What is "bad" English?

[Second_Flight]

noo.. i learning in this forum,play video games... -__-

 

[Mаru]

Sometimes I think that my english is very good, and that I can communicate without any problems
But in other time i read my old posts and understand how it's bad, I see my falls

 

[ProXpert]

Im not a native english speaker so I have a limited vocabulary.. and my spelling sorta sucks xD But meh I dnt mind I just keep on trying till I get better :D

 

[Mаru]

ProXpert, how long do you learn english?

 

[FMQ100018546]

About keeping saying "Sorry" stuff, tell me about it. In my country (where English is not the mother tongue) feeling "sorry" about the speaker's own ability has been taken as a norm since this can make him/her "modest" and "polite", so to speak.
Perhaps this is part of a culture and everyone is culturally cultivated.
One way to "circumvent" (instead of "abandon" since it takes a long time to get rid of a habit), perhaps, is to know each other better (?) so that the speaker can feel more confident when speaking to the other guy.

Gosh I was drifting into somewhere else... speak of "bad" language, it may be part of the common sense to not use swearing?

 

[Dhao]

I agree with most people here that "bad" English is hard to pinpoint, as the most basic function of a language is to relay information, and as long as you manage to do that, there should be no problems. Though to be honest, I learned English from a very early age, so I don't think that at any stage my vocabulary was superseded by my internal eloquence, as Lord Zero remarks.

But from the opposite end of the spectrum, if I were to try to communicate in a different language, in which I'm less well versed, I'd inform whoever I'd try talking to of the fact as it makes them more forgiving of errors and potentially more inclined to assist in correcting my shortcomings. Whilst getting the information you want across is sufficient for a basic conversation, there's also something to be said for being able to accurately convey what you desire.

 

[Madmunchkin]

why do people feel the need to say something like "sorry about my English" almost every time they write something?
When would they finally decide to stop saying that? XD

Sometimes I say sorry for my English, too. At the beginning of grammar school I was really self-confident with this leanguage and had average/good grades. But once we became another English teacher all changed. She gave really bad grades just because she didnt agree what I wrote and not how. Self-confidence goodbye. Now I have problem finding simply words and remembering basic grammar skills. Maye she was right, maybe not...I dont know and thats because sometimes I say sorry about my English.

 

[Murakumo]

Bad english? I think of nanashi1's recent lines when I think of "bad English". But then again he might be talking in Yoda.

 

[Uηitice]

baed englesh iz wen yu telk liek dis. mi haet grammer notsi cus tey mek fun ob mi wen i rigt. dey tink tey soo cul wit dere l33t speeck and w1ck3d fl0w. shaem on dem!!!

Spoiler: ♥:

This is in no way intended to make fun of our beloved members that have trouble with English. :)

Edit: All jokes aside though. When a foreign female speaks broken English I find that adorable for some reason. I'm not sure why *scratches head*.

And the thing is...if English is not your main language more than likely you know more than one! You may not be fluent in the language yet but it is better than the fluent speakers that poke fun of those that are not so well versed when they only know one language.

 

[wazzabad]

People in my english class always end up saying 'sorry for the english' after reading a line or something. I don't get why since their english is just fine. As long as you can understand each other, and get what the heck they're talking about it should be fine. >3<

 

[Kayllin]

Bad english is only as bad as the person who is speaking it, they may not have the proficiency to speak that said language.

 

[HatoriTakaya]

Relatively speaking it depends on how you define what is bad English.

Bad English in my view is those who can not convey their message and intentions to the other person without going through immense difficulty in doing so. I have seen and listened to people who have trouble piecing English as a older adult to young ones from early learning education that is as young as five learning English. Although different people use their English in a different manner, it really comes down to their ability to convey their thoughts and feelings and your ability to understand their conveyed message.

A message, conversation, ideal, idea, thoughts, speech and so forth can be relatively simple to convey to immensely difficult to express if you don't use the right words for those who are listening to your words and it's intention behind it. On the other hand, the listeners, audience, receivers, readers and so forth will either understand your intention of the conveyed intention or thoughts depending on their proficiency to understand and interpret what they have read or listened to. All in all, for this topic "What is Bad English" will depend on the very individual.

Lets put out a simple example.

When it comes down to the English Language, I find myself relatively basic, immature and lacking of understanding of true beauty and nature of the English Language.

When a professor asked me my thoughts about my capability of my English Knowledge, I simply admitted myself as a Basic rather than Expert. When my essay was examined and corrected by the same professor, I was asked why did I put myself as such. My answer was simple, I don't have the largest range and understanding of all parts of the English Language. If I was truly good at the English Language, than gaining a Masters would not be a difficult feat at all and that I should be proficient enough to teach others with my own created resources instead.

On the other hand, people who have a lower English proficiency would tell me the opposite that English is really good. But in that individual belief is based on the comparison between themselves and myself, rather than looking at the picture as a whole. In that sense, our understanding of what is "Good English" and what is "Bad English" is skewed towards our own beliefs than anything else.

The truth is, even if you did all that Masters Degree and gain that PhD on top of that, it does not mean your English is Good or Bad. It just means you have achieved that level of understanding of the Language but whether you can apply on everyday life and other professions you are to be in is a different matter all together.

-------------------

For those who found that hard to read, I can understand somewhat. Its long, eye-gouging and it was actually a long post that wander around a point of a issue without a clear message or point in that post. In fact, it conveys a message of lack clear points for people who either:

• Lacks the focus to read long posts
• Have a greater understanding of English Language
• Have a lesser understanding of the English Language

In the end, if anything, 'Keeping It Simple' is the best way to convey any thoughts and feelings; if not a message or conversation. Otherwise the point you're trying to make and have other people understand will be lost in translation and interpretation by those who you want to gain attention from.

I shall stop for the time being as this topic can be long winded and constantly can be acknowledge as a subjective due to the mass of opinions and experts on the matter.

Spoiler: So how many mistakes did you find? Not for the faint-heart

In truth, that long winded post about the long dashes had several mistakes that can be simplified with Meta Language. Since the topic was about English I could of chosen to leave out many words and just start of with the topic of the said post then moved on with referencing of what the post is about. Now that's my opinion.

Another thing to point out that is there was many words that was unnecessary in the post and merely used up space than convey a clear meaning. This creates an bad impression on how proficient your language is. It is also detrimental to readers when it comes to understanding and interpreting what is your conveyed intention, message or thoughts are.

Last and not least, 'big' and 'complicated' words are sometimes not the best words to use to people who may have lack of total understanding of the language. Especially if you are trying to converse with someone who have a lower understanding of the language or just started learning a language. This is considered a 'fatal flaw' when teaching someone new to the language.

For the above paragraph, a good example to use is Japanese. If the person does not know how to read Hiragana, what is the chances of understanding Katakana, let alone Traditional Japanese and the regional specifics dialects.

Another TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read): Just remember, Simple is good. As long it conveys what you want to it to be interpreted as.

I'm terrible with BB Codes.

 

[gary01]

Poor grammar I would say.