You actually spell "flawless" as "floorless"? Even if they do sound the same to you, I'm surprised that you actually substitute one for the other, since their meanings are so different. I say cot and caught identically, but I never write one for the other!
best english speakers
<You actually spell "flawless" as "floorless"? Even if they do sound the same to you, I'm surprised that you actually substitute one for the other, since their meanings are so different. I say cot and caught identically, but I never write one for the other!>
LOL mmmmm where shall I start?? Ok..... keeping simple if my thing..
You know those moments when 'the carpet beneath you is pulled away'? It's like a suprising moment....
LOL mmmmm where shall I start?? Ok..... keeping simple if my thing..
You know those moments when 'the carpet beneath you is pulled away'? It's like a suprising moment....
Uh ... ya lost me there.
Maybe I was having one of those moments, too....
Maybe I was having one of those moments, too....
<<Kirk
'Floorless' is simply another way of spelling 'flawless' here. And yes I have a nonrhotic accent (not British BTW) it's actually a Northern New Zealand one. Yes the words 'floor' and 'flaw' are pronunced the same here. Would you mind telling me how you would pronunce these words?>>
I would think that despite "flawless" and "floorless" being pronounced the same there, you'd still maintain the spelling distinction as Uriel and I maintain the spelling distinction between "cot" and "caught" despite the fact that we pronounce them the same, as she said. Anyway, I made a recording of myself so you can hear how I pronounce those words. Here it is:
http://media.putfile.com/floorlessflawless
This is what I say:
"Flawless--The house's wooden floor was flawlessly restored.
Floorless--The house's major flaw is its floorless design."
<<Wow I would of thought (as a non language specialist) that the French would have the advantage over other languages for some unknown explained reason. - Let me think about it and I will reply later. =)
One just popped into my head - our English vocab is full of words of French origin.>>
Yes, so that does help English speakers with French vocabulary and vice versa. However, there is also a great deal of (especially basic) common vocabulary shared amongst Modern Germanic languages. Also, the phonological and grammatical structures of Germanic languages are inherently closer to each other than between other languages, so this goes a great deal towards explaining why people whose native languages are Germanic tend to (on average) learn English quite well as compare to their counterparts from other backgrounds. It's a simple matter of which languages are closer--if your language is relatively close to another in, it will be easier for you to learn and master it (thus, you can't objectively say any one group is better at learning languages as a whole because it depends on which language you're referring to).
'Floorless' is simply another way of spelling 'flawless' here. And yes I have a nonrhotic accent (not British BTW) it's actually a Northern New Zealand one. Yes the words 'floor' and 'flaw' are pronunced the same here. Would you mind telling me how you would pronunce these words?>>
I would think that despite "flawless" and "floorless" being pronounced the same there, you'd still maintain the spelling distinction as Uriel and I maintain the spelling distinction between "cot" and "caught" despite the fact that we pronounce them the same, as she said. Anyway, I made a recording of myself so you can hear how I pronounce those words. Here it is:
http://media.putfile.com/floorlessflawless
This is what I say:
"Flawless--The house's wooden floor was flawlessly restored.
Floorless--The house's major flaw is its floorless design."
<<Wow I would of thought (as a non language specialist) that the French would have the advantage over other languages for some unknown explained reason. - Let me think about it and I will reply later. =)
One just popped into my head - our English vocab is full of words of French origin.>>
Yes, so that does help English speakers with French vocabulary and vice versa. However, there is also a great deal of (especially basic) common vocabulary shared amongst Modern Germanic languages. Also, the phonological and grammatical structures of Germanic languages are inherently closer to each other than between other languages, so this goes a great deal towards explaining why people whose native languages are Germanic tend to (on average) learn English quite well as compare to their counterparts from other backgrounds. It's a simple matter of which languages are closer--if your language is relatively close to another in, it will be easier for you to learn and master it (thus, you can't objectively say any one group is better at learning languages as a whole because it depends on which language you're referring to).
I think Scandinavians generaly speak very good English with very nice accent (or I should say very little accent).
Within Scotland, people from Inverness have a reputation for speaking better English, than people in the rest of Scotland. This is because they learnt English later than people in other areas of Scotland.
People in the Central Belt: Edinburgh and Glasgow: have developed their own brand of English. Although, in the better areas of Edinburgh, the English that they speak, is at least intelligible.
Something that is deeply worrying is that Michael Schumacher speaks much better English than David Coulthard.
In case you do not know what I am referring to:
2006 Drivers Championship (Formula One)
Position: 2 Michael Schumacher German Ferrari Points: 96
Position: 11= David Coulthard British RBR-Ferrari Points: 14
How annoying is that !!!
People in the Central Belt: Edinburgh and Glasgow: have developed their own brand of English. Although, in the better areas of Edinburgh, the English that they speak, is at least intelligible.
Something that is deeply worrying is that Michael Schumacher speaks much better English than David Coulthard.
In case you do not know what I am referring to:
2006 Drivers Championship (Formula One)
Position: 2 Michael Schumacher German Ferrari Points: 96
Position: 11= David Coulthard British RBR-Ferrari Points: 14
How annoying is that !!!
David Coulthard speaks a typical version of Scottish English. Schumacher (I reckon) learnt from RP, and has obviously done it pretty well... Coulthard speaks better English, but it's perhaps less acceptable. That said, I can't really see what you're talking about... DC's English is fine and his accent is very light, and his vocabulary isn't especially localised.
What about Fernando Alonso? How good would you say he speaks? I'm from spain and I wonder how a spanish person like him souds in english.
I think the Dutch are the best English speakers for the reason that Dutch have many English word in their dictionary and the way the Dutch pronounce their word is quite similar to the English.. in a way, and many other words are in both English Dutch almost the same. i dont have any time to think about some good examples
I know this as I come from the Netherlands and live in the UK now for only two years.
PS. who came up with the French being the best Enlish speakers. I personally believe that they have nothing in common not even the way pronounce, there might be many French words in the English dictionary, but they certainly are not the best English speakers. People you are way off.
I know this as I come from the Netherlands and live in the UK now for only two years.
PS. who came up with the French being the best Enlish speakers. I personally believe that they have nothing in common not even the way pronounce, there might be many French words in the English dictionary, but they certainly are not the best English speakers. People you are way off.
I'm French Ron but I can do nothing but agree with you about the way French people pronounce English !!! :p I'd rather say we are Europe's worst student !
I would say Germany or The Netherlands, their English is very very good.
<I would say Germany or The Netherlands, their English is very very good.>
Got to disagree with Germany - they are not as advanced in English overall when compared to the Dutch. Most Germans whom I talk with usually have that strong German accent when at times be a barrier. The Dutch on the other hand almost sound like native English speakers from England.
Got to disagree with Germany - they are not as advanced in English overall when compared to the Dutch. Most Germans whom I talk with usually have that strong German accent when at times be a barrier. The Dutch on the other hand almost sound like native English speakers from England.
I would say Dutch too. Their English is very good. nothing compare to any other country in Europe.
How is that? I mean. I don't understand why their english is so good. what is their way of learning to get the language and its pronunciation?
How is that? I mean. I don't understand why their english is so good. what is their way of learning to get the language and its pronunciation?
<<I would say Dutch too. Their English is very good. nothing compare to any other country in Europe.
How is that? I mean. I don't understand why their english is so good. what is their way of learning to get the language and its pronunciation?>>
Dutch is the closest language to English there is, so of course they speak good. It is said it's somewhere in between English and German, with words closer to English and a grammar closer to German. There is also an island in The Netherlands (at the very north) where they speak something that isn't even real Dutch, in fact, Dutch people have a hard time understanding it, they almost speak pure old English, and by old, I mean the English that was closer to German, before French influenced the English language so much in the British Isles. So it makes total sense that the Dutch are the best non-native English speakers.
How is that? I mean. I don't understand why their english is so good. what is their way of learning to get the language and its pronunciation?>>
Dutch is the closest language to English there is, so of course they speak good. It is said it's somewhere in between English and German, with words closer to English and a grammar closer to German. There is also an island in The Netherlands (at the very north) where they speak something that isn't even real Dutch, in fact, Dutch people have a hard time understanding it, they almost speak pure old English, and by old, I mean the English that was closer to German, before French influenced the English language so much in the British Isles. So it makes total sense that the Dutch are the best non-native English speakers.
<<However, most Greek speakers I know (and this also goes for Spanish and Italian speakers) have HORRENDOUS accents when attempting to speak what to them passes for English.>>
Thank you very much, Jason.
<<...Also, the phonological and grammatical structures of Germanic languages are inherently closer to each other than between other languages, so this goes a great deal towards explaining why people whose native languages are Germanic tend to (on average) learn English quite well as compare to their counterparts from other backgrounds. It's a simple matter of which languages are closer--if your language is relatively close to another in, it will be easier for you to learn and master it (thus, you can't objectively say any one group is better at learning languages as a whole because it depends on which language you're referring to).>>
Absolutly. It depends on your mother tongue actually. If the target language belongs to the same family as yours, then it'll be quite easy for you to learn. If it isn't, then it'll take longer, but with some effort you'll manage to speak it well. For example, imagine that we're in some language school in Italy (to learn Italian), which student will speak with a better accent, the poor Peruvian or Spanish guy whose accent in English sucks, or the brilliant Dutch lady with a posh English accent...
Life is full of sweet contradictions :)
<<Dutch is the closest language to English there is, so of course they speak good.>>
Dutch are just great, but I think the closest language to English is "Frisian", I'm not sure if that's the way you say it in English, but it's a language spoken in some region in the Netherlands, very close to English. Would a Dutch person or a Languages expert comfirm this, please??
Kind regards
Pete
Thank you very much, Jason.
<<...Also, the phonological and grammatical structures of Germanic languages are inherently closer to each other than between other languages, so this goes a great deal towards explaining why people whose native languages are Germanic tend to (on average) learn English quite well as compare to their counterparts from other backgrounds. It's a simple matter of which languages are closer--if your language is relatively close to another in, it will be easier for you to learn and master it (thus, you can't objectively say any one group is better at learning languages as a whole because it depends on which language you're referring to).>>
Absolutly. It depends on your mother tongue actually. If the target language belongs to the same family as yours, then it'll be quite easy for you to learn. If it isn't, then it'll take longer, but with some effort you'll manage to speak it well. For example, imagine that we're in some language school in Italy (to learn Italian), which student will speak with a better accent, the poor Peruvian or Spanish guy whose accent in English sucks, or the brilliant Dutch lady with a posh English accent...
Life is full of sweet contradictions :)
<<Dutch is the closest language to English there is, so of course they speak good.>>
Dutch are just great, but I think the closest language to English is "Frisian", I'm not sure if that's the way you say it in English, but it's a language spoken in some region in the Netherlands, very close to English. Would a Dutch person or a Languages expert comfirm this, please??
Kind regards
Pete