Instant FOB
I speak, read, and write English fluently. I don't have an accent, aside from a "Canadian" one which has diminished somewhat during my time spent in the USA. I think I have a good grasp of the language's grammar, and the breadth of my diction is probably fairly decent.
But somehow, when I speak with people whose English is poor, or who speak broken English, I change. My level of English becomes simple and choppy, and I sometimes take on this faux accent or something (particularly when spelling words out). I certainly don't mean to mock whomever I'm speaking to, and I don't mean to belittle their English skills. I'm not sure why, it just happens. It's not a glaring change, but noticeable. It's just weird.
6 comments:
I do that with my parents or elders who are not peers/colleagues. I pronounce things in a way that they're most likely to get right and still be understood.
You're probably doing them a favour by speaking key words and keeping the sentences short. If you used a full sentence you'll probably lose them with all those extra words.
I know my English is not as good as all of you, but, I do wish people would correct me in a courteous way. Not by speaking, pronouncing things in a way that we're most likely to get right and still be understood!Speaking key words and keeping the sentences short are not the solution! Certainly, we don't think of u as belittle our English skills, we would really appreciated if u can be yourself and be helpful. Remember, this is how we all learn from day one, by making mistakes! I know u guys are very kind reading my blog, I do appreciated! Please do correct my grammar! thanks!:D
Being here in Asia, I know exactly what you mean. I find that speaking to people whose English is poor voluntarily forces me to use simpler words, and with no "saying". What often ends up happening is I stumble searching for words I think they would understand (even though here in Taiwan most of them have decent vocabulary), and I end up bumbling and hesitating, thereby making myself sound like a novice speaker. Not good.
Oh, good. I'm not the only one, and it sounds like "most" people tend to do this, though probably to varying degrees.
So the question becomes ... is this the "right" thing to do? By "talking down" our language, we're able to get more efficient communication on the spot without much hassle. But we're also robbing them of longer-term language development, which could eventually come back to benefit us again.
I suppose it all depends on how much effort we want to put into their benefit (learning English properly) versus ours (just getting what you need to say said and moving on).
"Patient" is the key word and how much effort u want to put into. I really think u should give us elderly a chance. I guess it all depends on the situation and to whom!? I'm OPEN! Now, be nice, BEN!
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