ESLers in Second Lfe - How can they be helped?

(It is only fair in response to that comment to ask you if you deny that you beat your wife... )

Ugh.

(DAMN DAMN DAMN)

I would point out that both spellings are considered "acceptable" (which is true), but as I actually agree that "dyspeptic" is the more correct . . .

You are falling for it.. language changes. The only rule is that both sides be able to understand each other, and dispeptic fits that criteria.... except for people like Pep, who seem to be comprehension challenged.

Yes, I had to LOL at this one too.

I'm not married.

Pep (And I lie.)

Well, yeah. Agreed. In NORMAL communication I would not worry about "dispeptic" at all.

But then, with Pep, there is no such thing as "normal" communication, is there?

No - *YOU* are "falling for it". Scylla spotted the subtle nuance of my post which did not suggest that she was "wrong" and was gently chiding of her, indicating my expectation of higher standards . . .

Pep ( . . . which is a backhanded compliment, as she would have recognised. )

True.. I am just resistant to translating everything to Peptic just for him....

Which is, unfortunately, precisely what I mean by "not a normal conversation" . . .

This is ENTIRELY my own fault, but it's like trying to have casual chats with one's thesis supervisor.

I clearly need to be deprogrammed.

(Wonders if Jig was trying to make a point with the first word of this post...?)

Happy to help with that

LOL

Depends what's involved . . .

My location says: Vienna, Austria. (But born in Germany) This is maybe a hint, that my english is not too good and more kind of creative... My main fun is, that I met (no joke) many people who asked me about Kangaroos, Crocodiles and Koalas in Austria..., also I have to explain to some, that we have here no Aboriginal people and no native tribes. I speak german as main language plus 30 german dialects (for fun), additional french, croatian, some dutch, some italian, some dead latin, some pieces of everything.

But english...and the mix of BE and AE...slang words..."urban dictionary"..., grammar...,

= still a miracle to me, but I learned much along the OS/Zindra/ACP processes, which was the only benefit of the processes for me - every day and from post to post I improved my basic school english, so I have to thank Linden Lab for all the stress which forced me to read and type the language more than ever before in my life.

My main reason for reading and posting here is to hold the level...so, if I write nonsense, it is because I am still in training...and all of you are my teachers for free, hehehe

An excellent attitude. Were my (largely nonexistent) German as good as your English, I would be proud of it, not embarrassed by it.

English is my first language and I haven't bothered to learn much of others.. since I haven't finished butchering my first one! I am quite fluent in Typo, thank goodness.

That said, I absolutely love the new Snowglobe with it's translation feature. It might be incorrect (completely incorrect) in syntax, but it gives me a rough idea of what people are saying. I really love how it tries to translate Net Speak into English.

I did try to help ESLers in RL improve their English. Biggest complaint from them was the whole make vs do.

"You do homework. The teacher makes it." That was the best I could do to make it simple. A teacher, I am not.

Making ESL an excuse not to write English correctly by ignoring the mechanics of the language is just a poor excuse to write badly.

No, I am resisting reading glasses. Can't tell difference between e and a at ungodly insominiacal hours of morning.

Stop turning the screen umop-epịsdn.

i really must hear yours, then.

I can't excuse my errors. My "ear" is tuned to English but as I said earlier, ear has also been tuned to languages that dont require gender, that animate and inanimate objects change the verb. that something being carried is now a different word, that vowels have different sounds. And that's just one language spoken in our houses as I grew up (and is prolly teh same for three quarters of sl). My mistake of teh (much ridiculed by Forum people) is ingrained in me. In one email last week I counted 56 "tehs".

I also HATED school. With a passion. English, music, dance, drama in school - in the end were anathemas to me. They drove away all my creative spirit. I only found them again after a tutor turned me around and gave me respect and LISTENED to me. Now the arts are my life. I was saved in the truest sense of the word.

Yet, I make my living with words. I am respected in what I do. Language is plastic BUT mechanics are not. I try my best but some people will find any excuse. I cannot excuse myself. I wish I was fluent and I strive everyday to be better.

I consider one mistake stealing from the bank of English language - just like eating ONE grape from the fruit section of a supermarket is stealing also. (I truly despise people who do that.)

Wow.... Seven pages in just a few hours! I admit I did not read this whole thread (I stopped after the first page), so if this question has been raised already...

Pep, after reading months worth of posts composed by you in which you appear to decry "ESL-ers" apparent lack of grasp of the English language, I have just one burning question:

In how many other languages, besides English, are you fluent enough to be functional? I don't mean knowing what "yo quiero Taco Bell" means, but - if you were to be plunked down in a foreign country, would you be able to speak and understand the language enough to function?

You come off as a pompous ass where the English language is concerned; but I really have to wonder how you would be if the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak.

He's Welsh: he'll never leave England. He won't go back "home" or anywhere else for that matter.
And he's pedantic rather than pompous. I swear he could be my English teacher who was Welsh. Bit of a wanker, but I used to see him in the local pub when I nipped out of boarding school and he never ratted on me.

Perhaps you should consider indicating that understanding and compassion are not your strong suits to pre-empt erroneous assumptions and put a warning flag up regarding potential errors of interpretation.

Schmuck.

Stating your location doesn't help. It,s been there right under my avatar image since I started to post on these forums. but it did not stop you to make pittyful remarks on the small errors I made, and I can even remember that you were " guessing I am an ESLer" while the answer was there right under your nose the entire time.

maybe time to stop your pittyful spelling attacks on those that have no choice to use a foreign language on Sl and the internet in general.

I don't need your help, I don't want your help. i will not listen to your advise when it comes to english.
from all the native speaking people I met over the years in SL, on the Inet and in real, which are thousands by now, you were the 2nd one ever that critisized my knowledge and usage of english. The first was my english teacher back when I was 12.

Says more about you than me I suppose.
Feel free to critisize again but I feel it is only fair to warn you that it will be invane and fall on deff man's ears.

Salut.

Hmmm... wasn't Jig speculating that Pep was an English teacher?