Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
OK perhaps we should try, I think that the translation would be pretty much identical (might vary slightly but not necessarily from national to national but just from person to person), honestly there is no difference between the language an American, Australian or Briton speaks, only varying levels of grammer from person to person not from national to national.
OK perhaps we should try, I think that the translation would be pretty much identical (might vary slightly but not necessarily from national to national but just from person to person), honestly there is no difference between the language an American, Australian or Briton speaks, only varying levels of grammer from person to person not from national to national.
Of course it has differences, saying otherwise is weird. An American, a Brit and an Aussie speak the same language, of course. The grammar is the same, of course. But there are slightly differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. Even spelling sometimes which is more flexible than that of my native language, just that some Latin Americans don't know when a word is written with c, s or z. But all English varieties have their own flavour and have special features which make them special. And there are no such thing as "British English", "American English" and "Australian English", someone from the Midwest sounds slightly different from someone from NYC, as well as a Londonian and a Liverpoolian sound different. Hell, even Londonian may vary from Paki accent to Cockney. But they all speak the same language with same rules. If they don't know how to use that grammar properly, it's their problem.
I guess it refers mostly to pronunciation and spelling, but also to vocabulary and syntax, although differences do not necessarily show in every sentence.
Being a technical translator myself, I can usually tell whether or not a text has been written by an American, and I am not talking about spelling. The American mind works differently then the British mind. And it shows in subtle ways. British minds are tidier and more logical, more German in a way, American minds are sloppier And it shows in the language.
For instance, Americans tend to have a different way of putting sentences, clustering nouns, etc.
The frequency of words of the same meaning being used is also different, which however does not mean of course that the less or more frequently used synonym does not exist in either language.
It's like with abacaxi and ananás for pineapple in Portuguese. Both are known in both Portugal and Brazil, but over here they usually say ananás whereas in Brazil they usually say abacaxi.
Brits often use the longer synonym, whereas Americans prefer shorter words.
Brits usually don't make a comma before and in enumerations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
Well, let's agree to disagree
No Neuling, the way a sentence is written by an American and a Briton is almost always going to be the structured the same. Structural differences are more likely to be because of lack of education or ignorance of the rules of English.
Your claim about British sentences reflecting minds being more "logical" and "tidier" like German minds is simply ridiculous, and reveals your ignorance about the English language. It also carries overtones of superiority from a bygone era. We're actually native English speakers, not learning it as a a foreign language.
Your claim about British sentences reflecting minds being more "logical" and "tidier" like German minds is simply ridiculous, and reveals your ignorance about the English language. It also carries overtones of superiority from a bygone era. We're actually native English speakers, not learning it as a a foreign language.
I worked in the USA and they would change my English saying, "we can tell you are English". We do think and view matters differently as a whole.
No Neuling, the way a sentence is written by an American and a Briton is almost always going to be the structured the same. Structural differences are more likely to be because of lack of education or ignorance of the rules of English.
Your claim about British sentences reflecting minds being more "logical" and "tidier" like German minds is simply ridiculous, and reveals your ignorance about the English language. It also carries overtones of superiority from a bygone era. We're actually native English speakers, not learning it as a a foreign language.
The English (white) Americans acquire while growing up is slightly different than the one Brits acquire. It is natural because of the different societies, histories, cultures etc. of those two countries. It is exactly the same as with Spanish and Portuguese in Europe vs Latin America. They differ, although not to the degree of course that would cause any real problems, especially not when written.
British minds are not the same as American minds. The average British mind is on average more precise but also clumsier, which makes it indeed more similar to the German mind. As I said, I am a translator with many years of experience. Saying I am ignorant about the English language says more about you than about me
British minds are not the same as American minds. The average British mind is on average more precise but also clumsier, which makes it indeed more similar to the German mind. As I said, I am a translator with many years of experience. Saying I am ignorant about the English language says more about you than about me
Neuling, it's fortunate you feel so defensive about this topic. I was hoping we could have a civilized discussion, rather than a mud-slinging match. It is widely acknowledged that those learning English as a foreign language are not, and generally never will be, as proficient as native speakers. The exception being those who immigrate to a native English-speaking country at a young age and immerse themselves in the language and culture. Furthermore, the comments about inherent differences in the brains of different nationalities is a way of thinking that fell out of favor in the late 1940's. In your work as a freelancer (now translator) I'm sure you've come across many bright people from a variety of backgrounds.
It is widely acknowledged that those learning English as a foreign language are not, and generally never will be, as proficient as native speakers.
I know your message was to Neuling and not me, but this part has caught my eye. I've always felt it was unfair and thought this was the best reason why Esperanto, Latin or even Ancient Greek should be adopted as International languages instead of English or perhaps Mandarin in the future. I wouldn't even agree with Spanish being the International language as their native speakers would be at a huge advantage.
Neuling, it's fortunate you feel so defensive about this topic. I was hoping we could have a civilized discussion, rather than a mud-slinging match. It is widely acknowledged that those learning English as a foreign language are not, and generally never will be, as proficient as native speakers. The exception being those who immigrate to a native English-speaking country at a young age and immerse themselves in the language and culture. Furthermore, the comments about inherent differences in the brains of different nationalities is a way of thinking that fell out of favor in the late 1940's. In your work as a freelancer (now translator) I'm sure you've come across many bright people from a variety of backgrounds.
I was talking about minds, not brains. Major difference...
The average Portuguese mind is also different from the average Brazilian mind, despite the same language. Not biologically and at birth of course, but the mind rapidly specializes on the culture it grows up in, thus becoming more and more distinct from minds elsewhere. And language is a key element of culture.
Only in rare cases is there actually a brain difference because of the language. Chinese is one of those cases.
I agree of course that people learning English as a second language will never master it the way a native speaker does. However, BECAUSE of that my view makes even more sense because even I as a non-native speaker notice the difference, which maybe native speakers might not notice because they don't look at a language as analytically as I do. My goal is different, namely to improve my English by analyzing and emulating, whereas a native speaker focuses on understanding others.
Native proficiency is also hardly needed.
I surely have not any native proficiency, my English is plenty of mistakes but I can communicate with everyone of you here.
The same cannot be said for most of English speakers who are monolingual with people outside of Anglosphere.
I was talking about minds, not brains. Major difference...
The average Portuguese mind is also different from the average Brazilian mind, despite the same language. Not biologically and at birth of course, but the mind rapidly specializes on the culture it grows up in, thus becoming more and more distinct from minds elsewhere. And language is a key element of culture.
Only in rare cases is there actually a brain difference because of the language. Chinese is one of those cases.
I agree of course that people learning English as a second language will never master it the way a native speaker does. However, BECAUSE of that my view makes even more sense because even I as a non-native speaker notice the difference, which maybe native speakers might not notice because they don't look at a language as analytically as I do. My goal is different, namely to improve my English by analyzing and emulating, whereas a native speaker focuses on understanding others.
Can you give us an example of the different 'English' languages? Really apart from the accent and regional slang the language an Australian, Briton or American uses is identical.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And it shows in the language.
