the summer midday sun is "cool" or the like)


Of all the redneck stereotypes, I don't really get this one?
And I grew up in West Virginia.



> why is it that Americans can't even do a half-decent job on their own language


Because you're talking about regions in the south.
It's like going to the ghetto and being surprised when you encounter food stamps and drug deals.


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## Roose Hurro (Apr 19, 2012)

Thatch said:


> It's wasn't supposed to be HA-HA slapstic funny *because he was mocking a stereotype*.
> 
> Indeed, and, as we all know, mocking isn't funny.
> 
> ...


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## Kahoku (Apr 19, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> Well it's not like I'm saying American's are not intelligent. I'm just saying that people from other countries use the English language better.



I don't use it properly half the time because I grew up on slang language. It really depends on where you grow up, and your parents. I have to admit this country is far behind in education, and making ignorance popular.


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## Bliss (Apr 19, 2012)

English? What a stupid noise!


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## Aetius (Apr 19, 2012)

Lizzie said:


> English? What a stupid noise!



How dare you insult the language of Her Majesty! >:V


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## apsis (Apr 19, 2012)

I could care less how Americans use English.


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## Verin Asper (Apr 20, 2012)

wasnt it one time pointed out we do it on purpose to piss off the english, and also we adapt words from other languages to our owned. I mean thats why theres english and american


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## Mayfurr (Apr 20, 2012)

Verin Asper said:


> wasnt it one time pointed out we do it on purpose to piss off the english, and also we adapt words from other languages to our owned. I mean thats why theres english and american



Not only that, Americans bugger up the meaning of perfectly normal English words for inexplicable reasons - for example, when someone "tables a motion" in a meeting:



> *In the United Kingdom and the rest of the English-speaking world outside the United States*, to table means to move to place [the topic] upon the table (or to move to place on the table): a proposal to begin consideration (or reconsideration) of a proposal.
> 
> *In the United States*, to table usually means the to lay [the topic] on the table or to move for postponement of consideration; a proposal to suspend consideration of a pending motion


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## Kitutal (Apr 20, 2012)

English people use their own language badly too, it's not just you. Apparently Germans speak much better english than us, because of the way their language forces them into particular rules and they don't understand the way that ours doesn't so much, so everything is so exact and precise. Then again, the way some foreign people talk, or type at least, getting a few words in the wrong place, slight mistakes, I actually find that cute, I would rather real english was like that, I might have to start copying them and hope it catches on.


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## Leadbelly (Apr 20, 2012)

Mayfurr said:


> Not only that, Americans bugger up the meaning of perfectly normal English words for inexplicable reasons - for example, when someone "tables a motion" in a meeting:



As far as I know the Irish use the American variant of that phrase. One Americanism I can't understand is using 'I could care less' to mean the exact opposite of its intent.


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## Thatch (Apr 20, 2012)

Roose Hurro said:


> Indeed, and, as we all know, mocking isn't funny.



I happen to know that, exactly the reason for why you pointing it out showed that you didn't get what was said.



Roose Hurro said:


> Nice demo, very relevant for this topic.  Oh, and if you read my response above, you'll see I have no trouble whatsoever.  That, and I never asked for an explaination.  In fact, YOU were the one who said he was joking... not MOCKING, but joking.



Yes, a typo from a person who doesn't show signs of having problems with grammar is very relevant to the topic of people who suck at english.
And mocking is a type of joke, just a malicious one. It SHOULD have been quite obvious, not requireing any further input neither from you nor me. And no, you never asked for an explanation - you just plunged right into a battle about gun rights, because you took it 100% at face value. So no, obviously you don't have a problem. Or a history of this kind of thing. :V


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## Metalmeerkat (Apr 20, 2012)

I would like to point out that as bad as Americans have mangled English's English, it's nowhere as bad as thee Anglo-Saxons fudging up their east Germanic roots.


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## JArt. (Apr 20, 2012)

When you learn a new language, you're not even sure what you're really saying and how it should be, so you follow all the rules hoping you don't mess it up.
If it's you first language you know exactly what you're doing, so you don't care as much.


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## Fenrari (Apr 20, 2012)

JArt. said:


> When you learn a new language, you're not even sure what you're really saying and how it should be, so you follow all the rules hoping you don't mess it up.
> If it's you first language you know exactly what you're doing, so you don't care as much.



I know this applies to some people; but it often doesn't apply to everyone. While taking classes for the 4 different languages that I worked with; I often noted individuals who seemingly purposefully fucked up the foreign langauge for their own benefit :/


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## Digitalpotato (Apr 20, 2012)

bcuz we made twitterese & spk that. kthx.


Nah nah nah. Honestly there's no reason to be language purists here.


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## Grimfang (Apr 20, 2012)

The way I've learned to use English -- very casually. When it comes to school or work, be proper. Otherwise, stupid words start polluting my sentences. Like.. man.. dude.. all the bad language..
Grew up on the edge of the south, and I used to hate the bad language and accent. I honestly miss the casual and friendly exchanges with people I don't even know.



Verin Asper said:


> wasnt it one time pointed out we do it on purpose to piss off the english, and also we adapt words from other languages to our owned. I mean thats why theres english and american



I've read that the English accent was a newer development, and that Americans (or some) actually speak closer to what the language was long ago. I just don't know how the hell that could be verified.
Now I want to look that up again, and find out exactly how that claim can be supported.


And man, just returning to FAF after so long, it's somehow heart-warming to see Thatch and Roose like this. I'm glad we're all okay (except for the dead that I've already forgotten).


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## Lunar (Apr 20, 2012)

Because this is 'MERRICA, and in 'MERRICA, we speak 'MERRICAN. 

'MERRICA.


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## Kitutal (Apr 20, 2012)

Having used english for the last 21 years, I've gotten very comfortable with it and often twist or manipulate it any way I want, but that's nothing like the same as the sort of bad grammar and spelling and mispronouncing and everything that you get from some people, seems like they just can't care.


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## Ariosto (Apr 20, 2012)

Digitalpotato said:


> Nah nah nah. Honestly there's no reason to be language purists here.



Pretty much, only in contexts where it's preferable by social convention should it become mandatory. I speak spanish "correctly" in comparison to many of my peers, but that just means my use is closer to the standarized forms, and even then I insert my own variations and patterns because I'm aware of a certain set of rules that govern my language and twist or employ them to my convinience and liking. This means that, essentially, a variant is a variant, the way the speakers adopt those rules in their context, and, in practice, none is more valid than the other. That there are Academies and Dictionaries is a different matter, though they're necessary for establishing a common ground of communication in certain contexts. I'm refering, of course, to native speakers.


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## Digitalpotato (Apr 20, 2012)

Grimfang said:


> I've read that the English accent was a newer development, and that Americans (or some) actually speak closer to what the language was long ago. I just don't know how the hell that could be verified.



I've heard the same thing about Quebec french too. 

Not so much latin spanish, that's more Spanglish and Nahuatl.


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## Ariosto (Apr 20, 2012)

Digitalpotato said:


> Not so much latin spanish, that's more Spanglish and Nahuatl.



What do you mean? 
The pronunciation that characterizes the so called "latin spanish" actually comes from AndalucÃ­a, also from where most Spaniards migrated to America during the Colonization, and it was generally viewed as "inferior" to the spanish from Toledo, which closer to modern pronunciation in Spain. That is, if memory doesn't fail me. As for the lexic, it comes from latin, greek, french, english (in modern times particularly), arabic, hebrew, african languages and, of course, indigenous languages.


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## Sarcastic Coffeecup (Apr 20, 2012)

Ansitru said:


> Fenrari: You'll find that any native speaker, when given the opportunity, can and will butcher their mother tongue.
> It's a shame, really.


Idk if it's a shame. Most people don't butcher the mother tongue, but pick a dialect. I did so. Language by-the-books is boring. People just wanna be more personal


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## Ad Hoc (Apr 20, 2012)

Native speakers can break the rules of their language and still be confident that they'll be understood. They also learn it by growing up in it instead of learning the specific rules, etc., stuff that's already been said.

In the end, as long they are able to communicate effectively, the necessary result has been achieved. It's all good.


Even the "best" English speakers tend to have wonked-up grammar if you actually take the time to write it down and try to punctuate it, though. You learn that pretty quick in court reporting--we actually have a modified set of punctuation rules because so much of the spoken word is just about impossible to punctuate traditionally. Folks don't notice it when they're talking or listening because strict grammar rules are a lot less important than one might imagine. I dropped all pretenses of being a grammar "Nazi" (outside of transcript work) after learning this. As long as it's understandable, it's all good.


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## Bliss (Apr 20, 2012)

Sarcastic Coffeecup said:


> Idk if it's a shame. Most people don't butcher the mother tongue, but pick a dialect. I did so. Language by-the-books is boring. People just wanna be more personal


Finnish cannot be butchered. It simply translates to Estonian. :V


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## Roose Hurro (Apr 20, 2012)

Thatch said:


> *I happen to know* that, exactly the reason for why you pointing it out showed that you didn't get what was said.



Oh, you do, do you?   :V




Thatch said:


> Yes, a typo from a person who doesn't show signs of having problems with grammar is very relevant to the topic of people who suck at english.
> *And mocking is a type of joke*, just a malicious one. It SHOULD have been quite obvious, not requireing any further input neither from you nor me. And no, you never asked for an explanation - you just plunged right into a battle about gun rights, because you took it 100% at face value. So no, obviously you don't have a problem. Or a history of this kind of thing. :V



I disagree:



> mock (mk)
> v. mocked, mockÂ·ing, mocks
> v.tr.
> 1. To treat with ridicule or contempt; deride.
> ...



Funny how you're the only one making an issue out of my comment.




Grimfang said:


> And man, just returning to FAF after so long, *it's somehow heart-warming to see Thatch and Roose like this*. I'm glad we're all okay (except for the dead that I've already forgotten).



Hey, wouldn't be fun for me if I didn't have a challenge or two... glad to see you back, Grim.




Lunar said:


> Because this is *'MERRICA*, and in *'MERRICA*, we speak *'MERRICAN*. *
> 
> 'MERRICA*.



Heh:



> â€¢"Listening to a well-known Hollywood radio commentator some time back, I heard her say that she had just returned from a _Yerpeen_ trip, and had had a lovely time _nittly_. I at once recognized her as an accomplished *Slurvian* linguist and, being a student of Slurvian, readily understood that she had just returned from a European trip, and while there (in Yerp) had had a lovely time in Italy."
> (John Davenport, "Slurvian Self-Taught." The New Yorker, June 18, 1949)



And this should be entertaining:  http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000917mag-onlanguage.html


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## Randy-Darkshade (Apr 20, 2012)

I agree. Though a lot of the time it is down to accents. I'm British so I expect people would think I'd speak perfect english right? Wrong, my accent makes me sound weird, I don;t pronounce words properly due to my accent. Accents play a big part in how people speak. Personally I type out far better English than I do when I am speaking verbally to someone. When my french friend visits I have to speak clearly otherwise she doesn't know what I am saying.

But yeah in short, I think it just boils down to ones accent.


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## Elric (Apr 20, 2012)

People don't use correct english mainly because they are lazy. Just like abbreviations in texts.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Apr 21, 2012)

Elric said:


> People don't use correct english mainly because they are lazy. Just like abbreviations in texts.



Maybe when typing they do. But do remember on a cell phone you have a character limit, hence text speak. Text speak also makes writing texts faster. However if you are using a laptop or PC there is no excuse really to use text speak. also don't forget some people are dyslexic, which isn't just a black and white case of someone who can't read or write because the level of Dyslexia in people varies greatly. I have a friend who can read smaller, easier words but really struggle to read big long words.


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## sunshyne (Apr 21, 2012)

Hey, how do British people get a pass?

"BOLLOCKS - FETCH THE TORCH FROM THE BLOODY BOOT, INNIT?"

That isn't exactly "English" itself, heh.


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## Leadbelly (Apr 21, 2012)

sunshyne said:


> Hey, how do British people get a pass?
> 
> "BOLLOCKS - FETCH THE TORCH FROM THE BLOODY BOOT, INNIT?"
> 
> That isn't exactly "English" itself, heh.



It would be, if that sentence actually made sense.


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## sunshyne (Apr 21, 2012)

Leadbelly said:


> It would be, if that sentence actually made sense.



...And yet that didn't stop an English person from actually yelling something like that at a bewildered friend of mine once. Which I why I used it as an example. 

Eventually he deciphered that the guy was asking him to grab a flashlight out of the trunk.


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## Leadbelly (Apr 21, 2012)

sunshyne said:


> ...And yet that didn't stop an English person from actually yelling something like that at a bewildered friend of mine once. Which I why I used it as an example.
> 
> Eventually he deciphered that the guy was asking him to grab a flashlight out of the trunk.



I suppose if he was from Essex it would explain it. People there have a slight problem when it comes to talking like a normal human being.


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## Catilda Lily (Apr 21, 2012)

Americans Y U NO USE CORRECT ENGLISH?


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## Grimfang (Apr 21, 2012)

Today, I heard myself say "That's about as nough as I can-- ..."
I had to stop right there, since it was a bit of a shock to hear myself say something like that. Then I thought about this thread, and realized that I'm one of _them_, the ones being discussed in this thread.
:[



Roose Hurro said:


> Hey, wouldn't be fun for me if I didn't have a challenge or two... glad to see you back, Grim.


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## Kitutal (Apr 21, 2012)

I got into the habit recently of saying things like 'a whole nother problem'
Actually I want to learn to be fluent in this internet speech thing so I fit in with all my friends, not going too far but a few abbreviations and emoticons and so on perhaps. I'm just not used to it, I always type things out fully and clearly, years of trying to write books rather than text messages done that to me.


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## Aldino (Apr 21, 2012)

This thread must be killing LeRenard.


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## LouyieBlu (Apr 21, 2012)

Kangaroo_Boy said:


> You're in the deep south, Fen. Of course nobody's going to speak English there. :V



Proper English is definitely more slurred or spoken differently in the south than in other places. English is my first language, yet I am already fluent in another, and starting on my third, my point is that not all Americans slurr, mess up their words, some actual arent racist, but there are those people who do those things and sometimes it can be offense, sometimes it was just the way they were taught to speak an they dont actual mean offense.

As for shortening of words like..well FAF Fur Affinity Forums or FWA; Furry Weekend Atlanta, I think that people shorten words because it is easy to communicate in a conversation, its much easier to type or say FAF than Fur Affinity Forums, yet they mean the same thing.
Sadly humans will always go for the easier way out, probably related to survival instincts and such.
Americans may do it a bit more than others, but I have seen slurring or shortening in other cultures too.


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## Furryjones (Apr 22, 2012)

I've only met a handful of americans, but most spoke with proper English. I'm from Canada and its the same here, many people speak broken English or terribly incorrect mannerisms and grammar. I have to say sometimes I am subject to such grammatical errors but I try to speak as perfect as possible, and sometimes I get stupid responses because the person I'm talking to doesn't understand my speech, for I'm talking on a different intellectual level then them. Every country has varying levels of intelligence and as such I'm sure every country has their version of a 'redneck' who completely butchers their home language.


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## Kitutal (Apr 22, 2012)

I thought all the abbreviations were so outsiders don't know what we're talking about.


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## Bleedswhitefire (Apr 22, 2012)

We are from AMERICA. We'll speak how ever in the hell we wont to speak! Haha.

No, but realy, a lot of us in the US just don't care. At least here in the South. A lot of times though, the way we talk is the right way to us. The north and South parts of the US speak a little bit diferently. Northern people say crick. Southern people say creak.  






On another note(because I'm talkin about the north and South) .... The South well rise again! Haha.


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## Zydala (Apr 22, 2012)

Prescriptive linguistics is B.S.


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## Gr8fulFox (Apr 22, 2012)

We use English so poorly because it's a free country, icehole.


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## Fenrari (Apr 22, 2012)

Zydala said:


> Prescriptive linguistics is B.S.



May I ask what this has to do with the topic at hand?


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## Zydala (Apr 22, 2012)

Fenrari said:


> May I ask what this has to do with the topic at hand?



Judging people by their usage (or "mishandling") of a language "standard" falls under prescriptivism.

Prescriptivism is what is making people use the words "poor" and "proper" in this conversation, because we're comparing it to a standard

but the standard merely exists for people who can consider themselves of a "higher" standard/class to isolate or group together those who seem to be more "ignorant" or "poorer" than them.

When in truth, if you understand someone when they speak, standard or not, then language is doing its job and there's nothing to judge a person by, except your own bias towards them for not speaking the same way you do.

So "Why do Americans use English so poorly" translates to me as "why do all the plebians of this country not have the education or the desire to speak to the standard that I hold them to"

okay that's a little rough and mean but you know what I mean  I don't actually think you think that or anything.


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## Oshy (Apr 25, 2014)

I am a Yugoslavian (Serbian) German who has been raised in both German and English. My English is what I think to be acceptable, but I do make mistakes. Idiotically, very _simple _mistakes.

I transition a lot. 2/4 of the year ill spend speaking German, the other 2/4, English. It makes it hard to learn in schools sometimes, but I find it to work out well. A lot of my family speaks Yugoslavian and German, so even if I use English a lot more, I still have to keep that in my brain for traveling, visiting, writing, _allllll _of that stuff. I actually love how similar English and German are. Some of the words just look so similar. Such as; Music (English) and Musik (German). Pronunciation is a pain sometimes, but I find a way.

I think it depends on where you come from. If you are around a ton of poor English speakers, your English will probably be very limited. I take pride in my language learning and writing, so if I can improve, I will.
I've been thinking about learning some Serbian and Yiddish but then I realized how much of a pain it would be to add that in to my list. Phrases are enough for me right now. -_-;


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## Abbi Normal (Apr 26, 2014)

Digitalpotato said:


> I've heard the same thing about Quebec french too.
> 
> Not so much latin spanish, that's more Spanglish and Nahuatl.



Very much not the case of Quebec French. To sum it up, as one of my French teachers told us on the difference, "In France, there's a word for parking lot. In Quebec, it's 'le parking lot'."


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## Artillery Spam (Apr 26, 2014)

Necros and generalizations. 

The horror.


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## N30Nphoenix (Apr 26, 2014)

I live in Southern USA, and god it is annoying the way some people pronounce their words, and use their grammar incorrectly. You would think that people would try to at least speak there language halfway decent. That being said I don't think that English when used in in America should be called English.


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## RockerFox (Apr 27, 2014)

It also depends on where in America you go. There are like 7 or 8 distinct "dialects" of American English


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## Picea (Apr 27, 2014)

Oh yah, a coupla days agou we got some pertch ahp dehr near t'dha bank at' the wood mill there.   I miss the flow of the U.P. conversations,  hard to understand if you aren't familiar with the pronunciations.


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## Astus (Apr 27, 2014)

The point of language is to get information passed on to another in order to convey meaning. Understanding this, based on the societal needs, language will change over time,  and will not always follow the same course as its predecessors once did. The simpler one makes a language the more people can communicate with it. Taking Americans for example, they broke from England a far while back, and have been away long enough for the original teachings of the English language to change. Even now I feel like the language is taking a turn down acronym lane with all the lols and rofls. The worst in my opinion is when people say "I am good" or "I did good on that test". For some reason that grinds my gears. "I am well" and "I did well on that test" are the correct grammatical responses. "I feel good" or "my performance on that test was good" are I guess what people were trying to shoot for. I'm just ranting on. My simple response, language is best served simple, because they are just trying to convey a message. As well language changes over time.


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## Torrijos-sama (Apr 27, 2014)

Picea said:


> Oh yah, a coupla days agou we got some pertch ahp dehr near t'dha bank at' the wood mill there.   I miss the flow of the U.P. conversations,  hard to understand if you aren't familiar with the pronunciations.



You Yupers and your... What does the Upper Peninsula even have?



N30Nphoenix said:


> I live in Southern USA, and god it is  annoying the way some people pronounce their words, and use their  grammar incorrectly. You would think that people would try to at least  speak there language halfway decent. That being said I don't think that  English when used in in America should be called English.



Technically, English in the Southern United States is far more similar to dialects in Ireland, and Scotland... And the Scots language in of itself. Which would mean that the Southern accent might possibly be a derivative of a language other than High, Modern English.


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## Fiab (Apr 27, 2014)

Picea said:
			
		

> Oh yah, a coupla days agou we got some pertch ahp dehr near t'dha bank  at' the wood mill there.   I miss the flow of the U.P. conversations,   hard to understand if you aren't familiar with the pronunciations.


Either I've lived here long enough to have my brain automatically translate the speech to not that, or it changes drastically in the hour it takes for me to get as far UP as you can go.



> You Yupers and your... What does the Upper Peninsula even have?


Late April snowstorms and uncreatively named towns.... if you wanna count trees then there's them things too.


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## lefurr (Apr 28, 2014)

I live in Montana and I was born and raised here and our English is pretty decent here. I moved to FL, AL, and GA for three years total. And their English isn't that great compared to the west and northern states. It's most likely due to the poor education systems those states have. (I don't mean that in a bad way either.)


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## Auramaru (Apr 28, 2014)

Story time!
I, being the nerd that I am, talk to internet friends more than real friends. There was this one summer that I binged World of Warcraft and had a really good friend from Canada...

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I said the word "both", he would repeat it, making fun of how I said it.  Because I'm from Midwestern US and people say "both" as if it had an L in it... "Bolth".

He trained me to say it "both" like... "bothe"...

Funny story, but yeah... now I say "both" and "sorry" like a Canadian... and I live in Iowa, USA.  xD


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## VintageLynx (Apr 28, 2014)

I'm from the UK and when I visit the USA people don't don't understand what I'm saying - or if they do they laugh at my expense. What's that about? I understand USA tourists easily even when they're saying the town names or whatever completely wrong.


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## Hinalle K. (Apr 28, 2014)

VintageLynx said:


> I'm from the UK and when I visit the USA people don't don't understand what I'm saying - or if they do they laugh at my expense. What's that about? I understand USA tourists easily even when they're saying the town names or whatever completely wrong.


It's because some British accents sound like gibberish.

All American accents are extremely easy to understand,I've NEVER had a problem with any of them, but some British accents are just ridiculous.
This is coming from a foreigner.


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## FangWarrior (Apr 28, 2014)

Because us Americans are to lazy to type it down, so we abbreviate everything kinda like...

LOL, Wtf, Ikr, STFU, LMFAO, etc.


Don't get me wrong, a lot of these abbreviations are useful, but some are just not even necessary. 

It's not that hard, just type "I know right?" you don't have to abbreviate everything.


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## Hewge (Apr 28, 2014)

Eh? I'm pretty sure text/internet abbreviations aren't an American only thing.


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## Mr. Sparta (Apr 28, 2014)

Hey, we love our unnecessary acronyms!


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## dogit (Apr 28, 2014)

Well I'd say that not all Americans have bad English just the rednecks and they cant speak English because there rednecks. It's very simple.


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## FangWarrior (Apr 28, 2014)

Hewge said:


> Eh? I'm pretty sure text/internet abbreviations aren't an American only thing.


True


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## Artillery Spam (Apr 28, 2014)

dogit said:


> Well I'd say that not all Americans have bad English just the rednecks and _they cant speak English because *there* rednecks_. It's very simple.



lol


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## Kitsune Cross (Apr 28, 2014)

dogit said:


> Well I'd say that not all Americans have bad English just the rednecks and they cant speak English because there rednecks. It's very simple.



HahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHHAHA Oh god, tell me this is a joke XD

How can anyone fail so hard


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## Batty Krueger (Apr 28, 2014)

Because Americans. 
Simple as that.


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## Hooky (Apr 28, 2014)

Surely it can be considered that just as English-speaking countries have regional dialects, so too does, for example, France (host colloquialisms of French)? I mean, while some parts of Switzerland speak German they have entirely different accents and sometimes different words.

They just find it easy and "enough" to speak English their way.


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## Icky (Apr 28, 2014)

The _real_ question is, how come you foreigners all speak American so badly?


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## Gnarl (Apr 28, 2014)

Kangaroo_Boy said:


> Ok yeah those regions are bad too. Frankly, the further from a coast you are here, the worst it is it seems.



OOFDA! Now I have been offended by such comments! The dialectics of each region are as varied as the ancestors and the original languages they spoke. 
We, here in the great north woods, do not speak anything but American.....mostly. The way that those fools spoke in the movie Fargo only left us laughing. 
the "Ya you betcha" and "silly bugger" comments are only used in jest! I have traveled much of the world and can speak greetings in more languages than I can usually remember from day to day. It is true that a lot of Americans can be traced to a certain part of the country by our speech patterns and even our accents but that does not mean that we are ignorant of the language!


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## RockerFox (Apr 28, 2014)

Gnarl said:


> OOFDA! Now I have been offended by such comments! The dialectics of each region are as varied as the ancestors and the original languages they spoke.
> We, here in the great north woods, do not speak anything but American.....mostly. The way that those fools spoke in the movie Fargo only left us laughing.
> the "Ya you betcha" and "silly bugger" comments are only used in jest! I have traveled much of the world and can speak greetings in more languages than I can usually remember from day to day. It is true that a lot of Americans can be traced to a certain part of the country by our speech patterns and even our accents but that does not mean that we are ignorant of the language!



Some people would find it odd that I'm a Californian and I don't sound like a surfer.
Although I do admit to using the word "Dude" a lot when referring to people


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## Gnarl (Apr 28, 2014)

RockerFox said:


> Some people would find it odd that I'm a Californian and I don't sound like a surfer.
> Although I do admit to using the word "Dude" a lot when referring to people


When I am not paying attention, and because I grew up within a mile of the Canadian border I will sometimes say "Aye" without thinking. But that is about it.

oh, I am sorry, I seem to have forgotten the "Don'tcha know!" on the end of that!


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## Abbi Normal (Apr 28, 2014)

I think Cthulhu might just be speaking Welsh.


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## Benji (Apr 28, 2014)

I never don't use English incorrectly.


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## Grungecat (Apr 28, 2014)

Hmm, I didn't really put much thought into it. I've always been told that I talk funny, but the again I'm also a dirty carpetbagger living in the South, so I dunno. Must be my Northern dialect with a slight Southern drawl, I guess.


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## Distorted (Apr 28, 2014)

I actually like the southern accent, being from Alabama and all. I find Northern American accents to be a bit rushed and brash. And it's soda, not pop. That was the hardest thing to get over, my lord. But then again southern accents can be a bit ridiculous in extremes. My favorite is "I ain't not never..." You wouldn't believe how many people actually say this.


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## Grungecat (Apr 28, 2014)

Distorted said:


> I actually like the southern accent, being from Alabama and all. I find Northern American accents to be a bit rushed and brash. *And it's soda, not pop*. That was the hardest thing to get over, my lord. But then again southern accents can be a bit ridiculous in extremes. My favorite is "I ain't not never..." You wouldn't believe how many people actually say this.


 
That used to bug the crap out of me. I was the only one in my extended family that said soda instead of pop. Don't know why pop bothers me, but it does to no end. Apologies to anyone here who uses it, but I just can't do it.


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## Hinalle K. (Apr 29, 2014)

Honestly, I kind of like the southern accents.
I'd much rather listen to a country American accent than a rural British one.

The further you stray from London , the scarier it gets... 
At least American accents are not incomprehensible!


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## Schwimmwagen (Apr 29, 2014)

Hinalle K. said:


> The further you stray from London , the scarier it gets...



London is actually amongst the worst England has to offer. Cockney slang - the slang invented for the sole purpose of being impossible to understand for foreigners - comes from the East End of London, as well as other rubbish accents from other parts of London. You're thinking about BBC-type accents which are scattered about all over the place.


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## Sweetheartz22 (Apr 29, 2014)

I honestly have no idea how to react to this....
I was born and raised in both Texas and New Mexico. So I have a *really* Southern drawl with a mix of Spanglish. Of course, after just moving to the D.C. area, I have Northerners ask me all the time to say something in my Southern Belle accent like some sort of side attraction on a daily basis. As for rednecks, I think it depends on who you talk to. My husband is what I like to call a high-class redneck since he acts like a proper gentleman in public, but can go completely redneck if you have he and his family together in the same place. He was raised in the backwoods with the trailer parks in both Pennsylvania and North Dakota. Funny enough, he ended up getting a Canadian accent while he lived in North Dakota, too. 
 In conclusion, there are people out there who use proper English when they need or have to and there are people who don't give two shits what anyone thinks.


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## Gator Joe (Apr 29, 2014)

Fenrari said:


> Now this idea popped into mind in large part because I live next door to a family of rednecks. (I'm not using the term offensively; it's just a fact. And yes you might be a redneck if you have a portable meat smoker parked in your driveway 24/7 and or you think wearing a camo hunting jacket during the summer midday sun is "cool" or the like)
> 
> But yeah the kids of this family, besides being racist little pricks (My first day back instead of being greeted by: "Hello, neighbor." It was more akin to "CHING CHONG YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?") seem to have failed out of Elementary school grammar.
> 
> ...



You have summoned the proud redneck of the Fur Affinity Forums.

I can use terrible grammar or be very literate as I please depending on the occasion. Yes, many of my redneck brethren sound like morons, but illiteracy can apply to any type of person. Living in the Deep South has no effect on proper grammar. I live in the West (plan on moving to Alabama), and there are many people over here who sound like they did not make it to the 5th grade. You say rednecks sound like they failed out of elementary school grammar, but I can better understand my redneck brethren than many black people. And so we're clear, I have redneck friends and family from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.

I have noticed that many Americans are wanting to learn languages other than English. I have continued to focus on English and enhance my vocabulary. In the Deep South, there is a small yet strong urge to increase literacy in our youth. Southern heritage organizations take much pride in educating our youth so that they can become outstanding leaders. The Sons of Confederate Veterans' Sam Davis Youth Camp in Texas is a fun summer experience that teaches useful skills, proper grammar, etiquette, etc. They teach things that schools don't teach our youth.

By the way, your neighbors sound awesome. I'd love living next door to them.




Sweetheartz22 said:


> I honestly have no idea how to react to this....
> I was born and raised in both Texas and New Mexico. So I have a *really* Southern drawl with a mix of Spanglish. Of course, after just moving to the D.C. area, I have Northerners ask me all the time to say something in my Southern Belle accent like some sort of side attraction on a daily basis. As for rednecks, I think it depends on who you talk to. My husband is what I like to call a high-class redneck since he acts like a proper gentleman in public, but can go completely redneck if you have he and his family together in the same place. He was raised in the backwoods with the trailer parks in both Pennsylvania and North Dakota. Funny enough, he ended up getting a Canadian accent while he lived in North Dakota, too.
> In conclusion, there are people out there who use proper English when they need or have to and there are people who don't give two shits what anyone thinks.



You hit the nail on the head right there! I'm glad to have you as a friend.


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