The best non-native English speaker countries

jon   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 03:45 GMT
I read sometime ago Dutch was on the top with some Asian countries...Can some provide me the links or infos? Thanks.
hmm   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 04:29 GMT
I think most Scandinavian countries are meant to be pretty good
Rugger   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 06:16 GMT
The best non-native English speaking countries would be those that were under British rule in the past and are a part of the commonwealth. India would be my first choice because the British rule in India left as its leagacy the English language long after India achieved Independence. I have heard that in India they still speak English as it was spoken in the old days and many schools there teach the English langauge as they would have in English schools of the past. There are so many Indians living and being educated in Britain, and many of them then go back to India on holidays or to live. Sri-Lanka is another commonwealth country where the past British rule has contributed to her people speaking the English language alongside their native tongue within their own country (that is, they speak english from a young age and all throughout their life without having been to any English speaking countries).
Precious.   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 07:36 GMT
Scandinavia, they learn from a very young age and all the tv programs are subtitled in English, or so I've heard.
haparanda   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 07:49 GMT
English is a dialect of old Norse. That is why Scandivavians are so good at English.
Joaquin   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 07:50 GMT
What about non-native English speaking countries that were (or still are) under American rule, namely the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands? English is the official language in all four countries, along with their respective native languages. Many Filipinos are hired to teach English in other Asian nations like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and S. Korea.
mjd   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 07:54 GMT
I don't know....the Scandinavians are pretty damn good. They often have very little trace of an accent.
ghelp   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 08:28 GMT
english is NOT a dialect of old norse ! it is a dialect of anglo-saxonne.
Antonio   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 17:58 GMT
Some scands I met were pretty TERRIBLE.

But the scands as well as the germans haven´t a very strong accent, and learn English since very young ( today !). Perhaps that´s why they can be so good most of the time.
The italians are crappy speakers of english, and outside the completely different accented language, they don´t learn so much English as the Norse or Germans do. I know that, I work at Telecom Italia and the italians here sound like russians or whatever; but english...
Clark   Saturday, August 16, 2003, 22:49 GMT
I have always thought that the Greek language sounds like a cross between Castilian Spanish and Russian.
dian   Tuesday, August 19, 2003, 06:12 GMT
In Asia: India, Singapore, Malaysia. Their English are excellent!
Simon   Tuesday, August 19, 2003, 09:45 GMT
Yes, I have been far more impressed by highly educated Dutch, Germans, and Belgians. Of the Scandinavians I have met, the best also tend to be highly educated anyway. But your everyday Scandinavian can be pretty skit [linguist joke, Clark might laugh].
Ryan   Tuesday, August 19, 2003, 16:58 GMT
Every person from India I've met has had really good English although it sounds more like British English than American. They must have a good education system there, at least in the schools where people have money. They have an accent but can speak English really quickly without having to think at all about what they are saying, which I think is more important than the accent itself.

Ryan
dian   Wednesday, August 20, 2003, 03:26 GMT
The way the person from India speak English are like the native speakers. A friend of mine, who is from India, says that he speak English since he was a child. He can speak English well and he can also speak his own language.
dian   Wednesday, August 20, 2003, 03:42 GMT
I still don't understand how they (Indians or Singaporeans) can speak English quickly without hesitation like the native speakers, and they can use all the prepositions and the articles without a single mistake!