DS #4170: Berlitz: My English Coach (Europe)

[Chanser]

^^ndsrelease-5365^^

 

[syko5150]

Omg everyone should play this i've seen so many posts where you cant understand what they're saying.

 

[CloudSE]

-

 

[miketh2005]

LOOOL! This is sooooo hilarious. What is they released this in US, the Americans will be like "WTF?".

 

[syko5150]

LOOOL! This is sooooo hilarious. What is they released this in US, the Americans will be like "WTF?".

lol i still recommend this for Americans as well...i actually see people from non English speaking countries speaking better English then people who live in the US...

 

[KaNawogirusa]

LOOOL! This is sooooo hilarious. What is they released this in US, the Americans will be like "WTF?".

WTF??

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

LOOOL! This is sooooo hilarious. What is they released this in US, the Americans will be like "WTF?".

WTF??

It's not getting a US release. Of that I'm certain.

 

[syko5150]

It needs a US release its sad how awful so many people are at speaking English in the US.

 

[m3rox]

It needs a US release its sad how awful so many people are at speaking English in the US.

It's sad to see you dissing your own country. If you don't like the way we talk, go to another country.

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

It needs a US release its sad how awful so many people are at speaking English in the US.

It's sad to see you dissing your own country. If you don't like the way we talk, go to another country.

It's not that sad. With all of the slang, "gangsta-talk", and stuff like that, he's got a point. North Americans don't speak English as well as they should.

That said, I'll dis my own country too. The US sucks when it comes to language.

 

[syko5150]

@m3rox:First of all i wouldn't have to "Diss" my own country if people learned to talk right. I'm sick of seeing people from other countries(not that its a bad thing) speak better English then a country where English is the main language.Second I Was born in Ireland but have lived in the US most of my life.Everyone i know speaks good English it's not proper English but at least people can understand them.Third don't act like your so high and might just because you live in America.Indian Tribes(not Native American that's a bullshit name for them)were here first this is their land in all rights everyone who is not a native of this land should leave and that's the truth i'd be happy to go back to Ireland if they got their land back.

@shinkukage09: Yes i agree with you that "gangsta-talk" has ruined America.I've gone to stores and restaurants which are supposed to be places of business and they have employees talking to me in ebonics and other slang. I'm a business owner and i would never hire someone who can't speak properly...i have no right to tell people how to talk but at least in a place of business you should learn to speak properly when dealing with customers and most Americans don't know how to do that.

 

[Joe88]

z0mg

tis dun workz on ma r4'z
HALP!!!!

 

[syko5150]

z0mg

tis dun workz on ma r4'z
HALP!!!!

i lol at that =P

 

[Tetram]

@syko5150 : actually, we have the same problem in France with the French language. It's a shame to see that most people can't speak French correctly. I'm a mathematic teacher, and I relatively often have to "translate" the words I'm using during my lessons. Not to mention the tense errors, something like "If I would have known, I have not done this" (Si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas fais ça).

But I think you should not get mad about slang. Slang is part of the language. In French, some slang words are needed to express things that cannot be expressed in another way. For instance, we don't have the distinction between "like" and "love". In "classical" french, it is "aimer". But in slang, you have "kiffer", which means "love". "Je la kiff" means "I love her", which is without any ambiguity. A contrario, "je l'aime" can be "I like her" or "I love her".

Well, that's just a small example between others, and to be honest, I don't like slang very much... But whatever, I think the main problems are more related to grammatical errors or spelling errors which can lead to misunderstanding. And I agree with you : some native english speakers do these errors, and for people like me who don't speak that well, it's hard to understand....

 

[syko5150]

@syko5150 : actually, we have the same problem in France with the French language. It's a shame to see that most people can't speak French correctly. I'm a mathematic teacher, and I relatively often have to "translate" the words I'm using during my lessons. Not to mention the tense errors, something like "If I would have known, I have not done this" (Si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas fais ça).

But I think you should not get mad about slang. Slang is part of the language. In French, some slang words are needed to express things that cannot be expressed in another way. For instance, we don't have the distinction between "like" and "love". In "classical" french, it is "aimer". But in slang, you have "kiffer", which means "love". "Je la kiff" means "I love her", which is without any ambiguity. A contrario, "je l'aime" can be "I like her" or "I love her".

Well, that's just a small example between others, and to be honest, I don't like slang very much... But whatever, I think the main problems are more related to grammatical errors or spelling errors which can lead to misunderstanding. And I agree with you : some native english speakers do these errors, and for people like me who don't speak that well, it's hard to understand....

Well I don't really mind how people talk everyone should choose to talk however they want but i see a lot of posts here that want help with something and they don't even make sense or they make horrible spelling errors(even though there's spell check when you're posting)but i do believe that people should talk in a certain manner when in a business place whether its a grocery store or office.Customers want to be treated right and be helped but how can someone who doesn't even speak properly do that?The same thing goes for an employee if they are to help a customer they need to be able to comprehend what the customer is asking. I don't pretend to be an expert on the English language i make a lot of grammatical errors but i at least try to make sure everything i type out is spelled right and i like to speak clearly so that people can understand me.

 

[Orusaka]

@syko5150 : actually, we have the same problem in France with the French language. It's a shame to see that most people can't speak French correctly. I'm a mathematic teacher, and I relatively often have to "translate" the words I'm using during my lessons. Not to mention the tense errors, something like "If I would have known, I have not done this" (Si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas fais ça).

But I think you should not get mad about slang. Slang is part of the language. In French, some slang words are needed to express things that cannot be expressed in another way. For instance, we don't have the distinction between "like" and "love". In "classical" french, it is "aimer". But in slang, you have "kiffer", which means "love". "Je la kiff" means "I love her", which is without any ambiguity. A contrario, "je l'aime" can be "I like her" or "I love her".

Well, that's just a small example between others, and to be honest, I don't like slang very much... But whatever, I think the main problems are more related to grammatical errors or spelling errors which can lead to misunderstanding. And I agree with you : some native english speakers do these errors, and for people like me who don't speak that well, it's hard to understand....

Well I don't really mind how people talk everyone should choose to talk however they want but i see a lot of posts here that want help with something and they don't even make sense or they make horrible spelling errors(even though there's spell check when you're posting)but i do believe that people should talk in a certain manner when in a business place whether its a grocery store or office.Customers want to be treated right and be helped but how can someone who doesn't even speak properly do that?The same thing goes for an employee if they are to help a customer they need to be able to comprehend what the customer is asking. I don't pretend to be an expert on the English language i make a lot of grammatical errors but i at least try to make sure everything i type out is spelled right and i like to speak clearly so that people can understand me.

But you see, sir, and I mean no offence, honest, you have completly misunderstood how languages work. All living languages change and evolve, and this, of course, holds true to regional variations (and social) within a language. A lot of people seem to suffer the misconception that a language is an easily definable thing; that there is one right way of saying something, and one or several incorrect ways. There is nothing intrinsically good or correct about any one variety of a language.

There are so many people how think English (or any other language) is one language. Of course, it is not. Languages are only political concepts. Pronunciation and use of syntax etc. can vary from one small town to the next. No two people actually speak the very same language. Everyone has to build their own as a child. Similarily, most people seem to suffer the misconception that people can actually change how they talk. This is not true. People lose the ability to gain native proficiency in a language at about age 6. This of course goes also for other accents or dialects, which is is very much the same as learning a different language in terms on pronunciation. The fact of the matter is, someone who grew up only building their African American Vernacular English (ebonics, ghetto-talk, what have you) sound house, will not be able to build a sound house that accurately falls into what you consider Standard English. (even though this term is shunned in linguistics, I'll use it here to keep the discussion to a level that people can follow without reading literature on the topic.)

I find it amazing given the focus in America to stop discrimination, that so many are still willing to discriminate based on language. It's pretty funny to think that people can somehow differentiate "I don't like to colour of your skin" from "I don't like the way you speak" as reasons for not hiring someone. They are quite obvisouly equally horrid reasons. Just to relate this whole thing to Irish English for you, it would be as stupid as if I were to say to you, "Because of your Irish way of using it-clefting (It's staying in the hotel you are.) I'm not going to hire you." This is obviously equally stupid as saying you won't hire someone because they say "This coffee be cold."

 

[syko5150]

@syko5150 : actually, we have the same problem in France with the French language. It's a shame to see that most people can't speak French correctly. I'm a mathematic teacher, and I relatively often have to "translate" the words I'm using during my lessons. Not to mention the tense errors, something like "If I would have known, I have not done this" (Si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas fais ça).

But I think you should not get mad about slang. Slang is part of the language. In French, some slang words are needed to express things that cannot be expressed in another way. For instance, we don't have the distinction between "like" and "love". In "classical" french, it is "aimer". But in slang, you have "kiffer", which means "love". "Je la kiff" means "I love her", which is without any ambiguity. A contrario, "je l'aime" can be "I like her" or "I love her".

Well, that's just a small example between others, and to be honest, I don't like slang very much... But whatever, I think the main problems are more related to grammatical errors or spelling errors which can lead to misunderstanding. And I agree with you : some native english speakers do these errors, and for people like me who don't speak that well, it's hard to understand....

Well I don't really mind how people talk everyone should choose to talk however they want but i see a lot of posts here that want help with something and they don't even make sense or they make horrible spelling errors(even though there's spell check when you're posting)but i do believe that people should talk in a certain manner when in a business place whether its a grocery store or office.Customers want to be treated right and be helped but how can someone who doesn't even speak properly do that?The same thing goes for an employee if they are to help a customer they need to be able to comprehend what the customer is asking. I don't pretend to be an expert on the English language i make a lot of grammatical errors but i at least try to make sure everything i type out is spelled right and i like to speak clearly so that people can understand me.

But you see, sir, and I mean no offence, honest, you have completly misunderstood how languages work. All living languages change and evolve, and this, of course, holds true to regional variations (and social) within a language. A lot of people seem to suffer the misconception that a language is an easily definable thing; that there is one right way of saying something, and one or several incorrect ways. There is nothing intrinsically good or correct about any one variety of a language.

There are so many people how think English (or any other language) is one language. Of course, it is not. Languages are only political concepts. Pronunciation and use of syntax etc. can vary from one small town to the next. No two people actually speak the very same language. Everyone has to build their own as a child. Similarily, most people seem to suffer the misconception that people can actually change how they talk. This is not true. People lose the ability to gain native proficiency in a language at about age 6. This of course goes also for other accents or dialects, which is is very much the same as learning a different language in terms on pronunciation. The fact of the matter is, someone who grew up only building their African American Vernacular English (ebonics, ghetto-talk, what have you) sound house, will not be able to build a sound house that accurately falls into what you consider Standard English. (even though this term is shunned in linguistics, I'll use it here to keep the discussion to a level that people can follow without reading literature on the topic.)

I find it amazing given the focus in America to stop discrimination, that so many are still willing to discriminate based on language. It's pretty funny to think that people can somehow differentiate "I don't like to colour of your skin" from "I don't like the way you speak" as reasons for not hiring someone. They are quite obvisouly equally horrid reasons. Just to relate this whole thing to Irish English for you, it would be as stupid as if I were to say to you, "Because of your Irish way of using it-clefting (It's staying in the hotel you are.) I'm not going to hire you." This is obviously equally stupid as saying you won't hire someone because they say "This coffee be cold."

I can understand what you're saying but what i mean where i live for instance in Los Angeles there are a lot of people who talk in multiple styles of slang no one speaks the same type of slang and they create words that other people outside of their upbringing wouldn't understand and in a professional work place people have to be able to understand you clearly people can talk however they so choose but going to school and learning the right way of doing things is entirely different.If i want to be taken seriously i need to have a certain amount of professionalism with the way i respond to people.Talking a certain way with your friends and talking a certain way to a co worker or even people in other businesses should be two completely separate things entirely.While yes it is unfair to not hire someone who speaks in their own style of the English language as a business owner i have to take my business extremely serious and i would rather have someone who can hold a certain level of professionalism.The reality is someone who speaks in slang or improper english and will probably get a job making minimum wage or not much money and the person who speaks properly will most likely get the good paying jobs that is just the reality of the world and in that people need to realize that's life and make adjustments accordingly.

 

[Orusaka]

I can understand what you're saying but what i mean where i live for instance in Los Angeles there are a lot of people who talk in multiple styles of slang no one speaks the same type of slang and they create words that other people outside of their upbringing wouldn't understand and in a professional work place people have to be able to understand you clearly people can talk however they so choose but going to school and learning the right way of doing things is entirely different.If i want to be taken seriously i need to have a certain amount of professionalism with the way i respond to people.Talking a certain way with your friends and talking a certain way to a co worker or even people in other businesses should be two completely separate things entirely.While yes it is unfair to not hire someone who speaks in their own style of the English language as a business owner i have to take my business extremely serious and i would rather have someone who can hold a certain level of professionalism.The reality is someone who speaks in slang or improper english and will probably get a job making minimum wage or not much money and the person who speaks properly will most likely get the good paying jobs that is just the reality of the world and in that people need to realize that's life and make adjustments accordingly.

I don't think that the world doesn't work as it should, and we should sit back and accept it as "life", but obviously I appreciate that you cannot change the world on your own, and that your customer's have expectations about how your employees should speak. However, in essance, the entire problem is due to prejudice in the first place. Stereotypes such as all black people are lazy, and as such anyone speaking their vernacular must be lasy also. I'm not saying that there wouldn't be a million reasons why a potential employee would be unacceptable, but language shouldn't be one of them. It's very unfortunate when one starts confusing character traits with language. I'm sure there as many middle and upper class lazy brats as there are lazy black people. But as I said, I appreciate your problem, and I understand where you're coming from, but in the end something is very wrong if you are at a disadvantage from birth because of the regional or social circumstances you were born into. It's a real problem that people need to be mindful of. One person can't change the world, but one can certainly make reflections and realize for oneself that it is a real issue.

 

[syko5150]

I can understand what you're saying but what i mean where i live for instance in Los Angeles there are a lot of people who talk in multiple styles of slang no one speaks the same type of slang and they create words that other people outside of their upbringing wouldn't understand and in a professional work place people have to be able to understand you clearly people can talk however they so choose but going to school and learning the right way of doing things is entirely different.If i want to be taken seriously i need to have a certain amount of professionalism with the way i respond to people.Talking a certain way with your friends and talking a certain way to a co worker or even people in other businesses should be two completely separate things entirely.While yes it is unfair to not hire someone who speaks in their own style of the English language as a business owner i have to take my business extremely serious and i would rather have someone who can hold a certain level of professionalism.The reality is someone who speaks in slang or improper english and will probably get a job making minimum wage or not much money and the person who speaks properly will most likely get the good paying jobs that is just the reality of the world and in that people need to realize that's life and make adjustments accordingly.

I don't think that the world doesn't work as it should, and we should sit back and accept it as "life", but obviously I appreciate that you cannot change the world on your own, and that your customer's have expectations about how your employees should speak. However, in essance, the entire problem is due to prejudice in the first place. Stereotypes such as all black people are lazy, and as such anyone speaking their vernacular must be lasy also. I'm not saying that there wouldn't be a million reasons why a potential employee would be unacceptable, but language shouldn't be one of them. It's very unfortunate when one starts confusing character traits with language. I'm sure there as many middle and upper class lazy brats as there are lazy black people. But as I said, I appreciate your problem, and I understand where you're coming from, but in the end something is very wrong if you are at a disadvantage from birth because of the regional or social circumstances you were born into. It's a real problem that people need to be mindful of. One person can't change the world, but one can certainly make reflections and realize for oneself that it is a real issue.

Race is definitely not an issue though and the way people talk is with all races not just a specific one...i actually have white,black,hispanic and asians working at my car garage...and the regional or social circumstances i mean for instance i grew up extremely poor and in a very bad area full of gang members.Everyone has a choice as to how they live their life just as i made my choice but where you live or how you're brought up has nothing to do with what you do with your life.A major problem with society is they blame where they grew up and not having anything and automatically give up but for those who never give up and try to make their life better are the ones people want to hire regardless of race and upbringing or where they come from.As a matter of fact some of my employees are former gang members who have turned their life around but could you imagine if they still talked like they did when they were in the gang? they would probably scare the customers away and that's bad for business so you have to take that into consideration as well.The main idea to running a business is to make money but while making money you should never neglect the customer because for every customer i get they could recommend me to their friends and so on.All i'm saying is that people should stay true to their roots and who they are but when it comes to the work place its an entirely different thing you have to learn to act a certain way and talk respectfully i had to learn to do it so others should as well.

 

[Orusaka]

I can understand what you're saying but what i mean where i live for instance in Los Angeles there are a lot of people who talk in multiple styles of slang no one speaks the same type of slang and they create words that other people outside of their upbringing wouldn't understand and in a professional work place people have to be able to understand you clearly people can talk however they so choose but going to school and learning the right way of doing things is entirely different.If i want to be taken seriously i need to have a certain amount of professionalism with the way i respond to people.Talking a certain way with your friends and talking a certain way to a co worker or even people in other businesses should be two completely separate things entirely.While yes it is unfair to not hire someone who speaks in their own style of the English language as a business owner i have to take my business extremely serious and i would rather have someone who can hold a certain level of professionalism.The reality is someone who speaks in slang or improper english and will probably get a job making minimum wage or not much money and the person who speaks properly will most likely get the good paying jobs that is just the reality of the world and in that people need to realize that's life and make adjustments accordingly.

I don't think that the world doesn't work as it should, and we should sit back and accept it as "life", but obviously I appreciate that you cannot change the world on your own, and that your customer's have expectations about how your employees should speak. However, in essance, the entire problem is due to prejudice in the first place. Stereotypes such as all black people are lazy, and as such anyone speaking their vernacular must be lasy also. I'm not saying that there wouldn't be a million reasons why a potential employee would be unacceptable, but language shouldn't be one of them. It's very unfortunate when one starts confusing character traits with language. I'm sure there as many middle and upper class lazy brats as there are lazy black people. But as I said, I appreciate your problem, and I understand where you're coming from, but in the end something is very wrong if you are at a disadvantage from birth because of the regional or social circumstances you were born into. It's a real problem that people need to be mindful of. One person can't change the world, but one can certainly make reflections and realize for oneself that it is a real issue.

Race is definitely not an issue though and the way people talk is with all races not just a specific one...i actually have white,black,hispanic and asians working at my car garage...and the regional or social circumstances i mean for instance i grew up extremely poor and in a very bad area full of gang members.Everyone has a choice as to how they live their life just as i made my choice but where you live or how you're brought up has nothing to do with what you do with your life.A major problem with society is they blame where they grew up and not having anything and automatically give up but for those who never give up and try to make their life better are the ones people want to hire regardless of race and upbringing or where they come from.As a matter of fact some of my employees are former gang members who have turned their life around but could you imagine if they still talked like they did when they were in the gang? they would probably scare the customers away and that's bad for business so you have to take that into consideration as well.The main idea to running a business is to make money but while making money you should never neglect the customer because for every customer i get they could recommend me to their friends and so on.All i'm saying is that people should stay true to their roots and who they are but when it comes to the work place its an entirely different thing you have to learn to act a certain way and talk respectfully i had to learn to do it so others should as well.

Well, I'm not saying that race is neccessarily a problem everywhere, or for that matter anywhere, it's not very relevant for the discussion at hand. I think also we need to distinguish very clearly between real languages people are born into (such as African American Vernacular English) and in-group lingos (such as computer geek lingo, or gangster lingo or whatever). The fact of the matter is that nearly 30 million people speak African American Vernacular English. That's a real language, and who speaks it is a matter of social circumstance. Furhtermore, I think it's hopelessly naive to think that social upbringing has no bearing on your possibilites in life, but again, not really the point I'm trying to make here, so let's hold off that essay. As for the regional variations I mentioned, I was referring mostly to the Southern Accent, which unbelievable enough at least until very recently and possibly still it is very commong for notherners to giggle or snicker when they hear very strong Southern Accents.