Are you tolerant of English mistakes?

[DoctorP]

It seems quite obvious to me that people love to poke fun at Japanese mistakes in English. Quite often these mistakes are referred to as Engrish or JEnglish or some other crude name.

My question here is: Are you more tolerant of Westerners mistakes with English than you are of Japanese persons mistakes?


Me personally I am quick to point out errors made by English speakers, especially those who either are/have been/or aspire to be teachers. With Japanese speakers on the other hand, I tend to be a little more lenient with them, expecting mistakes from time to time.

What are your opinions? How do you take critisism when someone corrects you?

[Dutch Baka]

I am tolerant to anyone that is not a native English speaker, including myself.

[DoctorP]

By tolerant, if you made a mistake, and it was pointed out to you, would you choose to say "thank you for pointing out my error!" Or would you instead throw a tantrum?

[Dutch Baka]

Depends on the mistake that I make, and on how that is being pointed out to me.

If someone is pointing out every mistake that I make, including where to put a capital or a comma sign for example, it would piss me off, but when someone tells me that you write Scientology instead of cientology, I am happy that somebody points out that mistake.

The way how I like someone to point this mistake out is in a way like this:

Me: Could someone please tell me more about the cientology church.
Anyone: The scientology church is a place where everybody is happy and can have fun together.

and not

Me: Could someone please tell me more about the cientology church.
Anyone: What the hell is cientology church, haha. you mean Scientology.

[DoctorP]

Point taken. But that example was a spelling mistake, and not an English or wording error. Much different in my opinion. On top of that, if you made a living as an English teacher for a large portion of your adult life, I would not expect serious English errors. Spelling errors on a computer could simply be due to typing too fast. I myself have made and corrected 10-12 errors in this paragraph, as I type about 135 wpm, but at times can be quite prone to keyboard errors.

[RockLee]

I am tolerant, but I can't stand it. I also like people to correct me, so I can learn :) I'm more lenient towards non-native speakers, ofcourse. ;-)

[Live91]

Well I'm only 15 and I probably make plenty of them so who am I to correct someone else? (Except the real beginners ^^ who actually need you to correct them in order to improve their english)

[nice gaijin]

When people ask for my help with their English, I am ruthless.
When people claim to be native English speakers and continually make flagrant mistakes, I am disgusted.
But most of the time, I'm tolerant.

[Elizabeth]

It seems quite obvious to me that people love to poke fun at Japanese mistakes in English. Quite often these mistakes are referred to as Engrish or JEnglish or some other crude name.
It is Engrish translation errors on public signs or written documentation that either seems purposeful or easily corrected showing a contempt of the language from people who have studied for so many years that also irritates me. If Japanese is so impossible for foreigners it sure looks like English is equally out of your league. :p

Errors from serious students of the language don't disturb me at all and most others probably don't care enough to make it worthwhile. So I guess I don't correct unless asked which I hope means I'm generally tolorant. :relief:

[Mycernius]

I am a bit more intolerant if the person is a native English speaker, especially when it come to double negatives and people getting learn and taught mixed up and borrow and lend (He learned me to drive. Can I lend your pen? Arrrrgh) It just strikes me a pig ignorance in your own langauge and people, especially adults, should know better as these things are taught at school.

[leonmarino]

Man, I'm studying International Business, and its curriculum is completely in English. The problem is some teachers are really bad at English!! (Most of our lecturers are non-native speakers..) We have this Russian lady who is sometimes comprehensible, a Indian guy who talk with a thick accent and many Dutch guys that talk Dunglish. (Literally translating Dutch saying to English.. Doesn't work!)

I guess it depends on the position of the speaker whether I am tolerant or not. I'm not a native speaker myself and probably make a lot of mistakes too, so I can't be too intolerant towards fellow students, friends or whoever.

[Nana007]

I'm pretty tolerant unless they make too many mistakes. But in all I can't stand correcting people or being corrected.

When I was younger I had a cousin who was a speech nazi. She would always stop you in the middle of the sentance and say "what was wrong with what you just said?" It was really annoying. I was about 5-8 when this happened the most.

She also used to make us repeat like grammer rule for the mistake we made. It was quite a headache. But I do know that for a long time after I spoke proper English. But when I moved to a different state from her and moved in with my dad where they themselve's didn't really speak proper English, I started I guess speaking more like they did. So now I admit my English is not the best.

[yukio_michael]

First, I don't think anyone should have issue with people who are learning a language, though I can tell you that the Japanese tend to laugh at the mistakes of foreigners more so than English speakers would feel it to be polite to laugh at the mistakes of ESL learners... This is always explained away in some fashion as the Japanese being happily curious about your use of their language, but when you flip the coin, it just seems outright rude... This is another double standard that gets applied to Japan.

Generally speaking I think there's probably a corollary between native-English speakers who possess very poor English grammar, and those same people who usually don't have too much to contribute to a conversation... It just seems to be that way to me. I'm not a fan of ruthlessly attacking someone's grammar, like some sort of 'brain-bully'... but I do like to know when I've made a very stupid, or easily corrected mistake.

Japan does seem to be an outlier when it comes to correct usage of the English language. It seems to me that they give absolutely no regard to the language itself and employ it the same way that mindless idiots get kanji tattooed on their bodies, and plastered all over their cars--- and yet, and yet, the Japanese do this ad nauseum, and with little respect or care. Again, this is seen as something 'quaint' and Japanese rather than something that tends to me, to be basic ignorance.

Japan it seems has no use for the English language other than as some form of ornamentation on children's surfing shirts at Jusco. They are either completely ignorant of the language, or simply regard it as something not worth their time to give much care to.

[Uncle Frank]

I'm too dumb to recognize mistakes in any language.

Uncle Frank

:okashii:

[Dutch Baka]

I'm too dumb to recognize mistakes in any language.

Uncle Frank

:okashii:

Me too, although I actually can see the mistakes I make myself.:relief:

[Nall-ohki]

The biggest grammatical error I see commonly has to be the misuse of few/less and amount/number.
Observe:
Johnny has 5 apples. Jane has 3. Jane has fewer apples than Johnny.
Tom ate 3/4 of his melon. Troy ate 1/2 of his. Tom has less melon left.
To paint a fence, I need 20 gallons of paint. I have only 10 gallons. The number of gallons of paint I have is insufficient, and the amount of paint I have is enough to cover only half the fence.
Countable/Uncountable. I cannot count the number of times this comes up.

[moofs]

I'm tolerant but I come across as someone who's pretty anal because of my straightshooting personality. I comment on everything and say whatever the hell I'm thinking. So if I see a mistake I'll point it out. It's in my nature to, I can't help it. :(

I find a lot of foreigners learning/speaking English often think that natives are impatient with them. My korean friend always tells me how white people kind of seem like they don't really want to talk to you. I don't know if they actually are, 'cause I've never had a problem (yay for growing up in Canada), and I never ask.

[maikeru :D]

I usually am tolerant with mistakes in English. Usually, if its just a minor mistake i would just let it go, but sometimes if it's a sentence i kind of don't understand or doesn't make sense, then i repeat what they had just said in a more gramatically correct form. In some cases the people would ask me to repeat the sentence again and explain to them why the sentence should be said that way.

First, I don't think anyone should have issue with people who are learning a language, though I can tell you that the Japanese tend to laugh at the mistakes of foreigners more so than English speakers would feel it to be polite to laugh at the mistakes of ESL learners...

Hey!! You can deliberately use wrong grammar or inapporiate use of japanese phrases for a comedic effect to get a laugh from the japanese. :cool:

[Mikawa Ossan]

Japanese people love to make fun out of their own English mistakes and lack of general ability, too.

[RockLee]

Me too, although I actually can see the mistakes I make myself.:relief:Ha! Liar ! Then why don't you correct them huh ;-) :p

[DoctorP]

I have two very close Japanese friends. The first is very careful when selecting his words/phrases and does quite well. Rarely have I ever needed to correct him. The other tries very hard, but still makes simple mistakes...I correct him each time, and he is very open to the corrections.

My workers butcher the language everyday, and I am extremely tolerant with them because the words are more technical and focused on a particular task or event.

My wife actually has a brilliant understanding of the language after being self taught. Her speaking is very good, and she only struggles at times with writing and a few times with pronuciations. There is a very hilarious story involving the words sperm and spam, but I'll save it for another time.

[yukio_michael]

Hey!! You can deliberately use wrong grammar or inapporiate use of japanese phrases for a comedic effect to get a laugh from the japanese. :cool:This is mostly one of the types of humour that can be employed using the Japanese language, typically that of overly-formal speach used when a plain form would be most natural. I'm a big fan of these types of jokes... Unfortunately, when one learns Japanese this is typically form that is taught, and it often sounds awkward and amusing to coloquial speakers.

Japanese people love to make fun out of their own English mistakes and lack of general ability, too.I understand, I know that they don't man any malice, I just think that its discouraging to be laughed at, especially when learning Japanese sort of "sets you up" for these types of mistakes in the first place. One has to be very careful to learn not only good coloquial speach, but also, to avoid speach that is outdated... When you learn Japanese, you tend to sound un-natural I think, right off the bat.

[Revenant]

I always notice the differences between my English and an Aussie's for example. Dunno that I could say they're English is wrong, but I often think it just doesn't sound right.

If a student is interested in being corrected, I'll correct everything they say, and with those that aren't, I simply correct what is simply uncomprehensible.

Almost always notice but tolerant of mistakes in English.

Also I take criticisms quite well. If something I do is just wrong, well heck, I wanna know the right way.

[Mycernius]

I always notice the differences between my English and an Aussie's for example. Dunno that I could say they're English is wrong, but I often think it just doesn't sound right.
If a student is interested in being corrected, I'll correct everything they say, and with those that aren't, I simply correct what is simply uncomprehensible.
Almost always notice but tolerant of mistakes in English.
Also I take criticisms quite well. If something I do is just wrong, well heck, I wanna know the right way.
Some Australians like to go up at the end of a sentence making everything they say sound like a question. That could be one reason why you find it odd.
To correct "Dunno" to "Don't know" or "do not know"
"Wanna" to "want to"
Not to critcise or anything:-) (Am I being anal here?)

[RockLee]

Dunno that I could say they're English is wrong, but I often think it just doesn't sound right.they're -> their

Sorry, I couldn't resist :relief:

[Elizabeth]

One has to be very careful to learn not only good coloquial speach, but also, to avoid speach that is outdated... When you learn Japanese, you tend to sound un-natural I think, right off the bat.
They can laugh all evening for all I'm concerned. I'll return the favor when they try to say something in English. What I care about is learning standard Japanese which means by-the-book proper grammar and pronunciation before splitting sentences into a million colloquial, conversational 乱れている日本語 pieces. :relief:

[Revenant]

Some Australians like to go up at the end of a sentence making everything they say sound like a question. That could be one reason why you find it odd.
To correct "Dunno" to "Don't know" or "do not know"
"Wanna" to "want to"
Not to critcise or anything:-) (Am I being anal here?)Not sure if the correcting part is in reference to Aussies, the same stuff is quite common among Canucks.

I mean as in they seem to use things like don't and doesn't, or have and has a bit differently from us.

[JimmySeal]

I've noticed that New Zealanders often say "I might do." where I would usually say "I might." I guess there's no solid reason why either is better than the other.

I toned down my act of correcting people's English after a large portion of the Tokushima JET community ganged up on me for correcting their webmaster (I figured English teachers should know the difference between "they're," "there" and "there," and how to use an apostrophe). But I have done it a few times since then.
I have Japanese friends who only use English in intermittent sentences, and I think they appreciate it when I rearrange their sentences into more natural-sounding English.

[Mycernius]

Not sure if the correcting part is in reference to Aussies, the same stuff is quite common among Canucks.
I mean as in they seem to use things like don't and doesn't, or have and has a bit differently from us.
No, I should have put a space between the correction and the comment about Australians.

I have never noticed the rising inflection in Canadian speech (I have Canadian relatives), but the "aye" at the end of every sentence can get a bit annoying sometimes. I do notice that not everyone does it, but it is very noticable when speaking to someone who habitually uses it. It is almost as bad as the universal teenage saying of "Ya'know" at the end of every statement. Britney Spears is, or was, fond of this.:okashii: :okashii:

@Rocklee : I missed that one

[Thunderthief]

Alot of Super Nintendo and Playstation RPG's I have, have medicore english translations.

[Nicky]

I try to be tolerant of mistakes made by others, I make plenty myself. Sometimes I can proofread a post several times and STILL miss huge errors. It's because I know exactly what I want to say ahead of time, and when I type and get to a word that looks similar to another word (For example: what/want) my hands automatically type out whichever word I'm more accustomed to typing. Then, when I proofread I skim, And my mind just kind of sees what it wants to see. It doesn't notice that I've typo'ed because it doesn't know that my hands wrote a completely different word than I originally intended. It assumes that word is correct and moves on to other words. And then other times, words will just inexplicably be missing from my posts because I'm just that awesome. I don't feel that with all the errors I make I should criticise others.

The only time I might throw a tantrum is when people go on ego trips and act condescending to others. Usually they correct simple typos and try to make it seem like the typo was the result of a posters inability to speak English and not just some error that occured as a result of someone forgetting to proofread before hitting the submit button.

Also, I hate it when people replace the word "scratch" with 'itch". As in "Stop itching it, you'll make it worse" (Stop scratching...etc). I don't know why it drives me crazy.

[Nana007]

My speech patterns change depending on who I am talking to. If I am speaking with friends, family I tend to use alot of slang or even improper grammer. But if I am at work I always use proper English.

Also a weird thing is New Orleanian's tend to add Yes or No to the end of a question. Not to really ask about something but to confirm something they know. Kind of like the ndesu, form.

[kewute]

I think I'm rather tolerant of mistakes in all the languages I speak, except Spanish.. but that's a different story
I'll correct people constantly in all languages I know, but with good intentions and sometimes, humor, I like to try and help people with it because I know what's it's like to go through myself, and as long as the corrections aren't insulting, they're all good.
I guess the most of it was growing up in an area where many languages were spoken and English was the only one almost everyone knew, of course I let little things slide, the whole purpose of language is to communicate a message/thought, if the message gets across and is understood enough to be corrected by people with higher standards of language, it's good enough as it is...

/hope i'm not contradicting myself..lol

[sadakoyamamura]

I am tolerant of mistakes in english if it does not come too often, if the speaker is a non native english speaker (heck even native english speakers commit faux pas), and if the speaker is not an English teacher. In my college days, there were english teachers who really disappointed me. If you're going to teach me the correct grammar, you should practice correct grammar (and pronunciation) yourself. I do admit that I don't write (or speak) exceptionally in english so how am I going to learn much from persons who are supposed to be adept at what they do?
Regarding writing (in english), I am tolerant if what I'm reading is not a formal document. I volunteer at proofreading the thesis documentation of my friend's students and my my you would have a migraine. Hmmm does that say something about the state of education in the Philippines? :clueless:
In both cases I don't laugh at the person, rather I try to point out the mistakes and correct them in a nice manner. :-)
I am tolerant because I know how hard it is for some to learn a new language. :bow:

[sabro]

Unless it is on an essay that has been proof read or edited or on a teacher's resume or application... I just let the mistakes go.

[Niedy]

I'm not a native english speaker myself, but I'm able to understand almost anything I read... and I get really irritated when I come across mistakes done by natives even I wouldn't make... like your instead of you're... wrong grammar and spelling... keyboard mistakes can happen but wrong spelling throughout a whole story (which is supposed to be proofread before releasing it)?
In german I usually let mistakes slip except when I'm asked to do some correcting (german grammar can be a ***** ^^), as I believe that correcting too much makes people feel insecure... if there is a big grammar mistake or someone's fishing for words I help out, but other than that, as long as it is comprehensible I just leave it...
people that are on a high level in a certain language will appreciate corrections, I think (at least I do...)... but on a low level there'd probably would be a need to correct every second word or so...

[fritzmonkey]

I tend to be tolerant. If its something like subtitles though then I tend to laugh a little bit. (Like the classic "all your base are belong to us.")

I also realize that I butcher the Japanese language when ever I try too speak it and laugh at myself.

[One Winged Angel]

well i speak english makeing a mistake is part of life just those who perfer to point it out and make fun are stupid because they make mistakes to

[sadakoyamamura]

If its something like subtitles though then I tend to laugh a little bit. (Like the classic "all your base are belong to us.")


Subtitles are indeed a source of comic relief. ;-)

[Sarah Jane]

One of my pet peeves is bad grammar.
And when I see something spelt wrong... I always correct the person.

I can't help it.
>.> It's OCD or something.


But I haven't talked to any Japanese people who were trying to learn English.
I would assume that I would be more lenient.

As for when people correct my mistakes.
It depends on what my mood is when I'm corrected. >.<

[nurizeko]

I'm tolerant of most mistakes, unless its on purpouse. :cool:

[RockLee]

I'm tolerant of most mistakes, unless its on purpouse. :cool:You spelt "purpose" wrong on purpose? :relief: You should be tolerant, as you make mistakes quite often :p

I don't mind people correcting me, as it is a good way to improve my English. :)

[nurizeko]

Thats a good point Rock, Language is a tool, not a scientific absolute.

Aslong as I can understand what the person is trying to convey I'm not going to be ramming my Hitler Youth issued jackboot down their throat and spitting facist insults at them.

People sometimes attack folk who speak a native dialect for speaking "poor English" or whatever, but who are they do insult that person like that?, if the dialect fullfils the same PURPOSE as the "correct" understanding of the language, then is it really incorrect, or merely different?.

As Rock pointed out, I make plenty of spelling errors and I'm native.
I find using my brain to learn more important academic disciplines then to conciously perfect my English (since I'm not primarily or even remotely educationally involved in learning language its a waste of time for me anyway) is a better of use a time.

People who insult and belittle people for "poor English" when they are otherwise smart intelligent people are scum in my book and are the true "defficient" ones.

Still, I personally cant stand folk who willingly retard their language ability to be cool or whatever, like leet speak or txt type.

But then thats part of my whole dislike for people who embrace self-imposed ignorance, like British Chavs. :-)

[misa.j]

Still, I personally cant stand folk who willingly retard their language ability to be cool or whatever, like leet speak or txt type.
That's what I notice, and sometimes irritates me, more than the honest English mistakes made by either natives or non-natives.

I get confused and lose interest in what they are saying when so many of the words are wrongly used.

[One Winged Angel]

well some people are lazy and perfer not to use the full word cause they feel it is to long,but they way i see it is if they get their point acroos im willing to listen.

[Anannsul]

I'm actually quite tolerant of English mistakes. Not everyone can speak english to the T. If anyone knows someone like this, I'd very much like to meet them.
Anywho..
There are also things I find semi intolerable. Text speak... Unless you are browsing on your phone (which I doubt) SPELL OUT YOUR DAMNED WORDS! It's annoying, but it doesn't stop me from talking to them. However, I must admit I do text speak sometimes when I'm in a playfull mood.
What really gets me, isn't leet speak or text speak... it's those god damn grammer and English nazi's! >< OH MY GOD! Let me tell you. Those people would start the most stupidest (and might I add largest) arguments over someone who types out in txt speak. Then when the person stops and starts typing normal, (with the more then occasional typo due to probably trying to type so fast out of anger) the nazi then starts yelling at them about (oh look you forgot a . or yeah well you misspelled "enter word here".)
That's what gets me.....