lori,
wordy english and diction problems are ACTUALLY a blessing in disguise for
non-native speakers.
one of my jobs is to teach the TOEFL, test of english as a foreign language.
one of its sections includes sentences with four parts underlined. one of
the parts contains or is a mistake that students are to identify. now the
ETS, the agency that makes the test [and consequently millions of dollars a
day all over the world -- the test fee is $ 200!!!] are so unfathomably
stupid that they suppose that non-native speakers make the same mistakes as
do native speakers [real vs. really, altogether vs. all together, soaring
prices have risen, etc.] so they load the sentences with these very obvious
mistakes. the test is a joke that takes 20 minutes to learn and master [and
i make a lot of money thanks to the ETS]. if i were to create a real test
for non-native speakers...well, i'm not about to reveal what it should
really test because i want to protect my clients. diction is a piece of cake
for non-native speakers. the real problem is idiomatic expressions!!!
by the way, for the sake of fun, you committed a diction mistake in your
post. can you spot it?
wallyK, non-native
-----Mensaje original-----
De: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]En nombre de Lori R.
Fye
Enviado el: Miircoles, 13 de Diciembre de 2000 12:29 p.m.
Para: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Asunto: Re: irregardless/regardless NJC
Jerry wrote:
> Newest redundancy making the current rounds:
>
> Because of the fact that....
I occasionally wonder if people who speak languages
other than English find themselves aggravated with
their fellow citizens over these same issues. Then I
wonder what our butchered English sounds like to
visiting foreigners who are trying to understand what
the hell we're talking about. What would our crappy
diction and redundant speech sound like if translated
into another tongue?
=====
Lori
in DC
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