English

[Recycle]

It's a cycling forum and whilst it is easier to understand a post that is correct both the spelling and grammatically, I would be one of the first to say I am not perfect and struggle with spelling (thank goodness for Google and it's red squiggly underlining). However as some have mentioned, it might not be their first language and for others they are struggling with dyslexia. I have a friend who makes hilarious comments on my Facebook page when he makes mistakes but I normally don't point it out to him as he finds writing very hard even using software to help him.

Be tolerant of those mistakes, by all means use the correct spelling in your reply to a post but remember that a new cyclist might not realise the difference between breaks and brakes.

I suffer from something closely related to dyslexia. The tendency to transpose numbers, words, almost anything. If there is anything that has two options, I will choose the wrong option (no I meant OTHER left). This frequently means I jumble the word order in sentences or the letter order in spelling.
The results are mostly funny but on one occasion it caused me to fail a maths exam.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I suffer from something closely related to dyslexia. The tendency to transpose numbers, words, almost anything. If there is anything that has two options, I will choose the wrong option (no I meant OTHER left). This frequently means I jumble the word order in sentences or the letter order in spelling.
The results are mostly funny but on one occasion it caused me to fail a maths exam.

I think that is why i find german easier than english - the words are naturally in the 'wrong' order!

 

[Marshmallow_Fluff]

Really? (I'm safe as that's not a sentence.)

BTW Spanish uses an upside down question mark at the beginning of a question and a proper one at the end. Anyone know what that is all about?

That is the way to define where the question starts and finishes, as sometimes the question is within a phrase.. For example, in @Maz 's phrase: Lógico, ¿no? The question is limited to the word "no" not the whole of the question. I find it very clever and precise way to form a interrogative sentence.

 

[Recycle]

I think that is why i find german easier than english - the words are naturally in the 'wrong' order!

I'm South African with Afrikaans as a second language, which has a similar grammar structure to German. When expressing the time on the half hour in English it's habit for me to include the redundant word "past". E.g., "half past five" rather than "half five" because in Afrikaans or German "half five" would mean half an hour to five (4:30). That misunderstanding has caused many missed appointments.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

A question for Spanish speakers: is there a change of word order when a question is being posed? I know that there is in French but it's not always used in spoken language as the speaker relies on change of intonation. Similarly, ''No'' in itself is not a question but it is in this context: ''Lógico, ¿no?'' where the formal question form would be the Spanish equivalent of something like ''Is this not right?''

 

[User169]

I'm South African with Afrikaans as a second language, which has a similar grammar structure to German. When expressing the time on the half hour in English it's habit for me to include the redundant word "past". E.g., "half past five" rather than "half five" because in Afrikaans or German "half five" would mean half an hour to five (4:30). That misunderstanding has caused many missed appointments.

It's the same in Dutch - we couldn't understand why we kept missing appointments when we first moved here. "Twenty minutes to" is often stated in relation to the half hour, so 5:40 would be "10 after half an hour to six".

 

[Marshmallow_Fluff]

A question for Spanish speakers: is there a change of word order when a question is being posed? I know that there is in French but it's not always used in spoken language as the speaker relies on change of intonation. Similarly, ''No'' in itself is not a question but it is in this context: ''Lógico, ¿no?'' where the formal question form would be the Spanish equivalent of something like ''Is this not right?''

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking, but I think I agree..
When I said that the double question mark defines the start and finish of a question, I meant in terms of what you are mentioning as "change of intonation". So, basically, yes! The question ¿no? cannot stand on itself but only in context, but only the word "no" adopts the questioning tone. Does that make any sense at all?

 

[Haitch]

5:40 would be "10 after half an hour to six".

And 5:20 is ten before half an hour to six.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

A question for Spanish speakers: is there a change of word order when a question is being posed? I know that there is in French but it's not always used in spoken language as the speaker relies on change of intonation. Similarly, ''No'' in itself is not a question but it is in this context: ''Lógico, ¿no?'' where the formal question form would be the Spanish equivalent of something like ''Is this not right?''

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking, but I think I agree..
When I said that the double question mark defines the start and finish of a question, I meant in terms of what you are mentioning as "change of intonation". So, basically, yes! The question ¿no? cannot stand on itself but only in context, but only the word "no" adopts the questioning tone. Does that make any sense at all?

I've only been learning the language since the start of term, but basically, no you don't need to change the verb (?) order to indicate a question, from what I can tell. So instead of "do you like..?" it is/can be "you do like...?" or "you like...?" indicated by the ¿ and ?. also something similar with ¡ and ! but I have yet to fully suss that one out, other than greetings like ¡Hola!

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Well bors an gals oi be from Narfulk so we be talkin diffrent an we dint barver wiv spellin much. That dont matters.

Well to be serious, my own English language skills are not particularly good - so I cannot afford to be pedantic.
Text speak is now part of our language and new words are being added to the Oxford dictionary every year - so I guess they are a valid part of our language. Although some text speak is in my opinion unnecessarily coarse - as in PMSL which should be BIOUDTLU.......Being Incontinent Of Urine Due TO Laughing Uncontrollably.
This is of course a possible occurrence whereas no amount of laughter will cause your chubby buttocks to fall off (LMFAO)

I don't actually speak with a Norfolk dialect - but I love to hear regional accents (except Liverpudlian!!!!) and believe it would be a great shame if these were lost.

In terms of spelling - some of our language is frankly illogical and it is no wonder that people cannot work out how to spell or pronounce words, when the rules change from word to word.
George Bernard Shaw - chose to spell phonetically, and this decision did not seem to damage his ability to write.

Having said all that, I do wish that people knew that ECT is a form of treatment used for severe depression (Electro Convulsive Therapy)
and not the same as ETC - (and so) on etc etc......

 

[summerdays]

I suffer from something closely related to dyslexia. The tendency to transpose numbers, words, almost anything. If there is anything that has two options, I will choose the wrong option (no I meant OTHER left). This frequently means I jumble the word order in sentences or the letter order in spelling.
The results are mostly funny but on one occasion it caused me to fail a maths exam.

I do the number one - it lead one time to panic when I had incorrectly written down the telephone number needed to phone a lawyer person to do with evidence to be used in court that I had to make my mind up about. Lots of phoning of the courts buildings to try and get the correct number from them. Now I usually reread the number back to someone to get them to confirm it is correct!

 

[Arch]

Having said all that, I do wish that people knew that ECT is a form of treatment used for severe depression (Electro Convulsive Therapy)
and not the same as ETC - (and so) on etc etc......

The other day, I was chatting to someone who was complaining about the inability of her doctors to send her to a counsellor - they kept trying to offer her Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which she knew wasn't what she needed.

I wondered if she should just do her Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), get a motorbike, and take it along and say "There, done that, now, get me a counsellor!"

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Personally, I think motorbikes are horrid scary things and anyone that wants to ride one should consider CBT!

 

[Recycle]

I do the number one - it lead one time to panic when I had incorrectly written down the telephone number needed to phone a lawyer person to do with evidence to be used in court that I had to make my mind up about. Lots of phoning of the courts buildings to try and get the correct number from them. Now I usually reread the number back to someone to get them to confirm it is correct!

Yes, repeating a number back to someone is a technique I use as well. It's not an uncommon disorder and most sufferers have found ways of managing it. Every now and then something slips through the diligence net though. It's astonishing the mistakes you find when you review your work the next day. That's sadly not an option you have in an exam.

 

[martint235]

The insistence of southerners to introduce an extra "r" into words such as barth and grarss. It's a bath and it's grass.

Also attaching quantifiers to absolute words such as saying very unique or most complete