I wonder if any of you have this same problem that I have. It's when I'm listening English and sometimes I'm not sure if the speaker has just said the word "a" or the word "the". Sometimes I can tell, but others not. Just now i was watching a movie and I thought that the person had said "with the guy breathing..." but in the subtitles it was "with a guy breathing...". This has aheppend to me a lot of times with other examples. If you respond to this thread, please tell if you're a natice or a student.
a/the
"With the guy breathing" is going to sound pretty much identical to "with a guy breathing", even to a native. The difference is that we natives will be probably expecting to hear one or the other, depending on contextual clues, and so we will correctly guess which one was actually said more often than a non-native.
There is nothing wrong with the word "native" in language terms - in fact, it is the correct and most appropriate word to use in reference to any individual whose main means of verbal communication is through any particular language. In this Foprum iot means, of course, the English language.
But when the word "native" is used other than in linguistic terms it conjures up images of people with bones through their nostrils and living in mud huts in the middle of the jungle and who are prone to issuing warlike cries as they dance around a bonfire.
The most well known "native" in Engish literature is probably Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe.
AAMOI - the real life Robinson Crusoe was actually a Scotsman by the name of Alexander Selkirk (a truly Scottish name if ever there was) and who came from the small fishing village of LowerLargo, over the Forth there in the Kingdom of Fife. He inspired Daniel Defoe to write his famous book on this real life solo shipwrecked hero.
But when the word "native" is used other than in linguistic terms it conjures up images of people with bones through their nostrils and living in mud huts in the middle of the jungle and who are prone to issuing warlike cries as they dance around a bonfire.
The most well known "native" in Engish literature is probably Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe.
AAMOI - the real life Robinson Crusoe was actually a Scotsman by the name of Alexander Selkirk (a truly Scottish name if ever there was) and who came from the small fishing village of LowerLargo, over the Forth there in the Kingdom of Fife. He inspired Daniel Defoe to write his famous book on this real life solo shipwrecked hero.
As a native, but without the bone stuck through my nose, I tend to speak my native language English quite rapidly, but even so I don't think any learner would have much if any difficulty in determing whether I said "the" or "a" except in cases similar to that quoted by Luiz, based on a "th" at the end of one word immediately following on from another at the beginning of the next. That could well cause confusion, even among natives.
<<But when the word "native" is used other than in linguistic terms it conjures up images of people with bones through their nostrils and living in mud huts in the middle of the jungle and who are prone to issuing warlike cries as they dance around a bonfire. >>
Really? It's pretty commonly used in other non-bone-in-nose contexts in my experience. We speak of being natives of the places we live in, such as being native Mississippians, New Mexicans, etc. Granted we also have natives in the sense of aboriginal people, and I have heard people use the term "native" in referring to them as a sort of cautious neutral, when they don't know the actual tribal background but think "Native American" is too wordy and "Indian" might offend. (That last seems to be kind of a personal issue -- some people mind terribly, and others happily use it themselves.)
Really? It's pretty commonly used in other non-bone-in-nose contexts in my experience. We speak of being natives of the places we live in, such as being native Mississippians, New Mexicans, etc. Granted we also have natives in the sense of aboriginal people, and I have heard people use the term "native" in referring to them as a sort of cautious neutral, when they don't know the actual tribal background but think "Native American" is too wordy and "Indian" might offend. (That last seems to be kind of a personal issue -- some people mind terribly, and others happily use it themselves.)
In my years living in the United States I have found that American Indians don't like the term "Native American", which they associate with over-solicitous academics or over-cautious tourists.
Whether speaking with outsiders or amongst themselves in English, Indians usually just say plain old "Indian", often pronouncing it "Indi'n" or "Inyin". They understand that in the absence of genuine understanding and goodwill no number of awkwardly coined terminologies or discardings of old words is going to improve matters.
Whether speaking with outsiders or amongst themselves in English, Indians usually just say plain old "Indian", often pronouncing it "Indi'n" or "Inyin". They understand that in the absence of genuine understanding and goodwill no number of awkwardly coined terminologies or discardings of old words is going to improve matters.