What's your view of the mistakes that made in the discussion started by others?
By historydog
@historydog (239)
China
September 11, 2012 10:14pm CST
I don't speak English as mother language,intead,I speak Chinese,and Chinese is quite different from English.All those differences make me feel English is difficult to master.Every English sentence I speak or write is traslated firstly from the Chinese one which emerges in my mind .But no matter how careful I am,I just can't avoid the mistakes.Every discussion I started on mylot was checked many times by myself.Sometimes I wonder if my expression is in Chinese style and if I make you confuse or misunderstand.I hate making mistake in my discussions,but every time when I try to avoid it,I lose a bit of courage to master this language.So what is your view?if you find some mistakes in others' dicussion,wonld you mind it?
Wish we can share!
2 people like this
12 responses
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Sep 12
I, along with most others here, take little notice of mistakes in people's English if it is clear what they mean. MyLot is almost unique in being a site where one is not allowed to criticise people for poor English and that is clearly stated in the Guidelines.
MyLot is, in fact, an excellent place in which to practice your English and to learn to improve it. Although we are not allowed to criticise a person's English without being asked, it is quite different if someone asks for help with a particular word or phrase or grammar usage. There are many people here who are willing to help and MyLot won't ban anyone or delete posts if help is specifically asked for unless they are uncomplimentary or 'flaming'.
1 person likes this
@historydog (239)
• China
12 Sep 12
It's great that I won't be criticised for my poor English.Then I think there is no need for me to check every English word I write on mylot.
1 person likes this
@xavier_sh (222)
• Nepal
12 Sep 12
IN your discussion that you make mistakes while posting its my first time i opened up your discussion but i really donot know where you made mistake or where it is nor understandable. I found your discussion(this one) in good english. Language is all about practice and continous devotion towards it. Me too isnot a native speaker of English and is always trying to improve my english. I won't mind making mistakes in discussion but of cours sometimes those mistakes makes the another sense to the discussion than you wanted to share.
Just don't worry kep on discussing and replying you wl surely improve your english very soon
@historydog (239)
• China
12 Sep 12
Thank you for your respond.As we know,every language has its own grammar.You may hear of Chinglish,which is the Chinese style English.I just worry about that what we get from others is in their mother language style,and this style may be quite different from ours.Obviously,we can be confused in this situation.And I'm afraid I'm the one who makes you guys feel confused.
1 person likes this
@Orea15 (281)
• United States
12 Sep 12
Please don't worry about your English. You are doing very well.
We all hate making mistakes. I think that is part of being human. I would never have guessed you were Chinese. But I never mind when someone is trying their best, if they make a mistake. No reasonable person should.
I tried a "learn to speak Chinese" recording, and was terrible at it! So I have great respect for you, who can use both languages.
@namiya (1713)
• Philippines
12 Sep 12
English is not my native tongue too and mylot is one site that will help us enhance our knowledge of this language. No one is perfect hence, everyone could make mistakes. Just keep on writing what you want to write here in mylot as long as it is not against the rules and and you're not harming anyone. Don't mind what others think as you could not always please everybody.
1 person likes this
@ARIES1973 (11426)
• Legaspi, Philippines
12 Sep 12
Considering that English is not our main language, we cannot really avoid mistakes from time to time. Even those who have English as their main language can also commit mistakes in term of grammar. With these simple mistakes like interchanging the letters, lacking or incorrect punctuations, verb disagreements, lacking words, I think it is understandable. Although sometimes I felt that I’ve been stupid, yet I just shrugged my shoulders and go on, most especially if I found out after I posted the discussion or response. Well, anyway, we are just humans and we are bound to commit mistakes.
1 person likes this
@STOUTjodee (3572)
• United States
13 Sep 12
I agree with you aries! My brain is going faster than my fingers do! lol I've heard that English is a complex language compared to other languages. I figure if I get the main point across, I'm fine. Some times even if our grammar is correct, the other person can take it differently. So have fun mylotting anyway!
@mikyung (2232)
• Philippines
12 Sep 12
I'm not an English native either but I'm doing my best to learn with the help of online tools and with constant practice, I can gradually pick things up, I believe. When I see errors in discussions, I just ignore it or if it is so blurry, i will ask for clarification. That also applies to everyday life - I always clarify, so I can make appropriate responses or reactions. Don't you worry, just practice and don't be afraid to commit mistake, everybody is not perfect. We are here to help each other. "Think English" as they call it..Thanks
1 person likes this
@varunkrishna007 (1909)
• India
13 Sep 12
In a forum like this where we get paid for our views and commens, mistakes of this type is bound to happen. Many of the users might franctically try to type something so as to increase their comments count and thus earn more. Even at times, i have done something similar to this where I start posting just after reading the title of th post instead of reading the details. I think everyone of use at some point does this mistake. Obviously you can mildly ask such a person to be careful next time when they post something
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
13 Sep 12
historydog mylot admins states we welcome people who u se English as a second language and they also tell us not to criticize
our fellow mylotters writing but to welcome them and I also feel the same way., It does not bother me to see some mistakes in others discussions,. heck I make errors in my own and English is my native tongue.Humans do make errors and we should all make allowances here for that. after all mylot is supposed to be a place where all of us can come and socialize and not feel we are being criticized all the time.welcome to mylot.You are writing beautifully and the more you post here the easier it will become eventually.
@angelkarah050182 (4980)
• Philippines
13 Sep 12
Nobody's perfect. I sometimes also commits mistakes in expressing my thoughts in English.If I am not careful in constructing my sentences and in choosing appropriate words,I am sure that my readers will be confused too.I've been speaking in English for four years because of my job but writing in English is somewhat different.I still get confused sometimes.We always have to consider grammar rules, basic sentence patterns, vocabulary words,and others.Don't be afraid of making mistakes,you'll learn from them.
@angelkarah050182 (4980)
• Philippines
13 Sep 12
Ooops, I just read my post and I got one mistake. I sometimes "commits" mistakes. Oh, that should be "commit" only. Why do I always add "s" sometimes if the word I'll be typing next is in plural form. LOL. My fingers are already automatic in typing words and it's my fault not to read carefully before I post my comment. Your English is great so don't worry. It's really comprehensible. Keep up the good word and may you enjoy mylotting with us.
@historydog (239)
• China
13 Sep 12
You are excellent.I don't know your native tongue,but there is no plural form in Chinese grammar,And it's where I'm easy to make a mistake.I feel it's very difficult for me to avoid this problem.I don't understand the meaning of plural form in English grammar.
@surekharathi (14146)
• India
17 Sep 12
I think mylot is a great site and not consider the little mistake. Because they know here the member of every country and some Indian like me English is not good. I never mind the mistakes from others discussion but if happen in my discussion then feel bad.
@historydog (239)
• China
20 Sep 12
Yeah,you are right.I realize that making mistakes is a way that we achieve our improvement.If we care too much about our mistakes,it's difficult to us to concentrate on what we want to express.
@gangnam_stylist (68)
• Philippines
12 Sep 12
English is not my mother language, too. Personally I don't mind flaws or grammar mistakes because I'm not perfect myself. We all need to be forgiving in order to have a fluid flow of conversations. Sometimes being too conscious of one's grammar makes it harder to fully express ourselves. So I really encourage you to just post what's on your mind, I'm sure most of us here are not keeping a score sheet. :)
@richbored (27)
• Philippines
13 Sep 12
Mistakes make us learn and improve, so I really don't mind if I happened to read grammar error in forums like mylot. Even English speaking people have English subjects in school :). My superior once said, "it doesn't matter if you speak English perfectly, or not. What matters is the thought and idea that you wanted to express"
