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

[ConfusedWife1234]

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?

And 'regional' accents can reveal if you are from upper, middle or working class background. I live in the East End of London and the local accent has a bad reputation, it's slowly going extinct as people are embarrassed about it. People in my old job used to really look down at Liverpudlian accent, for example. Charming

Twofishfingers, I agree.

The regional accent issue does still exist and is linked to perceptions of class.

thank you Seneca..

Twofishfingers, you do know a French accent in English just sounds really cute and sexy though.....?

Is an English accent in French cute and sexy? or......not?..:)

I'm always get an attack of the guilts as to how poor my second language skills are considering I have studied them for years.

I have an accent that is very unpopular and considered to be "thick"

I have moderated it over the years of living in the SE (not consciously, it just happened) but I was at a football match yesterday where I was able to let my accent all hang out and it felt great to do so without wondering how I was being judged

FourFriedChicken, that's what attracted me to my English husband trying to speak French!

that is nice to hear...
Also what interests me about French/English is for example our phrases like 'French kissing' (eg kissing with tongues) 'French letters' (old term for condom) 'French leave' (eg you leave a party without saying goodbye to the host).
What 'English' phrases do you have in French?

I'm from the French-speaking part of Canada and we have integrated pretty much every single English swear words there is. Funnily enough we have 'filer a l'anglaise' which means leaving in a rush/without finishing your food/without saying goodbye. Or without paying your debt.

There is also some things that are cooked 'a l'anglaise', which basically means cooked in a homely manner, such as stews, boiled vegetables, etc...

Close to where I am from there is a small village called 'Pointe-aux-Anglais' see history here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe-aux-Anglais

My native language is German and we have the English desease which is rickets (by the way syphilles is called the French desease), English salt which is Epsom salt and english porcellain which is iron-stone China. The british leave or british army leave is how it is called when a guy leaves a woman with a kid he does not provide for.

By the way, most stereotypes about Brits are positive, eg british politeness is believed to be a very extreme form of politeness and British style (of house and garden) is believed to be superior to German style... oh, how could I forget that? The most well-kept lawn is called british lawn.

The English accent is believed to be a very cultivated one by German speakers, very cultivated and polite but also a bit not-so-manly... maybe a bit not macho enough for the likes of German women, so it is actually not seen as sexy, because it does not sound assertive enough for their ears.... I hope that this not an insult.

I am a bit judgemental, not of non-native English speakers but of native English speakers who use poor grammer and spelling (excluding types obviously). For example you're/your, there/their/they're etc.
If you're a non-native speaker, I am only impressed that you have learnt another language in the first place. I go on holiday regularly in the summer on an island which also attracts a lot of Scandinavians. The 5 year old Norwegian children speaking in English puts us to shame.

So I have got a question: if the English accent is seen as polite and soft but non-assertive by Germans, do Brits see the German accent as impolite, hard and assertive then?

Interesting confusedwife! Thank you!
And what would you call 'German measles'?

thanks to you too fishfingers...all interesting stuff...

We call them German measles Rubella.

I like to check grammar and spelling for mistakes and still make mistakes myself but I don't hold it against people. I do however find text speak annoying when trying to have a conversation either by email or WhatsApp etc or online and every sentence is appalling.
But hey ho everyone prefers to do things their own way and I can just choose to ignore it or let it wind me up. I know which is the easiest option!

I’m too busy being impressed that you can speak a language other than your own to worry about your grammar. I speak some German, French and odds and sods of a couple of others but have never had the confidence to really use them in RL. Stick me in front of a language course on a computer and I’m away but otherwise I’m a big fat chicken. I wish I wasn’t.

I think German as a language sounds quite "hard" to English ears. As a language rather than the voice if you know what I mean. As does Dutch. I love them both though. Could listen to a German speaker all day though I don't understand a word (I speak a bit of Dutch).

I love threads about languages OP so thanks for starting this!

And of course the stereotype we have of Germans is of being very efficient and a bit humourless / cold (sorry I know that's not true but it's just the stereotype Brits have for Germans)

That's a silly argument saying other countries people often speak multiple languages. English is the language of buisness and the world media. Other countries place a huge importance on learning English amd they are subjected to lots of English media so of course they know English.

P

Maybe the Catholic church should concentrate on its dwindling following.

hat's a silly argument saying other countries people often speak multiple languages. English is the language of buisness and the world media

Many many people speak MULTIPLE languages, not just their own and English (which would still be twice as impressive as your average Brit). So their own, English and others as well.
English is far from the only language of business.

The vast vast majority just speak their language and English. Many English people speak multiple languages so not sure what you're point is.

The vast vast majority just speak their language and English

Bollocks. Please show some proof?

"That's a silly argument saying other countries people often speak multiple languages. English is the language of buisness and the world media. Other countries place a huge importance on learning English amd they are subjected to lots of English media so of course they know English."

Can assure you there was very little in the way of English media around when I was young. We were still expected to learn English, though most of us never had the opportunity to meet, let alone be taught by an English speaker. What my English friends never realise is that we were also expected to put in a similar effort in learning French and German, that to us English was in no way unique.