How Often Do You Correct Your Wife'S/ Gf'S English?

[siammcfarang]

My Thai wife often reminds me to correct her English. I do quite often, then I don't bother for a while, partially out of forgetfullness, laziness, and the fact that I find the way she speaks english funny, amusing, or cute. Now she has a degree in English and speaks it quite well, but I suppose I should be more consistent and correct her more often, and more consistantly. Anyone else have this "problem" ? Dino

[JurgenG]

My gf has a better English than me. But, being Thai, she is usually shy to correct me.

Sometime she feels a bit embarassed when I repeatly use the wrong word, or, more often, the wrong pronunciation , she tells me .... so cute !

[siammcfarang]

My gf has a better English than me. But, being Thai, she is usually shy to correct me.

Sometime she feels a bit embarassed when I repeatly use the wrong word, or, more often, the wrong pronunciation , she tells me .... so cute !

i guess the other reason i do not constantly correct her is my bpen rai khrap, and besides, who likes to be corrected all the time? I know she would not mind, but I like to treat people the way i would like to be treated..there are too many rules in this world already me thinks..

[TheLaughingMan]

My gf has a better English than me. But, being Thai, she is usually shy to correct me.

Sometime she feels a bit embarassed when I repeatly use the wrong word, or, more often, the wrong pronunciation , she tells me .... so cute !

i guess the other reason i do not constantly correct her is my bpen rai khrap, and besides, who likes to be corrected all the time? I know she would not mind, but I like to treat people the way i would like to be treated..there are too many rules in this world already me thinks..

Seriously? Who likes to be corrected all the time? Oh I don't know someone serious about learning something properly. She's asking you for a favor and you actually think you are being nice by not doing what she asks, you are lazy.

[sbk]

I realize you are asking about "cute" Thai girlfriend English but I thought I'd put my two pennies worth in anyway

My husband's English is very good and he will ask me for the meaning of words on occasion but I have never really corrected him much. Usually I just make sure I speak proper English with him at all times and he has learned to speak correctly that way. Speaking pidgin English with your partner is foolish IMO since it teaches that person the incorrect way to speak English.

Better to speak more slowly, more clearly and if necessary, use simpler words (or do what I tend to do, use a more complex word but then explain it) so that your partner's English is improved without them feeling picked on, criticized or like an idiot.

[StreetCowboy]

One is reminded of the scene in 'Life of Brian' in which Centurion John Cleese corrects Brian's latin graffiti, and then insists that he write it out 100 times

Romanes ite domo, as we might (probably incorrectly), say to foreigner visitors

Personally, I worry not about grammatical idiosyncrasies, but provide a more appropriate alternative when the meaning is potentialy ambiguous - though generally I am not as deliberately obtuse as I am on this forum - girls are rarely impressed by grandiloquency

SC

(that's irony, not sarcasm)

[JurgenG]

Long time ago I was talking with some friends about chaos theory. I really tried to make it as simple as possible but the only thing I got was blank looks.

That was until my gf, very softly, told me my chaos sounds very much like a cow.

I'm still very famous in some circles for my cow theory

[TheLaughingMan]

Long time ago I was talking with some friends about chaos theory. I really tried to make it as simple as possible but the only thing I got was blank looks.

That was until my gf, very softly, told me my chaos sounds very much like a cow.

I'm still very famous in some circles for my cow theory

HA!

[jimbeam1]

My gf has a better English than me. But, being Thai, she is usually shy to correct me.

Sometime she feels a bit embarassed when I repeatly use the wrong word, or, more often, the wrong pronunciation , she tells me .... so cute !

i guess the other reason i do not constantly correct her is my bpen rai khrap, and besides, who likes to be corrected all the time? I know she would not mind, but I like to treat people the way i would like to be treated..there are too many rules in this world already me thinks..

Seriously? Who likes to be corrected all the time? Oh I don't know someone serious about learning something properly. She's asking you for a favor and you actually think you are being nice by not doing what she asks, you are lazy.

I agree with you there totally. I love it when my g/f tries to pronounce "R". We usually finish up having a good laugh about it. Sadly she dosen't need to correct me on my Thai, as it is nowhere near as good as her English.

jb1

[jdinasia]

I would suggest correcting in this order.

1) Correct when the mistake would cause embarrassment. (stigmatizing mistakes, like using the word condom when the word should be condo)

2) Correct when the mistake creates confusion. (time error mistakes, or preposition mistakes etc that make it unclear who they are talking about or when something happened)

3) Correct when the mistake is common/repeated. (prepositions and articles)

The rest of the time, avoid correction and do as SBK suggests. Use proper English.

edited for clarity and to add ....

I don't correct my bf of 8 years very often. He's fluent in English. However he did learn from Americans like me, so I do get the occasional phone call when he is at work asking "What is the proper way to let a vendor's company know that their employee really "<deleted>%ked up" , to which I would reply "made a critical error".

Edited April 7, 2011 by jdinasia

[MSingh]

How can someone have a " Degree in English ", yet only speak it " quite well " ??

Where does this " Degree " get issued & to what standard ??

[jdinasia]

How can someone have a " Degree in English ", yet only speak it " quite well " ??

Where does this " Degree " get issued & to what standard ??

"quite well" is a subjective statement, Many people have degrees in a language but may have focussed on literature etc, or not have had much opportunity since earning a degree to use the spoken language. If you pass your classes a degree is awarded even if you aren't great. Degrees are earned in a university or a college. The standard would depend on not only where the school was, but also it's accreditations and areas of specialization.

I personally know more than a few people in Thailand with a Master's degree in English Education that don't speak English well. (Yes, that is sad!) They write well and can dissect a sentence but their speaking skills are poor.

[electrozebra]

Not just g/f's but I have Thai friends who also like to learn English. Their favourite way to learn is for me to speak and when they do not know a word i spell it for them and they write it down in English and Thai. Seems they remember it better that way.

They are all proud to learn and speak english, especially when other Thai people compliment them on their English.

I too get lazy in teaching them more English because i am generally happy that I can communicate with them yet I do get asked often, so correcting is not an issue for me.

The best Thai speaker of English I know taught herself using one of those Thai/English translation machines. She taught herself more than any other Thai I know and in 6 months. I could hold a conversation with her on almost any subject. The reason she was so dedicated in learning was for her English boyfriend so she could talk to him everyday on the phone.

[JurgenG]

I personally know more than a few people in Thailand with a Master's degree in English Education that don't speak English well. (Yes, that is sad!) They write well and can dissect a sentence but their speaking skills are poor.

Not only in Thailand. I used to have teachers who were unable to have a current conversation in the language they were teaching.

Also it seems speaking and writing are two different skills. We have this rep in California, the way she writes is terrible, can't put two words in a row without a spelling mistake. But of course she speaks fluently.

I have this assistant in Shenzhen (china), her written English is perfect. But she can't talk.

[Scully]

Ask your Thai GF/wife to say "fluff" I guarantee she will pronounce it "flupp".

Until she can master the word fluff she cannot truly speak the Queens English .

[JurgenG]

^ Be a queen, don't be a drag ?

Honestly , I don't want my gf to talk like that, she was not born this way

Edited April 7, 2011 by JurgenG

[NancyL]

Dear Hubby corrects my English all the time, pointing out that it's "to", not "ta" and that I sometimes ignore the final "g" in words that end in "ing", as in "I'm goin' ta the store". Also I really try hard to avoid using words like "wash" or "Washington, D.C.", because I want to add an "r" as in "warsh the dishes". Personally, I find it annoying and point out that President Obama has the same pronouncation problems that I do. At least my birth certificate says I was born in the U.S.A.

[sbk]

I don't correct my bf of 8 years very often. He's fluent in English. However he did learn from Americans like me, so I do get the occasional phone call when he is at work asking "What is the proper way to let a vendor's company know that their employee really "<deleted>%ked up" , to which I would reply "made a critical error".

I know this one too!

[krading]

My missus learnt most of her English by talking with her village friend and that girls Swiss boyfriend.

By the time I arrived on the scene I had to try and understand the result of school learnt Thaiglish mixed with self taught Swissglish.

I have a lot of 'correcting' still to do .

[Moonrakers]

I'm just too impatient for that kind of thing. I do make an extra effort to correct my daughter though, but there's a bit of a problem.

You see, I have a bit of a 'wossy'.

For those who don't know, a 'wossy' is a speech impediment where the speaker struggles with 'R's'. The impediment become known affectionately as a 'wossy' after the English celeb Jonathan Ross, who is afflicted with the same thing. Mine is only slight and often goes unnoticed, but it is there.

So when it comes to correcting our daughters enunciation of words things become a bit difficult. With my wife being Thai, she can't pronounce her 'R's' too well either. Trying to correct somebody's English when you can't do it yourself is quite difficult.

My daughter is bright, the Thai government is sending her to demonstration schools because her grades are very high. The poor girl is going to come a cropper when it comes to conversations about squirrels though.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Moonrakers

[tonititan]

Speaking pidgin English with your partner is foolish IMO since it teaches that person the incorrect way to speak English.

Better to speak more slowly, more clearly and if necessary, use simpler words (or do what I tend to do, use a more complex word but then explain it) so that your partner's English is improved without them feeling picked on, criticized or like an idiot.

Agreed! I cringe every time I hear someone speaking pidgin English to his/her partner....especially when the person wants to learn more English! It doesn't help them if you model poor English. For the most part, an English language learner can understand "Should we go to the store?" or "Wanna go to the store?" just as well as "We go store?"

[geronimo]

Seriously? Who likes to be corrected all the time? Oh I don't know someone serious about learning something properly. She's asking you for a favor and you actually think you are being nice by not doing what she asks, you are lazy.

Thais are very self conscious so I don't recommend correcting their English unless they are at an intermediate level. However a partner is a different matter, you have that closeness!

[dmax]

one time she got mad at me, she said " fk you , you make me angry, you making me lose my temple " ( temper ) hahahaaa

[frankxxxxxxxxxx]

Meeting so many UK or US guys wives with so poor English I understood that being English native you must get bored to correct the whole world English language. I would be ashame anyway to have a girlfriend speaking like some of these women !

[geriatrickid]

Only when it is unintelligible.

e.g.. Brocodi Can you guess what she was asking for in a restaurant? BACARDI Rum

Otherwise I keep quiet unlss asked for help.

My Thai is pathetic, so I'm not about to go correcting or ridiculing others.

My shortcoming is that I always talk to the other on the basis that there is a sentient educated person listening. Sometimes I am told not so fast. or use a different word. Hence, a little dearie carries a dictionary in the bag.

Edited April 7, 2011 by geriatrickid

[bifftastic]

one time she got mad at me, she said " fk you , you make me angry, you making me lose my temple " ( temper ) hahahaaa

[Konini]

I don't correct people's English with one exception - when that person is seriously studying English at degree or post grad level. Someone in our building who is doing a masters in English recently got the explanation of using Mr or Mrs with the family name rather than the given name. His English is almost perfect so when he makes a mistake it really stands out. I did it quietly and subtley and he appreciated it, although he couldn't understand why and though it was quite amusing. My other exception is a young woman who teaches English in Indonesia - most of our correspondence is in writing, but I correct every single error - she is teaching English to others so needs to know when something is wrong.

[transam]

If you are English, where England has many dialects, then you can normally understand any English speaker from what ever corner of the planet they come from, except Scotland . Unfortunately if your Thai is a little out, hmmmm, big problem.

[jimbeam1]

If you are English, where England has many dialects, then you can normally understand any English speaker from what ever corner of the planet they come from, except Scotland . Unfortunately if your Thai is a little out, hmmmm, big problem.

Geordies get me everytime. Only accross the border I know.

jb1

Edited April 7, 2011 by jimbeam1

[Moonrakers]

I struggle with Geordies as well.

My grandfather was a Glaswegian, so I'm used to a thick Scots accent.