Mother Tongues

[Rusco]

Well the point in this is about writing and talking in English.

It's not my mother tongue, and see at times difficult to find a right way to express the things. What's the most difficult to me, is the amount of so called small talk. I don't know how much it's used in different occasions. When I would like to be polite to all of you, I find some problems when translating it into English, because in Finnish we tend to say things quite straight; 'on your face' way, without being rude or something like that.

Hope you get the idea. How about you; is there something you would like to share about the topic? I know there are quite many Germans here too that have a NMA forum of their own in German.

I think it would be nice if we'd talk together in a same language too.

[Master Ray]

Rusco, I genuinely had no idea that English wasn't your first language... if your words were a bit awkward, I just assumed that you were either typing badly or drunk! 

It just shows how lazy and arrogant us UK folk are when it comes to languages other than our own...

[Heno]

eh up

by gum

trouble at mill

in me hole

th

[Rusco]

if your words were a bit awkward, I just assumed that you were either typing badly or drunk! 
[...]

Well yeah, now we're talking! 

[Shush]

Rusco, your command of the English language is very good, you have nothing to worry about.

The worst people for speaking English, are the English. We twist our mother tongue around and abuse it. For a relatively small country, it is surprising how different there accents are, and how many words are unique to certain areas

It is too big a subject, so I will say, good nate mi duck

[Master Ray]

Hey, Shush, just ran into Angelina Jolie, she has something to say to you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJPg3MpS3Y

 

[Shush]

Yes mi duck

She offered me big money for my Rock City ticket

I had to say, sorry, no mi duck

[Amandistan]

You speak better English than most native English speakers.

I am also a bit confused about some of the small talk of the English as well as the ultra-politeness. I think it's easier to say what you feel to someone's face. Plus some of the English phrases and accents are confusing. For example calling everyone love even if you have just met them or even hate them. As well as apologizing for things that are not your fault. If someone ran into me, I would expect an apology from them. But from what i observed it's the other way around.

Also to many English, Americans are thought of as rude, brash and impolite. Which is not the intention in most cases. It's the opposite for an English person in America. Where often times they are thought of as arrogant.

This was the most difficult thing when traveling for me. Trying to be as polite as possible for four or five different cultures. Also not being seen as a loud, obnoxious American like the stereotype.

Strangely Americans and English speak the same language yet we are so different.

[Anna Woman von NRW]

Ruscoe, you write English absolutely fine mate. Ok maybe I have to read things a couple of times sometimes to get your meaning but people probably have to do that to understand what I'm on about too!

As Ray mentioned, we English are by and large pretty arrogant in regard to other languages and probably most of us do not speak another one fluently. I don't and except for a smattering of travel phrases I don't speak another language at all. The teaching at school was crap and I never needed to learn after, lucky for us English is the prime language in America too. Might be worth learning Chinese in the not too distant future though.

We do have a lot of regional variation and accents too which doesn't help and slang is a big part of vocabulary.  But these are cultural influences the same as you will have in Finland. It can be difficult to grasp how people from different countries are coming across: what seems rude to you is just normal to me etc. but over time you work it out

You speak better English than most native English speakers.

Also to many English, Americans are thought of as rude, brash and impolite.

Sometimes that's because they are 

But as you go on to say usually unintentionally and it's true we do have a daft over-politeness and reserved nature that confuses the hell of out people. But that's cool differences make the world go round.

[Bunny]

We are a little island and while we may be in europe for a large number of people, they wont encounter anyone other than another English speaking person. I personally feel a great connection to my area of the world. So I speak its language, which is way different to someone in another part of England. I dont think we're unique in local dialects. Or so a Fenchman once told me. Honest!! Human nature is to stick with your own tribe.

I cant honestly say I think of any area of people as all having a characteristic. I havent met them all 

[Pol]

Here in Ayrshire we speak a dialect know as Scots its basically bastardised English. Its only really spoken and rarely written. It started when Gaelic was banned and people evolved when people wanted to talk in secret. Its best know in the poetry and songs of Rabbie Burns though it has developed and diluted over the years.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language

[Pol]

Guess i should add one of Rabbies best know poems
http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/toamouse.htm

[Rusco]

That's interesting etymology about your local dialect,  or language.

I've met once a person from Newcastle and liked a lot of his dialect. Those heavy sounding RRrrr-letters.

Most of the Finns have got a rid of our several dialects. Well most did naturally when their parents moved to cities and a next generation didn't get it in a mother's milk.  It's sort of pity because all of the dialects are a refreshing part of everyone's own roots. But there are still quite many who use their dialects, although it's considered as an exotic and somewhat old fashioned thing.

[Rusco]

There's a certain word in Finnish which can't be translated into English in a correct way. The nearest words used to refer the word are "polar night" and "darkness". The Swedes, Norwegian, Canucks, Alaskan, Islanders, north Eur-Asian cultures and other countries living in the far north possibly have similar words and know what I mean. In Finnish the word is Kaamos.

It means the period when we can't see the sun at all. There's only a dim haze of light present. The "sunny" time per day (hours per day) is almost at its most diminished now. The sun rises, or the light "comes" at 9:00 AM and it lasts only 7 hours. At 4:00 PM it's nearly pitch black, dark again. This period lasts always 2-3 months.

The "Kaamos" affects also in a way that you can't get enough D-vitamin.

[rick a.]

Whatever happened to Ebonics?