i guess now you know what to do to piss me off.
Here's something that's made me want to cry and laugh at once. From YouTube:
I have to admit I've never seen 'who' spelled in this way (*is fascinated* ...'Dr Hu'? 'Hu let the dogs out? Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu!'). The author of the comment isn't a native speaker of English, but is it really a good excuse? My general impression of the nature of linguistic skills is that if you have them, you have them regardless of the language you're using (I'm talking about correct spelling and grammar; pronunciation is another thing, of course). At least that's the case with me; actually, given that I learnt foreign languages from the other side than their native speakers - I learnt, not acquired, grammar; also, I often saw a word before I heard it and learnt how to pronounce it - I had less problems with correct spelling than in my native language. And as long as I don't have any problem with people having a hard time learning a foreign pronunciation, the idea of making spelling mistakes in a second language is something I'm still learning to understand. ;)
Now, am I being snobbish about it? Am I behaving like a grammar-nazi? I think not. Don't get me wrong - I don't expect everyone to be amazingly linguistically gifted, and I do understand that if you've got a scientific brain, you might need more time to get a grasp of a language (now that is a mysterious thing, btw. I'm saying I understand it, and well, I do; what I don't get, though, that is. Scientifically-brained people seem to have an unfortunate tendency to consider the language as something disorderly and illogical. As a linguistic geek, I very firmly disagree. Semantics is based on logic. Syntax is based on logic. Languages are actually very striclty organised and don't allow breach of rules - well, I mean you can do that, you can try to set rules of your own - yeah, and it's going to be interesting to watch you try to communicate anything to anyone. You must obey the rules to play the game. Language is like a dictatorship. o.o) - what makes me see red, though, is not giving a damn about the quality of one's speech (in one's native as well as non-native language, btw). Those of you who live in the UK have probably heard (or even came in some form of contact with) this pitiful phenomenon of Poles who come to work to Britain or Ireland and don't speak but a few words of English. Gods, I wish I could strangle these people with my bare hands. I won't write what my feelings towards them exactly are, because I'm afraid I might run out of livejournal before I'd finish. I'd just like to say this: in my personal opinion, it's an expression of respect towards a country where you're going to (for a longer period of time, I'm not talking about tourists right now), and the people who live in it to learn the language of this country on a decent level. And by 'decent' I mean 'communicative'.
I think I'd die of shame if I for example lost my memory, and then someone told me that I, say, went to India (because while English is the world language, going to a non-English speaking country and speaking English there, while totally not going to learn the native language of that country at some point is rated as 'lame' in my world) and lived there for five years without speaking a word of Hindi, or any other language used in this country.
Also, I don't mind people making mistakes. I mind it a lot, though, when they don't give a damn about correcting them. In their native or non-native languages.
I have to admit I've never seen 'who' spelled in this way (*is fascinated* ...'Dr Hu'? 'Hu let the dogs out? Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu!'). The author of the comment isn't a native speaker of English, but is it really a good excuse? My general impression of the nature of linguistic skills is that if you have them, you have them regardless of the language you're using (I'm talking about correct spelling and grammar; pronunciation is another thing, of course). At least that's the case with me; actually, given that I learnt foreign languages from the other side than their native speakers - I learnt, not acquired, grammar; also, I often saw a word before I heard it and learnt how to pronounce it - I had less problems with correct spelling than in my native language. And as long as I don't have any problem with people having a hard time learning a foreign pronunciation, the idea of making spelling mistakes in a second language is something I'm still learning to understand. ;)
Now, am I being snobbish about it? Am I behaving like a grammar-nazi? I think not. Don't get me wrong - I don't expect everyone to be amazingly linguistically gifted, and I do understand that if you've got a scientific brain, you might need more time to get a grasp of a language (now that is a mysterious thing, btw. I'm saying I understand it, and well, I do; what I don't get, though, that is. Scientifically-brained people seem to have an unfortunate tendency to consider the language as something disorderly and illogical. As a linguistic geek, I very firmly disagree. Semantics is based on logic. Syntax is based on logic. Languages are actually very striclty organised and don't allow breach of rules - well, I mean you can do that, you can try to set rules of your own - yeah, and it's going to be interesting to watch you try to communicate anything to anyone. You must obey the rules to play the game. Language is like a dictatorship. o.o) - what makes me see red, though, is not giving a damn about the quality of one's speech (in one's native as well as non-native language, btw). Those of you who live in the UK have probably heard (or even came in some form of contact with) this pitiful phenomenon of Poles who come to work to Britain or Ireland and don't speak but a few words of English. Gods, I wish I could strangle these people with my bare hands. I won't write what my feelings towards them exactly are, because I'm afraid I might run out of livejournal before I'd finish. I'd just like to say this: in my personal opinion, it's an expression of respect towards a country where you're going to (for a longer period of time, I'm not talking about tourists right now), and the people who live in it to learn the language of this country on a decent level. And by 'decent' I mean 'communicative'.
I think I'd die of shame if I for example lost my memory, and then someone told me that I, say, went to India (because while English is the world language, going to a non-English speaking country and speaking English there, while totally not going to learn the native language of that country at some point is rated as 'lame' in my world) and lived there for five years without speaking a word of Hindi, or any other language used in this country.
Also, I don't mind people making mistakes. I mind it a lot, though, when they don't give a damn about correcting them. In their native or non-native languages.