What English mistakes are typically American?

Jürgen   Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:37 pm GMT
I am learning English, but my teacher is a US-American. Can somebody please tell me what mistakes Americans make when they learn to speak English, so I don't make such mistakes too? I want to learn English correctly and I am afraid I might not know what is correct and what is not.
Travis   Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:43 pm GMT
The matter is this - such things aren't mistakes but are simply features of various dialects of North American English as actually spoken...
Guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:46 pm GMT
Thank-you, Travis.

I think you already know English, J. I wonder if you really know German, lol.
Jürgen   Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:58 pm GMT
Natürlich kann ich Deutsch. Ich will aber Englisch richtig erlernen und habe Angst, dass mein Lehrer mir etwas falsches beibringt, da er US-Amerikaner ist. Ich habe immer gehört, dass die Amerikaner eigentlich kein richtiges Englisch können. Schlechte Gewohnheiten sind sehr schwer abzugewöhnen.
Guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:22 pm GMT
You probably used an online translator for that and aren't really German. lol
Travis   Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:25 pm GMT
/me shakes his head.
Guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:30 pm GMT
This is what I like about Antimoon.
guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:33 pm GMT
<<Can somebody please tell me what mistakes Americans make when they learn to speak English>>

So, denken Sie dass die Amerikaner Englisch "lernen"? Sie ist unsere eigene Sprache! Englisch is nicht nur die Sprache von England.

<<Ich habe immer gehört, dass die Amerikaner eigentlich kein richtiges Englisch können. Schlechte Gewohnheiten sind sehr schwer abzugewöhnen. >>

Das stimmt. You can't always go by what you've heard.
Guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:43 pm GMT
Travis,

I thought you gave a good answer (at least a patriotic one).

The other part of my post was to "Jürgen".

It's a little late in the game, if you already know English, to be complaining about how Americans speak English. Don't tell me that you've never met Americans!'

It's all English. It's not like German where one is cautioned not to learn such and such because it's not the arcolect.
Guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:50 pm GMT
"und habe Angst"

Das glaube ich nicht. Okay, denn brauchst du Herr Doktor Franco.

I don't believe it. Okay, then you need Dr. Franco.

Sorry, for writing in German. I didn't use a translator.
Guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:52 pm GMT
"when they learn to speak English"

Also funny. Yeah, I'm trying to remember my first language. I think it was SoCal.
Guest   Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:54 pm GMT
oops! Acrolect...
Travis   Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:04 am GMT
>>It's all English. It's not like German where one is cautioned not to learn such and such because it's not the arcolect.<<

Well, such is not quite true, as there are definitely English dialects which are definitely rather basilectal that I honestly doubt that most learners of English are planning on learning outside of linguistic interest. However, the matter is that many European seem to have this idea that English English and in particular RP is "correct English" and North American English, even conservative General American, is "incorrect English". The thing that is ironic about such, of course, is that conservative GA is actually awfully close to RP, essentially being a Home Counties dialect with a number of vowel mergers and without the post-breakup innovations in southeastern English English (such as non-rhoticism).
Guest   Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:15 am GMT
You're right, Travis. But really, we can't say that without using words like "basilectal", because if we discussed what that really means in terms of American English, it could be considered offensive. I'm surprised noone has picked up on this.
pbpjr246   Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:22 am GMT
"But really, we can't say that without using words like "basilectal", because if we discussed what that really means in terms of American English, it could be considered offensive."

Are you talking about AAVE?