Laugh about English

By lukezim - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Humor

Saturday, March 22, 2008

PRONOUNCING ENGRISH

Problems with pronunciation are a rich source of funny stories and one I draw on continually. Pronunciation is crucially important. It is the first thing you notice about a foreigner’s language (as mentioned in my book 7 Factors that Make or Break Language Learners, 1999). Like most people you... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

New words

Before we move onto pronunciation problems, here's my last chapter on vocabulary: Language learners can be very creative in their expression. Sometimes there is no word to express what they want to say and so new words emerge. For example what is the opposite of ‘female’? Yes, you guessed it, it is... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

From one language to another

Another good source of stories, and one I have only recently started to explore, is words that have travelled from one language to another. In the 1950’s the Australian government invited large numbers of immigrants from Europe to settle in Australia and I can imagine books could be filled with... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Forin names

Many foreigners take on English names, which is a real blessing for native speakers. Foreign names from some countries are difficult to pronounce and difficult to remember. At the same time we know that names are so important. Remembering someone’s name makes them feel special and shows that we care... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Too many vocabularies

Too many vocabularies English has the largest vocabulary of any language in the world. It is estimated that there are approximately half a million words in English, of which three hundred thousand are technical. This still leaves us with another two hundred thousand general English words. With so... Sign in to see full entry.

About this Blog

This is a collection of anecdotes and examples of mistakes non-native speakers have made in the process of learning and using English as a second language. These stories have been collected over seven years in various countries and from numerous nationalities, and include difficulties with vocabulary, pronunciation, writing and culture. All examples have a twist; by making unintentional mistakes, non-native users of English have added a new, humorous dimension to the English language.