Yeah, I do not see any problems here. I would say 80%, give or take, of American youth do not use "like" in a lot of situations. If you think about it, "like" is a very handy word. One can say "...he does it like that." See; very handy. And if a student goes up in front of the class saying "like" every other word, then that means they are not prepared, or they are nervous.
I feel almost insulted by your comments because I am an American, and I am a student; and you just generalised that ALL American students are like this.
Hello, Clark. I didn't mean to generalise. However, I supposed you would have felt insulted. Blame your classmates who do use the word "like" a lot for any hard feelings you may have felt.
What nationality are you, Goofy Ma?
I have never heard anyone actually say things like this in front of a class or in any type of formal situation. Informal, yes, but generally they are only females who say this (sorry ladies, this is just my observation). No; I will not blame my classmates because that would mean I blame Americans. I blame you, stupid. You picked a bad day to piss me off.
You "quite peeve" me, Goofy Ma.
Now you are also generalising. I am a British citizen, I live in California, and I was born in Hong Kong.
guofei, you sound like a snob. i don't know why you care so much about judging your classmates unless you have issues in the classroom yourself. are you feeling insecure, being in a new country and all? you shouldn't take it out on your peers.
"No; I will not blame my classmates because that would mean I blame Americans."
Please explain? This comes across as being somewhat of an arrogant statement, as if it is out of the question to point out any faults to do with America and Americans. I think you've misunderstood Guofei Ma, who is only pointing out a facet of American youth language that is irritating to the ears because it is improper english. To someone that has been surrounded by British english, this one facet might be greatly noticable than it would be for other native Americans. How can you be branded a snob for being critical of those who aren't practicing proper english? This is after all an English forum to discuss the english language.
American English is a form of English different than British English, but it is the SAME language. I do not know why people hate American English, but they do, and I just have to live with that. I think it is absolutely rediculous to say that ALL American students speak English poorly. And believe me, I have family in England, and I have been around a lot of English and British people in my life, and a majority of them do not speak PROPER English. I think "?" that you just assume that British English is proper and American English is some degenerate form that is not worth anything.
How can Goofy Ma be branded as a snob? Well, by saying that American students speak poorly. And so can you by saying that American students do not speak proper English and believing that they only proper English is British English.
Pls. give me a latin name for Accent Training
Regards
"Can anyone tell me whether the tendency to use the word "like" is as prevalent on the US East Coast and in the UK as it is on the US West Coast?" (from Guofei Ma 1st post)
Read Guofei Ma's first post, and you will then see that he is not saying "ALL American students speak English poorly" but just questioning the prevelance of the use of "like" in everyday talk in youth not only in the USA but in England as well. Yes, there are probably many American students who don't constantly use the word "like" in sentences, but at the same time Guofei Ma must have noticed more than a few American students who do, for this to even be a topic of discussion. Neither am I saying that "ALL American students speak English poorly" or for that matter that I hate American English. It may be, Clark, that you have an issue with American english and Guofei Ma has in some way hit a raw nerve with his posts on his "experiences" with American youth language. Also, British english doesn't only refer to that spoken in Britain, but also that spoken in commonweath countries (India, Sri-Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc.).
Kind regards
P.S. lighten up Clark!
I have had "issues" with American English in the past, but now, I have realised it is my native language, and I love it. Yeah, I probably do need to lighten up, but I had a bad day yesterday, and when Goofy said, "Howerever, I supposed you would have felt insulted. Blame your classmates..." this just really pissed me off.
Aye, let us denounce and criticise Goofy (Guofei) Ma! Such an arrogant snob is a feudal remnant, which means he is a counterrevolutionary, a threat to socialism, and not fit to live! He should be sent to a labour camp to learn from the peasants and see upright proletarians. Up with the red banners, destroy all feudal remnants, and long live Mao Zedong thought.
no, i just think he's a snob because i think it's a bit obnoxious to be judging your classmates like that.
Goofy (Guofei) is more than a snob. He is a feudal remnant, since only feudal remnants speak so arrogantly and obnoxiously. He is anti-socialist, an enemy of the proletariat! He needs to be re-educated, to learn from honest peasants. We have to find his identity, hold a struggle session against him, and move him to some peasants' village. Peasants don't judge people's classmates rashly. Long live Mao Zedong thought.
What the hell is British-English?
There are three nations in Britain
Scotland, Wales, English
All three have different dialects,
The way it should be
English (The English from England)
Welsh English
Scottish English
American English
Australian English
Canadian English
But at the end of the day, we will realise that everyone is this ENGLISH speaking website can communicate and understand each other perfectly so what's the point in calling them different names?
Trash, Gotten, Fall (Autumn) etc, American-English words? But they both used to used in England 100 years ago.