Missing Articles

[Furbie]

US population = 300 million

UK population = 60 million

American English wins (even when you take out the folks who only speak Spanish). All you Brits can go cry in your blood pudding as the days of the British Empire, as impressive as it was, are over. Just be glad you didn't have to learn French.

[HowardJohnson]

Ya, like, wateva...

[Cuban]

It was about bad English being taught to Thais...ie..Thais say things like: "He went to hospital" and....

But they were able to communicate in the language.

With the basic communication in place if the person in question can progress with the language they will.

My speak Thai not good much - I like eat food - I eat chicken have rice with cold orange water drink please.

I speak bastard Thai - it's enough not to starve - it is improving - I consider I have to start somewhere.

When I speak with someone who is delevoping their English skills I consider that they only need 'correcting' if they are ready to progress to the next level.

And as a point on imformation to the OP - American Schools teach "English" not American.

[Sidris]

It was about bad English being taught to Thais...ie..Thais say things like: "He went to hospital" and....

But they were able to communicate in the language.

With the basic communication in place if the person in question can progress with the language they will.

My speak Thai not good much - I like eat food - I eat chicken have rice with cold orange water drink please.

I speak bastard Thai - it's enough not to starve - it is improving - I consider I have to start somewhere.

When I speak with someone who is delevoping their English skills I consider that they only need 'correcting' if they are ready to progress to the next level.

And as a point on imformation to the OP - American Schools teach "English" not American.

...well it is not just some uneducated people, it is pervassive and I hear it on Thai tv all the time by Thai professionals, there English is almost perfect but for the fact of the missing articles.

[LeungKen]

.

"...well it is not just some uneducated people, it is pervassive and I hear it on Thai tv all the time by Thai professionals, there English is almost perfect but for the fact of the missing articles. "

"Calling black pot kettle the" please rearrange.

Perhaps an erudite scholar would be so kind as to number and list the mistakes in the OP's quote above.

[bkkmick]

Not quite one million...

[polecat]

I love it when people use Wikipedia to make some kind of definitive statement. It's like using a Mama cup noodle to illustrate Thai cuisine.

[astral]

I am not sure why the OP worries.

The fact that Thais can speak any English is to be applauded.

It is very unfortunate that the transatlantic version is the preferred one, but better than nothing.

[astral]

I love it when people use Wikipedia to make some kind of definitive statement. It's like using a Mama cup noodle to illustrate Thai cuisine.

[a2396]

US population = 300 million

UK population = 60 million

American English wins (even when you take out the folks who only speak Spanish). All you Brits can go cry in your blood pudding as the days of the British Empire, as impressive as it was, are over. Just be glad you didn't have to learn French.

"Just be glad you didn't have to learn French". Yes, thanks to Lord Nelson & the Duke of Wellington among others. At the rate things are going though, the Americans will soon be learning Spanish. Si, si , amigo.

[telaksslave]

US population = 300 million

UK population = 60 million

American English wins (even when you take out the folks who only speak Spanish). All you Brits can go cry in your blood pudding as the days of the British Empire, as impressive as it was, are over. Just be glad you didn't have to learn French.

the great american army, since the 2nd world war you have killed more brits with ur "friendly fire" than u have of the opposition and you only have to watch something like r u smarter than a 5th grader, to just see the yanks level of inteligence

[roygsd]

The biggest insult for me is when my daughter, who visits the U.K. and is taught be myself, mark her down at school when she does English homework.

The teachers are all Thai and base their experience and knowledge on the American version ???????

It,s also amazing how many Thai teachers have spent time in America and think it,s the main version out there.

My daughter comes home sometimes very downhearted and tells me i am teaching her incorrectly.

Used to that is.

As they test her on one of the slang versions of English, we have reached an agreement whereby she answers as they teach her, while accepting the way i teach her is genuine English outside of the school.

It,s enough to make a preacher swear sometimes when you think of all the different nationalities that are teaching broken English, their style in Thailand.

marshbags

If your annoyed ( and I would be ) put the teachers on the spot, they are being paid to provide a service for which they clearly are not doing very well.

" Tell the truth and shame the devil" as they say.

Roy gsd

[roygsd]

English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers and Roman auxiliary troops from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Northern Netherlands. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually came to dominate. The original Old English language was then influenced by two waves of invasion. The first was by language speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family; they conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries. The second was the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman. These two invasions caused English to become "mixed" to some degree (though it was never a truly mixed language in the strict linguistic sense of the word; mixed languages arise from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who develop a hybrid tongue for basic communication).

Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical supplementation of the Anglo-Frisian core of English; the later Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more elaborate layer of words from the Italic branch of the European languages. This Norman influence entered English largely through the courts and government. Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of great flexibility and with a huge vocabulary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language

And prey tell, what nationality was the person who programmed this information into the "wikipedia" site?

"These two invasions caused English to be "mixed" to some degree ( though it was never a truely mixed language in the strict linguistic sense of the word"

it either is mixed or it isnt.

Sounds like Fluent Bull...t to me............................

[slackula]

America: The Jerry Springer Show

Britain: The Jerry Springer Show Opera!

Those uncultured colonial philistines!