Username
jayles
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August 12, 2010
Total number of comments
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“Anglish”
- July 23, 2011, 12:49am
Ængelfolc: We get people from all over here: S America, SE Asia, Japan, Saudi, Euros, and Russians. Can be good fun!
Latinate words are often taught thru English equivalents: respect/look up to; despise/look down on; postpone/delay/defer/put off. But the usual story - for business and uni they need the latinate words as well. Until the textbooks change there is no other way.
The following comments on German speakers of English come from a good source: "Learner English" editor Michael Swan, a useful bible of first-language influences, which devotes about ten pages each to over twenty different languages.
"Among the features of German which
can give rise to a `German accent' in English are:
± More energetic articulation than English, often with tenser vowels,
more explosive stop consonants (/p/, /t/, /k/); and more lip-rounding
and spreading.
± Different intonation patterns.
± Frequent use of glottal stops before initial vowels, giving a staccato
effect.
± Tendency of some speakers to use a generally lower or higher pitch
than most British people.
Intonation
This varies widely over the German-speaking area. North German
intonation is quite like English. South German and Austrian intonation
often has long rising glides in mid-sentence.
Swiss speakers may end sentences with a rise followed by a slight fall: this sounds odd in English.
Certain features of German intonation transferred to English (to-
gether with the more energetic articulation which is common) can make
speakers sound peremptory. It is worth giving special practice in
wh-questions (which German speakers may produce with a rising
intonation which can sound hectoring to the English ear), and in
requests.
Juncture
A German word or syllable beginning with a vowel is often separated
from what comes before by a glottal stop (instead of being linked, as is
usual in English). This can create a very foreign-sounding staccato
effect:
?
in ?and ?out (German ?aus ?und ?ein).
“Anglish”
- July 22, 2011, 2:46pm
Ængelfolc: prefixes we do eg expose, repose, impose, opposite etc. Sometimes it feels as if one is teaching latin AND greek eg television/telephone/phonetics//video/vision-> farsight/farsighted..... there is however a lack of context with this technique (technology/technical/technician respect/inspect/aspect/prospect/spectacular/spectacle et cetera. Amor vincit omnes....sine qua non... per ardua ad (Opel) Astra... eloszor latint kellene tanulni
“Anglish”
- July 21, 2011, 8:48pm
Ængelfolc: unfortunately the term "inappropriate behavior" has become a PC term of abuse. It is bandied about ad nauseam. It is symptomatic of modern influences that I do find it difficult to even find non-Latinate substitutes. (Ah stand-ins!) It is almost like learning a new language! That said, "unbecoming" or "ill-befitting" or "unmeet" behavior, would be better I think.
Whilst I understand your interest in wordroots, I don't find wordroots help students to learn english wordstock very much. For instance, I would guess a link between "devastated" and "waste" but I don't think it would be very helpful. Likewise, crisis, critical, criterion, seem to be linked to "riddle" as in "riddled" with bullets; but the link in meaning is so obscure it doesn't help; unless of course one had already learnt Greek.
Lastly, I stand by my remark: "indeed if there is not a bit of "give and take" they may feel they have been steamrollered." ; English people sometimes feel squashed when trying to negotiate with Europeans; things are too categorical = too "take-it-or-leave-it"; as a trainer my biggest problem was a sort of incomprehension on the part of the trainees, an inability to hear, understand, and take on board what I was saying, a sort of stick-in-the=mud Weltanschauung that brooked no change, when the reality is that different people do things in different ways and one needs to be a little yare in one's tactics.
“Anglish”
- July 20, 2011, 6:49pm
Ængelfolc: As you may be aware in business the English usually want to find a compromise solution; indeed if there is not a bit of "give and take" they may feel they have been steamrollered. Sometimes it is worth giving them a "rabbit garden" to feed on. i.e something to keep them happy without compromising on what you want. There is a very English expectation that if I give a bit, you should give a bit too and eventually we will meet somewhere near the middle. On the other hand, I wouldn't try this technique with, say, Russians, as they don't play by the same rules!
“Anglish”
- July 20, 2011, 6:40pm
Ængelfolc: yes but "a bargain" suggests paying less than a fair value in English, although bargain as a verb does not have this connotation. "Trade-off" or "give-and-take" come closer to the true idea of compromise where neither party is really happy with the deal but it seems to be the only solution in the circumstances. American books tend to categorize this as a lose-lose situation; but it's not necessarily so. "fifty-fifty" I have even heard in Hungarian! such is the penetration of English! but it only truly applies where the parties "split the difference". As you may know the English view marriage as a series of (poor) compromises ending in divorce, which then liberates us to become our true selves again, happier without the constraints......
“Anglish”
- July 19, 2011, 1:26pm
Uncompromising -> unuyielding
Compromise (n) -> the middle ground
"able to compromise" -> "willing to find middle ground"
I don't think "yielding" really can be used to mean compromise as it suggests a one-sided deal.
“Anglish”
- July 18, 2011, 10:26pm
expect the other side to compromise, not me!
“Anglish”
- July 18, 2011, 10:26pm
Ængelfolc: on second thoughts I think "kompromissfaehig" (wenn das auch existiert) is more what I had in mind. I think it is all too easy to just want to "win" when negotiating, (at least that's what my last wife told me!). Maybe I am just being too English when I expe
“Anglish”
- July 18, 2011, 6:43pm
Ængelfolc: Thank you; I did wonder about "flexibel"; "anpassungsfaehig" is much better; your German is very good indeed!! ;=)) There is actually nothing personal to you in my comment; it is just standard advice when dealing with overseas trade.
BTW I sometimes set my students to write an essay entitled: "The American influence is too widespread and not necessarily benign"; that usually stirs things up!
Questions
Five eggs is too many | July 1, 2013 |
“The plants were withered” Adjective or passive? | August 27, 2013 |
Which sound “normal” to you? | March 31, 2014 |
“it’s the put-er-on-er-er” | April 7, 2014 |
“Anglish”
Automobile >> car (yes it's welsh; why not!)