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

[BigJohnnyBKK]

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 !

Why should anyone be ashamed of their chosen partner, just because they don't meet someone else's expectations?

When I'm looking for a new girl I avoid the ones that can speak any level of English like the plague. My two most recent Thai wives both spoke not one word of English when I met them, and they were by far the best of the lot.

The previous one was very keen and within 19 months was almost fluent by the time she left - she's now happily married with kids living in the UK. The most recent one had no interest in learning, and that was fine with me, she actually stuck around for four years, not too bad. . .

[zzaa09]

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 !

Why should anyone be ashamed of their chosen partner, just because they don't meet someone else's expectations?

When I'm looking for a new girl I avoid the ones that can speak any level of English like the plague. My two most recent Thai wives both spoke not one word of English when I met them, and they were by far the best of the lot.

The previous one was very keen and within 19 months was almost fluent by the time she left - she's now happily married with kids living in the UK. The most recent one had no interest in learning, and that was fine with me, she actually stuck around for four years, not too bad. . .

Why not learn their language. A novel concept.

[Anon999]

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

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

Written and spoken English are entirely different. Consequently if a degree is taken that does not require spoken or conversation then it is to be expected. Many Thais are proficient in written English and spelling but can speak just a few words as they have not been taught how to pronounce the words.

[zzaa09]

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

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

Written and spoken English are entirely different. Consequently if a degree is taken that does not require spoken or conversation then it is to be expected. Many Thais are proficient in written English and spelling but can speak just a few words as they have not been taught how to pronounce the words.

The principle problem with advanced English-language studies in Thailand. I find it embarrassing to find a full-fledged Thai professor with a doctoral amid this discipline, yet can't hold a lucid conversation. Observations throughout the obsessive circle of English teaching at the primary and secondary educational level will find these universal language skills to be common....decent written comprehension, but spoken is vacant.

[sbk]

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 .

Here are some good words for Thai natives to perfect.

"very, ferry, pill and throttle"

Also, a Thai speaker will let their tongue tip touch the roof of their mouth in different places. Westerners may hear "L" or "R". A bit tough for Thais to separate.

Depends on where they are from, its a widespread inaccurate belief that all Thais cannot pronounce their r's. this is not true, Southerners can correctly pronounce the r and pronounce the Thai ror reua as it should be; slightly rolled.

That said, I like to hear native English speakers try the ng sound on their very first go as well.

[zzaa09]

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 .

Here are some good words for Thai natives to perfect.

"very, ferry, pill and throttle"

Also, a Thai speaker will let their tongue tip touch the roof of their mouth in different places. Westerners may hear "L" or "R". A bit tough for Thais to separate.

Depends on where they are from, its a widespread inaccurate belief that all Thais cannot pronounce their r's. this is not true, Southerners can correctly pronounce the r and pronounce the Thai ror reua as it should be; slightly rolled.

That said, I like to hear native English speakers try the ng sound on their very first go as well.

Touche':jap:

[Tracer Round]

SBK wrote:

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.

You could probably have closed this topic after this.

Generally speaking, from my experience, Thais are not really interested in improving on what they already have regarding English ability. So I only make corrections if the person has shown some genuine interest in adapting corrections (often you will correct a pronunciation or grammatical error and the person makes no subsequent effort to remember or incorporate this -- so there is no point flogging a dead horse). A person has to want to learn something for any form of teaching to be worth the effort.

My two pet peeves with "Thinglish" are:

1. "Him" for every masculine personal pronoun.

2. The phrase "same same."

My favorite English usage in Thailand:

"Up to you." This acts as a catch-all for anything you want to answer with no answer. Even if it is used in a nonsensical way, it works as it becomes irony or satire. "Up to me," is also sometimes useful....

"How much do you love me?"

"Up to you."

[Pinot]

My girl has made amazing strides in English after basically not speaking any a year ago. She also reads and writes well. I do try and not speak Tinglish but some times I'll lapse into it. It's too easy not to. I do think just speaking correct English and trying to talk a little slower is a help.

This is a little off topic but today she put out a sign in front of her bar the read "WELCOM TO HAPPY HOUR". I pointed out the misspelling and she took the sign back for correction. It came back out as "WELLCOME TO HAPPY HOUR". I let it go.

[zzaa09]

How often does your wife/gf correct your Thai........??

[oshoshitzu]

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 .

Here are some good words for Thai natives to perfect.

"very, ferry, pill and throttle"

Also, a Thai speaker will let their tongue tip touch the roof of their mouth in different places. Westerners may hear "L" or "R". A bit tough for Thais to separate.

Try and get a Thai to pronounce "CRISPS" correctly (very difficult)

[frankxxxxxxxxxx]

What can you share with someone who doesn't speak your language...? Your bed and your wallet maybe.... so interesting !

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I started correcting absolutely every minor grammar or pronunciation issue since having kids. She appreciates it a lot. She corrects my Thai too by the way, though perhaps not as much as I would like.

[Ulysses G.]

A woman who works for me speaks English well and is always trying to learn more. I do not correct her grammar often as I consider it counter-productive, but if she makes mistakes that make it hard to understand what she is trying to say, I will point it out and will tell her phrases that will make what she is trying to say clearer. I think that she mostly appreciates it, but I'm sure that I get on her nerves sometimes too.

Edited February 10, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[autan]

Thats an easy question to answer. If I dont feel like having sex for about 2 weeks, I will correct her English. I had to learn the hard way.

Thats why we have just bought 12 FIS FINERS FOR DINNAH (12 FISH FINGERS FOR DINNER)

BLESS

[Krupnik]

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.

Why is this topic only for men with their Thai girlfriend's and Thai wifes pidgin English? What about us women with Thai husbands or boyfriends with cute pidgin English???

Anyway I totally agree with SBK. I hate pidgin English and anyone who speaks pidgin English to their partner just sounds stupid in my opinion. I wouldn't want my boyfriend to speak to me in stupid Thai like that! Can you imagine?! I actually feel embarrassed when I hear some of my friends speak in pidgin English to their partners or other people in general. I am tempting to correct THEM!

Like SBK said I try to speak a little more slowly and clearly and without slang and I tend not to use any special vocabulary that I might with a native as I know he probably won't know it. Although sometimes these words slip up anyway, which is a nice teaching opportunity as he will always ask me. I'm used to speaking like this anyway, with my students and with people in general. It has been this way for some time now which shed me of my natural cockney accent! (Probably a good thing. )

My boyfriend asks me to correct him on everything, this would be impossible. I don't believe anyone can ever have perfect grammar in English unless they learnt it from a very young age perhaps actually in an English speaking country or with a native speaking carer, so to do this would be tedious for my boyfriend and would seem like nitpicking since I always understand exactly where he means. Like someone else said, I would probably only correct repeated mistakes or an error that gives an unclear/misleading meaning....

I always tell him to correct me on the mistakes that I make in Thai even if he still understands what I mean, but my Thai is far worse than his English!

[GreenSnapper]

Thats an easy question to answer. If I dont feel like having sex for about 2 weeks, I will correct her English. I had to learn the hard way.

Really....

If my girl ever would try something like that, I'd be off to my Mia Noi.

But she is clever.

In the beginning, I corrected her English a lot.

And she is a quick learner: now, whenever I fall back to Thai-English, she corrects MY grammar.

[beano2274]

I do correct my wife's English, then she messes around with using her original way of using it again, but she uses English everyday at work, but speaks to a lot of Non Native speakers who probably do not know she is saying it wrong.

Sometimes I get a lovely surprise from her for correcting her - a slap on the back of the head.

[bendix]

Given that a huge proportion of expats - particularly from the UK and the antipodes - struggle to express themselves in English, I'm not sure we are the right people to correct Thais on their English skills.

I've lost count of the times I've heard fat skinheads from Essex get annoyed with perplexed waiting staff for not understanding a simple English phrase like ''Gimme two pints o' stella and a pack of smokes, innit" and then berating them for being ''innorant gook farkers'

And don't get me started on the Aussies who mumble under their breath, before finishing every statement with the inquisitive ''ay, mate?'

I introduced Mrs Bendix to a guy from Newcastle once. I could barely understand his English; Mrs B just looked at him like he was an idiot, which shows what a fine judge of character she is.

[GreenSnapper]

I introduced Mrs Bendix to a guy from Newcastle once. I could barely understand his English; Mrs B just looked at him like he was an idiot, which shows what a fine judge of character she is.

Fine judge of character - or simply a racist who cannot accept when people do not speak queen's English?

[bendix]

I introduced Mrs Bendix to a guy from Newcastle once. I could barely understand his English; Mrs B just looked at him like he was an idiot, which shows what a fine judge of character she is.

Fine judge of character - or simply a racist who cannot accept when people do not speak queen's English?

A fine judge of character. He was an etho-centric idiot for not having the sheer decency and consideration to adapt his colloquilisms, realising he had actually moved more than 10km away from the River Tyne.

He had the gall to ask why Mrs Bendix didn't speak English. I told him her English was better than his.

[onionluke]

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.

Why is this topic only for men with their Thai girlfriend's and Thai wifes pidgin English? What about us women with Thai husbands or boyfriends with cute pidgin English???

Anyway I totally agree with SBK. I hate pidgin English and anyone who speaks pidgin English to their partner just sounds stupid in my opinion. I wouldn't want my boyfriend to speak to me in stupid Thai like that! Can you imagine?! I actually feel embarrassed when I hear some of my friends speak in pidgin English to their partners or other people in general. I am tempting to correct THEM!

Like SBK said I try to speak a little more slowly and clearly and without slang and I tend not to use any special vocabulary that I might with a native as I know he probably won't know it. Although sometimes these words slip up anyway, which is a nice teaching opportunity as he will always ask me. I'm used to speaking like this anyway, with my students and with people in general. It has been this way for some time now which shed me of my natural cockney accent! (Probably a good thing. )

My boyfriend asks me to correct him on everything, this would be impossible. I don't believe anyone can ever have perfect grammar in English unless they learnt it from a very young age perhaps actually in an English speaking country or with a native speaking carer, so to do this would be tedious for my boyfriend and would seem like nitpicking since I always understand exactly where he means. Like someone else said, I would probably only correct repeated mistakes or an error that gives an unclear/misleading meaning....

I always tell him to correct me on the mistakes that I make in Thai even if he still understands what I mean, but my Thai is far worse than his English!

Yeh , come and join the farty .

[theblether]

It can be cute and it can be funny but it can also be embarrassing. I agree with an earlier post that says that his partner finds it hard to switch between languages after talking to her Thai friends or watching soaps. My partner is the same. It is incumbent upon us to not allow our partners to be ridiculed so we must help them as they must help us.

A major problem for anyone learning the English language is that we spend the majority of the time speaking in metaphors, so not only does someone have to learn the words but they have to learn the metaphors too. When they can understand the metaphors then they are truly fluent in English.

Anyway, the most embarrassing language difference one I came across was an American couple that came to visit me in Scotland, the fella was a US Army Major at the time ( XO ) and his wife was a beautiful self respecting Christian lady. We were sitting in a pub that my family owned at the time and the couple were being treated like royalty, everyone was hanging on their every word. We had driven together from Germany to Scotland and someone asked the lady if the journey was hard. Her reply........

" I was sitting for too long and now I've got a sore fanny "

Cue embarrassed silence................

[theblether]

Given that a huge proportion of expats - particularly from the UK and the antipodes - struggle to express themselves in English, I'm not sure we are the right people to correct Thais on their English skills.

I've lost count of the times I've heard fat skinheads from Essex get annoyed with perplexed waiting staff for not understanding a simple English phrase like ''Gimme two pints o' stella and a pack of smokes, innit" and then berating them for being ''innorant gook farkers'

And don't get me started on the Aussies who mumble under their breath, before finishing every statement with the inquisitive ''ay, mate?'

I introduced Mrs Bendix to a guy from Newcastle once. I could barely understand his English; Mrs B just looked at him like he was an idiot, which shows what a fine judge of character she is.

I have a broad Scottish accent ( Glasgwegian to be exact ) and it is a daily struggle for me to modify and neutralise the way I talk, and I cut out the Glasgow vernacular altogether.

Even after doing that I get irritated by people ( and I'm getting the idea that your one of them ) that complain they find me difficult to understand. My normal and very successful retort to that is that I cannot help the fact they are too lazy to listen attentively.

I say it with a smile as I don't want to be excessively offensive, but I have found that people's comprehension level improves dramatically after that line.

So just as much as it is incumbent upon me ( and everyone else ) to mollify the more unusual aspects of our vernacular and speech, it is equally incumbent upon others to put the effort into listening attentively.

[bendix]

Given that a huge proportion of expats - particularly from the UK and the antipodes - struggle to express themselves in English, I'm not sure we are the right people to correct Thais on their English skills.

I've lost count of the times I've heard fat skinheads from Essex get annoyed with perplexed waiting staff for not understanding a simple English phrase like ''Gimme two pints o' stella and a pack of smokes, innit" and then berating them for being ''innorant gook farkers'

And don't get me started on the Aussies who mumble under their breath, before finishing every statement with the inquisitive ''ay, mate?'

I introduced Mrs Bendix to a guy from Newcastle once. I could barely understand his English; Mrs B just looked at him like he was an idiot, which shows what a fine judge of character she is.

I have a broad Scottish accent ( Glasgwegian to be exact ) and it is a daily struggle for me to modify and neutralise the way I talk, and I cut out the Glasgow vernacular altogether.

Even after doing that I get irritated by people ( and I'm getting the idea that your one of them ) that complain they find me difficult to understand. My normal and very successful retort to that is that I cannot help the fact they are too lazy to listen attentively.

.

I make it a point to only try hard to listen to people if i feel they have something to say worth listening too.

But - come on - I was expressly referring to talking to Thais in this regard, and my point is that too many of us think we are still in Liverpool, Sydney, Birmingham or even Glasgow and make no effort at all to speak more clearly, modify our vocabulary to make ourselves better understand.

Remember - we are the foreigners here. Not them. It's up to us to make ourselves better understood, not the other way round.

[theblether]

Given that a huge proportion of expats - particularly from the UK and the antipodes - struggle to express themselves in English, I'm not sure we are the right people to correct Thais on their English skills.

I've lost count of the times I've heard fat skinheads from Essex get annoyed with perplexed waiting staff for not understanding a simple English phrase like ''Gimme two pints o' stella and a pack of smokes, innit" and then berating them for being ''innorant gook farkers'

And don't get me started on the Aussies who mumble under their breath, before finishing every statement with the inquisitive ''ay, mate?'

I introduced Mrs Bendix to a guy from Newcastle once. I could barely understand his English; Mrs B just looked at him like he was an idiot, which shows what a fine judge of character she is.

I have a broad Scottish accent ( Glasgwegian to be exact ) and it is a daily struggle for me to modify and neutralise the way I talk, and I cut out the Glasgow vernacular altogether.

Even after doing that I get irritated by people ( and I'm getting the idea that your one of them ) that complain they find me difficult to understand. My normal and very successful retort to that is that I cannot help the fact they are too lazy to listen attentively.

.

I make it a point to only try hard to listen to people if i feel they have something to say worth listening too.

But - come on - I was expressly referring to talking to Thais in this regard, and my point is that too many of us think we are still in Liverpool, Sydney, Birmingham or even Glasgow and make no effort at all to speak more clearly, modify our vocabulary to make ourselves better understand.

Remember - we are the foreigners here. Not them. It's up to us to make ourselves better understood, not the other way round.

I agree with that......it is a daily struggle for me to modify and mollify my accent and I do have to be very particular when talking to Thais......maybe that is why my hackles raise when I come across English speakers that can't be bothered to put the same effort into listening as I do into speaking.

[robbo1]

My missus when she gets angry says I piss off, I say where are you going no no I piss off Oh pissed off, she is just annoyed that makes me giggle a little but I do not ridicule her as other posters have said my Thai is not the best.

Enough to order a meal or count up to 1000 but not to have a conversation.

[xthAi76s]

My wife holds two masters degrees (obtained in English). She is essentially completely fluent in all aspects but, perhaps, idiom/expression (since there are so many and which vary from one English speaking country to another). On occasion, she will correct my (native) English, and, on occasion, I will correct hers (ESL). I try not to do it in public though.

All non-native English speakers carry with them some tendencies to make certain kinds of mistakes, whether grammatical, in pronunciation or some other language category like idiom, and after knowing enough people (especially from Europe) who speak English as a third, fourth or even fifth language, I've developed even more respect and patience for non-native speakers of other languages.

[thaiIand]

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

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

My wife's brother recently gratuated with a university degree in english.

I can't communicate with him.

Edited February 10, 2012 by thaiIand

[red1green0]

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

Quite a lot, she's American raised and educated.

[xthAi76s]

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

Quite a lot, she's American raised and educated.

This nonsense makes it into most every thread.

And, if I might ask, where is it you hail from?

And, what is an example of something you correct that you believe is the result of her being American?

Edited February 10, 2012 by ThailandMan