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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask if the English are judgemental against people speaking improper English?

232 replies

ConfusedWife1234 · 15/04/2018 21:01

Hey,
I am not a native speaker and I always wondered how English people think about people who make grammatical or other errors when speaking/writing their language. So far most did not say a thing but what are they thinking?

OP posts:
IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 15/04/2018 21:46

I think we are pretty tolerant of people for whom English is their second language. Maybe less so of other Brits who don't get it right. I make mistakes all the time.

I do judge 'journalists' who cock it up though. Had the pleasure of reading in the mail how Eamonn Holmes offered 'sucker and comfort' to patients in hospital! I did make this Shock face.

SluttyButty · 15/04/2018 21:47

FourFried It is not correct English even if a native person speaks it as part of their daily dialogue as should has also pointed out.

Where I moved to they say 'led in bed' rather than 'laid in bed' and just because it's the local way to speak does not make it correct and causes an irrational rage within me.

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 15/04/2018 21:47

At least they try
Unlike some Hmm

So no judgement from me

FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast · 15/04/2018 21:48

its perfectly correct if native speakers say it.

Graphista · 15/04/2018 21:48

"what utter rot, if i am a native English speaker then obviously i am talking it 'properly'." Proof that threads like this are great examples of irony 😂

No I wouldn't judge and I don't know many that would. Most non-native speakers use English more correctly than many native speakers. Mainly because they've been taught formally by a professional.

I speak a few other languages but not nearly as well as I'd like. I've also "corrected" myself thinking I've made a mistake to be reassured by native speakers of the language that I've simply spoken in a less formal way.

IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 15/04/2018 21:49

I do disagree with the notion that just brcause an Englishman says something, that makes it correct. It doesn't.

FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast · 15/04/2018 21:49

i am not going to continue arguing about it, but i can assure you it is not 'rot''.

PolkaDotBlues · 15/04/2018 21:49

@FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast it isn't technically correct, as if you understand English grammar you'll know that grammatically it doesn't make sense (you'll know this as you were an English teacher!). Most people can understand it however.

My parents would've told me off for saying things like this when I was little. You also wouldn't be marked up on an English exam if you wrote 'I done' or 'I seen' so it must be incorrect in some shape or form...

mumtobe417 · 15/04/2018 21:50

I have a lot of respect and admiration for people who are able to speak and write in another language, grammar and punctuation wouldn't concern me. I probably don't get it right most of the time either!

I'm trying to pick up some Spanish and find it so difficult never mind the punctuation

SenecaFalls · 15/04/2018 21:50

I done and I seen is not correct regardless of whether a native speaker or a foreigner says it.

But it could be if enough people say it. English is not a highly prescriptive language, and it evolves through usage. For example, how many people observe the who/whom distinction these days? How many people say "it is they" or even "it is I"?

FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast · 15/04/2018 21:53

" grammatically it doesn't make sense (you'll know this as you were an English teacher!). Most people can understand it however. "

if people understand it, then it makes sense, doesnt it'?
if native speakers are speaking in their dialect and it is perfectly well understood then it's not wrong

findingmyfeet12 · 15/04/2018 21:54

I don't judge non native English speakers in their use of the English language at all.

I'm impressed with anyone who speaks a second language. I think it would be odd to judge under those circumstances.

HesterShaw · 15/04/2018 21:54

Very many English people speak and write their own language appalling so don't let it worry you.

RebelRogue · 15/04/2018 21:55

@FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast yes, but that doesn't make it "proper" English.

SluttyButty · 15/04/2018 21:55

FourFried I'm getting the feeling you are trying to wind us up with the lack of capitals and full stops. 😂

FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast · 15/04/2018 21:56

lol sorry about that...it's not a wind up i just have a small keyboard and big fingers...

outabout · 15/04/2018 21:57

I am disappointed with English people who get simple things incorrect but find the different ways that non English people speak to be quite interesting. The way that typically Germans and Scandinavians speak English so well just makes me feel that schools are failing English children. I find that French speaking English is interesting in that quite a few words are similar but they may use words that are 'correct' but not often used in modern English. One of my French friends appeared to have learned an English dictionary and comes up with words I have to look up to check the meaning, and they are correct. If I had a spare lifetime it would be interesting to follow this up, but for now I am happy to muddle along.

FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast · 15/04/2018 21:57

yes but Rebel my point it, which everyone always ignores, is that there is no academy of English to say what is 'proper' or not.

FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast · 15/04/2018 21:57

is...

NeilTheSloth · 15/04/2018 21:58

I seen something online recently that said about how non native English speakers will say “I speak a little English” and they go on to be able to converse with little mistakes, whereas when us native English speakers say “I speak a little French” it means we can say “I will have the hot chocolate” and “where is the train station?” Grin

PolkaDotBlues · 15/04/2018 21:58

So @FourFriedChickensDryWhiteToast you're suggesting that there's no such thing as incorrect grammar as long as you can decipher something well enough to understand what it means? Hmm I understand what you mean, however disagree that just because you understand something it must be correct.

SmilingButClueless · 15/04/2018 21:58

FourFriedChickens as part of dialect, yes, I agree but when it’s not part of dialect but simply not knowing the commonly-accepted grammatical rules? How can that be correct?

Also, if anything a native speaker says is correct then why doesn’t everyone with English as a first language get A* at GCSE?

VexahliaDeRolo · 15/04/2018 21:59

OP, I'm English and married to a Dutch man. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. It actually helps me with learning Dutch, because sometimes the way he structures sentences in English, although "improper", is a direct translation of how he'd say it in Dutch.

Helmetbymidnight · 15/04/2018 21:59

Native speakers never can be wrong? Confused

PaintedHorizons · 15/04/2018 22:00

FourFried is right. Language is constantly changing and what you may think is not "correct" is most definitely right in a different region.

Maybe what was not correct fifty years ago is now but maybe won't be correct in fifty years time. Language is alive.

We do, as do most languages, have a version of standard English that is used for written or formal communication - but spoken dialects are perfectly "proper"

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