Tuesday, 20 January 2009
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Non-Americans speak English?
These are the comments on a recent Mancouch post regarding a mispelled notice on Burger King.
"I just laugh at those kind of signs. It's usually the ones who weren't born in America that makes those mistakes. Or . . .those who just skipped middle school."
"or, maybe, they could (this may sound like a crazy idea) try learning proper English because they're in America. In case you hadn't heard, the vast majority (about 82%) of people here speak English as their native language."
When you assume... you make an ASS out of you, and really, you only.
The comments above speak to me of the xenophobia and arrogance of the writers.
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American President inspired me. It made me feel that the U.S. might be a good place to live, and perhaps someday I would go there and live for a year or two. Then I read the aforementioned comments.
"Proper English." Really? I've heard more "huh", "like", "totally", "umm" come out of the mouths of American girls than girls from any other English-speaking countries. What about Paris Hilton? "That's hot"?
Did you see that video on Miss Teen USA South Carolina 2007? Even while immigrants to the U.S. are struggling to learn English as their second, third, or even fourth language, I'm sure they would still be able to come up with a better-informed answer than that American-born lady on stage. I myself have heard plenty of new immigrants in Australia speak intelligently with just a small (and growing) command of English vocabulary.
Take the arrogance down a notch, and pick up a book to read. You might produce better answers and comments as a result.
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