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nickless
August 14th, 2005, 02:32 PM
\\:D/
Well, I know its old, but maybe there are some, who don't know this awsome page already:
www.engrish.com
It's a page about english mistakes in japan and there are some real nice ones :D
http://www.engrish.com/image/engrish/dont-screw-off.jpg
http://www.engrish.com/image/engrish/creep-freiend.jpg
http://www.engrish.com/image/engrish/dont-burn-the-fire-chief.jpg

sapo
August 14th, 2005, 03:04 PM
I just hope they dont read my posts... i make a lot of english mistakes.. but who cares :roll:

Bo Rosén
August 14th, 2005, 03:07 PM
Ooh, that hurts! Thanks, I haven't laughed that much for a long time.O:)

nickless
August 14th, 2005, 03:17 PM
this is definitly my favourite one:
http://www.engrish.com/image/engrish/clitical.jpg

Oh :D, and before I forget: How about this as a welcome picture to freshmeat or similiar:
http://www.engrish.com/image/engrish/our-fine-source.jpg

RastaMahata
August 14th, 2005, 05:54 PM
http://www.engrish.com/image/engrish/mobilestyle.jpg
yeah... this sells..

aysiu
August 14th, 2005, 06:04 PM
I find it funnier when people (for whom English is supposedly their native language) on this site from America do not know basic grammar and spelling. Maybe that's just me.

I also find it amusing that many non-English speakers will apologize and say, "Excuse me for my bad grammar. English is not my first language," when their posts are far more coherent than some of those by native English speakers.

TristanMike
August 14th, 2005, 06:10 PM
That cause Engilsh speaker get lazy.

jgallagher
August 14th, 2005, 08:29 PM
Interesting, Indeed!

A quote from slashdot.org (http://ask.slashdot.org/askslashdot/05/06/30/1532238.shtml?tid=215&tid=4) from June 30, 2005.


Over the last few years, I've noticed that a surprisingly large number of native English speakers, who are otherwise very technically competent, seem to lack strong English skills. Mostly, this seems to manifest itself as varying degrees of poor spelling and grammar: 'definately' instead of 'definitely'; 'should of' instead of 'should have'; and I even see the names of products and companies misspelled from time to time. It baffles me that a culture so obsessed with technical knowledge and accuracy can demonstrate such little attention to detail when it comes to communicating that knowledge with others, and it baffles me even more that many people become enraged when you attempt to help them correct and learn from their mistakes. Do geeks just not care about communicating effectively? Do they not realize that a mediocre command of written English makes them appear less intelligent?

cowlip
August 14th, 2005, 08:42 PM
I find it funnier when people (for whom English is supposedly their native language) on this site from America do not know basic grammar and spelling. Maybe that's just me.

I also find it amusing that many non-English speakers will apologize and say, "Excuse me for my bad grammar. English is not my first language," when their posts are far more coherent than some of those by native English speakers.
The difference is that people apparently buy those products

aysiu
August 14th, 2005, 09:12 PM
I agree with one of the first responses in that Slashdot link: Americans in general are lazy about grammar and spelling--it's not confined to the world of computing or programming. As a former English teacher, I'm continually frustrated by people's inability to express themselves coherently in writing... especially when they're asking for help!

xmastree
August 15th, 2005, 01:31 AM
I also find it amusing that many non-English speakers will apologize and say, "Excuse me for my bad grammar. English is not my first language," when their posts are far more coherent than some of those by native English speakers.I think that's because they are taught professionaly rather than picking it up from their peers like I did.

Speaking as a native English speaker ( from England) living in the Philippines, I've noticed that some expressions used are correct, but not commonly used. Attire, for example, is a common word here but in Britain I've only ever seen it on invitations.
Formal Attire

However, a lot of Filipino English words make me cringe:
Furnitures, Jewelries, luggages, Lingeries... the list goes on.

There's also a lot of Japanese tat here, explaining how this product will give you wonderful life and good prosper. :)


Damn, you've inspired me now. I have a Chinese motorcycle, and I have the owner's handbook. No scanner unfortunately, so I'll have to photograph it.
Watch this space...

crane
August 15th, 2005, 02:09 AM
we ain't lazy atall weez jus' tired many of us is so tired we cant use them thur cap or even afford the strength to dot an i or put one of them there piriods


](*,)

I am a member of a couple of forums and I see this alot. No capital letters or periods.
I make mistakes as well with spelling but do try to correct them. I feel some mistakes made in the forums is just from typing fast and not checking what is typed.

xmastree
August 15th, 2005, 02:27 AM
No capital letters or periods. Periods? PERIODS? They're full stops dammit! :)

Another thing which I see a lot of is there/their/they're mised up, and misplaced apostrophe's. ;-)

So, the above might read:
There full stop's dammit!

Anyway, back to my Chinese motorbike:

http://www.xmastree.34sp.com/bike/light.png

http://www.xmastree.34sp.com/bike/ignition.png

http://www.xmastree.34sp.com/bike/enjoy.png

Disencouraged. That's a good one!

aysiu
August 15th, 2005, 02:30 AM
I am a member of a couple of forums and I see this a lot. No capital letters or periods.
I make mistakes as well with spelling but do try to correct them. I feel some mistakes made in the forums are just from typing fast and not checking what is typed. I agree. That's why I usually look over my posts right after I post them.

aysiu
August 15th, 2005, 02:31 AM
Another thing which I see a lot of is there/their/they're mised up, and misplaced apostrophe's. ;-) A bit of self-referential humor here, I see...

xmastree
August 15th, 2005, 02:42 AM
A bit of self-referential humor here, I see...
That error was intentional. :)

Although I just saw the typo... mised. That was an accident.

WirelessMike
August 15th, 2005, 04:21 AM
The most commonly misspelled words I've seen by English writers are possessive pronouns (especially "its").

Of course, I no longer make issue of this in recognition of how difficult English grammar and spelling is in comparison to other languages, such as Spanish. While good grammar and spelling is important, I believe communicating effectively is more important, and I know the concepts aren't always interdependent.

Emphasis in posting at forums such as this one, for example, is often expressed successfully using "all caps."

I've noticed, as well, that the vast majority of writers don't know how to punctuate a quote ending a sentence. Again, though, I hesitate to remark on such errors as the rules regarding punctuation in quotation vary on the basis of what style of English is being used. American English requires punctuation inside any quotation ending a sentence, which can cause confusion sometimes and not elicit effective communication. In recognition of this flaw, British English allows punctuation outside the quotation at the end of a sentence.

It should be obvious, then, to anyone well educated in English as a primary language that strict adherence to the rules of grammar and spelling are not always conducive to effective communication. So perhaps it may be wiser to keep focus on content and feedback rather than strict adherence to flawed principles.

I believe Gary Busey said it best as Captain Church in the movie, Soldier:
"When you want to hammer a nail, don't do anything fancy. Just get a hammer and pound the son of a *****."