Speak American

Hi! I'm a guy from Saudi Arabia and I have been speaking English for years. My first three years in learning English were totally a kinda mess: a lota spelling mistakes, mispronunciations etc. you know language learners difficulties. Now, I can speak American accent perfectly. By the way I haven't been abroad but it is will and determination which served me a lot.
I've never expected a native speaker (especially Ame) to come to teach or speak with me. I am using to hanging out with a few native speakers and I PICKED UP the language.

I congratulate you on having made a great deal of progress, especially considering that you just picked up the language. Of course, you'll still have to keep working to perfect it (for example, "I am used to hanging out..." instead of "I am using to hanging out...").

You're trying too hard to sound like a native speaker. Most native speakers know better than to write "lota" or "kinda," unless they are very stupid or uneducated. Master correct English _first_, before you try to speak like a gangsta; and remember that any non-standard form of speech is likely to appeal only to a tiny minority of the population (the minority that happens to use the same non-standard speech).

<<You're trying too hard to sound like a native speaker. Most native speakers know better than to write "lota" or "kinda," unless they are very stupid or uneducated. Master correct English _first_, before you try to speak like a gangsta; and remember that any non-standard form of speech is likely to appeal only to a tiny minority of the population (the minority that happens to use the same non-standard speech).>>

Mxsmanic, not to go all ad hominem on you (I have better things to do than insult people online so that's not my intent) but have you ever actually had a meaningful conversation with another person or are you just a discouraging robot that spits out monotonous and/or misguided and/or unnecessarily negative comments towards others? 'Cause that's *kinda* the vibe I get from your comments. Actually, not "kinda," but "really." Anyway, have a great day, on to other business...

Bandar, good job on practicing with natives and trying your best to emulate native forms. As Gjones2 (helpfully) pointed out, there are a couple areas you can work on to perfect your English but you're doing great so far :) As Mxsmanic (unhelpfully) pointed out, you did use some forms like "lota" ("lotta") and "kinda" and that's perfectly fine as it that's how even the most educated English speakers speak in actual conversation (not just the "very stupid" or "uneducated"). Of course you wouldn't write such things in a formal essay but in a venue such as this that's fine--don't worry about Mxsmanic. We have hopes one day he'll show a more realistic and/or human side but in the meantime that's that.

typo alert:

--not "as it that's how"

but

"as that's how"

"We have hopes one day he'll show a more realistic and/or human side but in the meantime that's that."

Ahem...a bot's too stupid to have a human side.

I don't think it's very helpful to encourage someone to continue using a false-native style that will instantly mark him as a non-native speaker.

Nothing is more obvious (or more irritating to native speakers) than a non-native speaker who is trying to "go native." Too many non-native speakers attempt to do this when they haven't even come close to mastering the standard language. They give the same impression as Dan Akroyd and Steve Martin used to create long ago in old Saturday Night Live skits about the Czech brothers.

<<Ahem...a bot's too stupid to have a human side.>>

Maybe they'll come out with a new model sometime. Now with 25% more humanity! ;)

<<Nothing is more obvious (or more irritating to native speakers) than a non-native speaker who is trying to "go native.">>

But if you think about it whenever someone learns a new language of course they're gonna try and imitate natives. That's the very point of language learning! I'm personally not annoyed by nonnatives who are merely imitating the native speech norms they've been exposed to. In fact I think it's a good thing.

I used to work with a Syrian guy who had come to the US from Damascus to study engineering. He said when he first arrived, his English was basic at best, but after a few semesters with a black American roommate, it was pretty good, and well-flavored with AAVE! You could still tell he was a foreigner, but it was actually cute and endearing.

Hi buddies! I really thank you very much for the comments. Re the grammatical error I made, I thank Gjones2 very much for correcting me although I know it is a clear error but you know I was in a hurry.

Mxsmanic! Make sure that I do realize the differneces between formal writing and the informal one, but don't you think that we use familiar expressions in everyday English -even in outdoor ads- such as gonna, wanna, lotta, lotsa etc. Of course, when you write to a principal, you do not use such forms because it is considered informal.

Remember that we have language variations in both spoken and written English. BrE natives vary from AmE speakers in the follwoing aspects
1. Grammar 2. Pronunciation 3. Vocabulary 4. Style

Thanx Mxsmanic, I'm lookin' 4ward 2 hearin' from ya.

Oops, that "Guest" above was me and I didn't realize till now that I hadn't put my name there I guess.

No, we don't use familiar expressions in everyday written English. The written forms you mention—wanna, gonna, lotta, etc.—are used mainly only to transcribe spoken English in narratives.

Additionally, while you seem eager to use slang, your formal English remains incorrect. There's not much point in trying to go native if you haven't yet mastered correct English.

I suppose if you want to convince people that you're a a teenager from another planet, then your writing style makes sense. But in every other case it reeks of affectation.

<<The written forms you mention—wanna, gonna, lotta, etc.—are used mainly only to transcribe spoken English in narratives.>>

I use them all the time in venues such as this one, and I'm not transcribing spoken English from any narrative of mine, either.

Then you are an exception to the rule.

Yes, Kirk. You are an exceptionally intelligent and educated native speaker who doesn't know better to use such forms.