Some languages more sensitive to mistakes?

Do you think, some languages have greater sensitivity for mistakes? For example, when a foreigner speaks Russian, he is always corrected and people always point out the mistakes even if it's not wanted. If a foreigner speaks English it's opposite. Nobody points out mistakes or cares.

Is it because in Russian, mistakes are more damaging to understanding, or is it because less foreigners speak Russian, so they are not acustomed? Or is it because Russians pride their language, and English dont? Or Russians are less afraid to offense?

Don't limit the discussion to English and Russian. Let us derive a general solution.

I rarely have any difficulty understanding bad grammar or incorrect word usage, so I don't usually correct those kind of mistakes. Even if I were asked to, I probably wouldn't, because most foreigners I've talked to make several mistakes in every sentence they speak, so I would get tired of pointing them out... The real problem I have with foreigners is their bad pronunciation and their occasional inability to understand what I say to them...

Hmm...

I think it has to do more with the situation. For instance, it is well known that both the French and Russians take great pride in their languages and want it to be spoken correctly. However, they are also very warm and welcoming to people who are new to the languages and encourage them to speak even at the cost of making a mistake.

I am horrible at French, but I like to practice with friends in both Guadeloupe and France. In truth, I have yet to pronounce a single sentence correctly, but this does not bother them. They just laugh and correct me. Most of the time, they can understand what I wanted to say, but there are times when they stare at me like I am an idiot.

I think people of all languages get upset when they know someone is incorrectly speaking on purpose. For instance, a lot of people...myself included, do not like to hear the English language spoken incorrectly by individuals who you can tell should know better.

And yes, you can tell the difference between a person who doesn't speak the language and someone who just doesn't care to do it correctly. I am not afraid to correct a stranger's grammar or pronunciation when I think they should have known how to do it. I know this makes me a jerk, but I have pride in the English language.

When it comes to the German language...now that's a very different story. Germany is a very good example of a country with low pride in their language. It is not their fault, the world has been telling them that the German language is not attractive or good enough for a long time now and I think this has shaped the opinions of their young. I go to Germany every year and it never stops to amaze me at the negative image that a lot of children have for their language.

Now anyone who has read my prior posts knows that I am all about the German language, and I have encountered many interests groups across the world working hard to promote the language with a more modern positive spin, but is like telling a teenage girl with a low self-esteem that she is not fat and very pretty. Even when it's the truth she won't believe you ;-)

That's the problem with Germany: you will find find no other country in the world where so many young people are ashamed of or even hate their own country.

Many non-native English speakers have told me that they like English because it is spoken so casually. They can make mistakes and people will usually still understand them and not feel the need to correct them so much.

With such a large and diverse demographic of English speakers, it makes since that people are slack about it. Also, to my knowledge there is no Academy or Organization that regulates the English language like French, Spanish, Arabic and others have. Is that true?

Besides Russians, I hear that French natives are quite sensitive and correcting when it comes to foreigners making mistakes in French. I don't know personally, but I've heard a lot of stories about it.

Many non-native English speakers have told me that they like English because it is spoken so casually. They can make mistakes and people will usually still understand them and not feel the need to correct them so much.

With such a large and diverse demographic of English speakers, it makes sense that people are slack about it. Also, to my knowledge there is no Academy or Organization that regulates the English language like French, Spanish, Arabic and others have. Is that true?

Besides Russians, I hear that French natives are quite sensitive and correcting when it comes to foreigners making mistakes in French. I don't know personally, but I've heard a lot of stories about it.

...spelling correction

die Wahrheit

Bist du denn Englischmuttersprachler?

Ich denke, dass die Deutschen einfach vernünftig sind, da sie erkennen, dass Nichtmuttersprachler selbstverständlich Fehler machen. Sie freuen sich aber einfach, dass andere versuchen, ihre Sprache zu lernen, und das sollte jeder eigentlich tun. Wie kann man erwarten, dass Nichtmuttersprachler gar keine Fehler machen? Das ist Wahnsinn. Wie kann jemand, der z.B. Französisch lernt, nie eine falsche Verbform sagen, wenn es so eine wahnsige Menge gibt?

Trotzdem glaube ich nicht, dass die Deutschen ein negatives Image ihrer Sprache haben. Sie behaupten immer, dass sie sehr kompliziert sei, und meiner Meinung nach, macht es ihnen gerade deswegen nichts aus, dass Nichtmuttersprachler Fehler machen und nicht weil sie ein negatives Image der eigenen Sprache haben. Ich weiss, dass Französisch und Russisch auch kompliziert sind, aber meiner Meinung nach sollten Fehler in diesen Sprachen deshalb auch ignoriert werden.

I don't know. German was the language of my house and family until I started school. I spoke German at home and with family my whole life, however, now I speak English in my daily life. I would say that English is my native language...but it was not my first language.

Yes, there are going to be mistakes if you are learning or speaking a language that is not your native language...I was not addressing these people. I was talking about native speakers who should know how to speak their native language and still make simple mistakes.

An example of this is the word "gonna."

This word is not correct in any dialect or sub dialect of English. This is a word that was created via slang during the 1800's when the average person was of a lower education. I still hear this everyday where I live because people think that this is a correct expression; even though most of them were taught in school that this is incorrect and the correct phrase should be "going to."

However, they are never going to correct their mistakes unless they understand they are making them.

The reason I say "German youth have a negative image of their language," is purely my opinion. Each year that I visit, it seems English is taking over more...and when I ask the local young people about it...they say things like, "English sounds better. Germany doesn't do this. More people speak English." And this is not true, but for some reason they think it is.

A great example is the popular "Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS)." For those who do not know what this is, this is a German reality television program similar to our "American Idol." Now most countries have some type of this television program, but I think Germany is interesting to watch because of its lack of being German.

The people speak German. The three judges critique in German. But the singers sing mostly in English? There are two reasons given for this, one is that Germany does not have a very strong contemporary German music scene...this is debatable because I know of many German artists who sing in German. And the second reason, which is more believable, is that the majority of the music being listened to in German is in English and they are singing what the audiences want to hear. I will give this credit. Listen to any German radio and you will hear mostly English language music.

What upsets me about DSDS is that most of the songs performed have already been translated into German! You can find German lyrics for every song that has been performed on this show...they are not singing them. Some of the singers could not even speak English, but they could sing English songs with their incredible voices!!!

This bothers me because I have heard many of the German lyrics to these songs and I can tell you that they are beautiful. They not only sound great, but they match the music as well as the English lyrics do.

Now let's compare with the French version of this show, Nouvelle Star. Most of the songs that are performed on this show are performed in French! They even perform some of the same songs that have been performed on DSDS, but they sing the French lyrics....

I think that they choose to sing the French lyrics because they love their language. They want it to be heard and spoken. But I think this pride also makes them want it to be spoken correctly and this is why they (the French) and other people correct people when they hear mistakes. It is not because they want to correct the person, but because they love their language and they want it to be spoken correctly.

<< An example of this is the word "gonna."

This word is not correct in any dialect or sub dialect of English. This is a word that was created via slang during the 1800's when the average person was of a lower education. I still hear this everyday where I live because people think that this is a correct expression; even though most of them were taught in school that this is incorrect and the correct phrase should be "going to." >>

"going to" may be correct in written English, but it's almost always pronounced "gonna" in normal, everyday speech, at least around here in the US. Same with "wanna", "shoulda", "woulda", "coulda", etc.

well, if german music isn't that huge in germany, then why should the competitors sing in german?

someone mentioned that a lot of english songs have been translated into german. well, everyone who has heard the original version of a song will always prefer this version even though someone has translated it.

i live in denmark. we have a lot of danish artists and many of them write in both english and danish. people would laugh if someone tried to translatede Madonnas newest hit into danish and then let people sing it on sing star programmes on tv. it's not because that danish sounds bad, people just find it odd if things are translated into danish. the only example i can come up with where it is widespread is in cartoons or disney movies. of course small children do not understand english and therefore the movies have to be in danish.

we like to hear/watch things in its original language.

about the mistakes people make if it's not their mother tongue:

i guess, that people who speak english as their first language tend to "bear with" the mistakes that forigners make when speaking english due to the fact that most people on earth are able to speak english more or less and therefore the native english speaker is exposed to a lot of errors every day.

not many people speak russian. i guess that a native russian speaker reacts differently when hearing forigners speak russian than a native english speaker would have done, because they are not used to hear other people than russians speak russian which makes it very hard not to interrupt the forigner and point out mistakes.

I think the same thing goes for french speakers.

TheParisiens even spite at you if you make mistakes trying to speak their weird language. They are so rude!

<< Also, to my knowledge there is no Academy or Organization that regulates the English language like French, Spanish, Arabic and others have. Is that true? >>

Yes, that's true. About the closest equivalent would be the University of Oxford, which publishes the most prestigious and complete dictionary of the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The latest complete print version, printed in 1989, spans 20 volumes. You can buy newer versions on CD-ROM, or pay a hefty fee (£195 a year, $295 USD) to subscribe to the online version.

- Kef

''Listen to any German radio and you will hear mostly English language music.''

Well, the whole music style known as EURODANCE, very popular in the 90ies was produced by Europeans (40% by Germans, 40% by Italians and 20 % by others: Dutch, Belgian, Swedish, Swiss...) but sung completely in English (and many times with UK and US imported singers!!!)...this music style was popular outside of Europe too: Japan, Australia, South America, Canada.

Some songs were sung in a nonEnglish language (Der Berg Ruft by K2 or Hertz an Herz by Blümchen) but it just didn't sound good at all. Singing in English was the key to success. Eurodance produced by English-speaking coutries was limited, but existed (mostly in UK and Canada).

English is the language of music, since many things can be said using short words.

Singing in English is neutral, singing in language other than English is not.
American English of course, singing in RP is emotionless.