I sent you a money order from the post office yesterday. I think it should arrive there from the post office in one to two weeks. Once it arrives I would greatly appreciate a mail from you.
It's good to see that you're doing well at work as usual. It sounds fun to be able to meet all kinds of people everyday. I'm sure there are lot of things to be learned from them too. By the way what drove you to want to become an actor? I've always wanted to ask you that.
I like drawing, but I also love looking at pictures. Please draw a nice picture for me to enjoy.
Desires distroy yourself!Be careful.Actually one of my friends ventured all his money on the new business dreaming that he would become rich. But his ambition resulted in bankruptcy..
hi is there anyone here who speaks german? my german teacher gave us tooo many assignments today and i can't seem to have them all done no matter how much time i have. he's gonna flunk me....unless you help me out.......
Teru, I took an IQ test last night. It is not really a valid test, but it may be fun. You can partially demonstrate your English proficiency by taking this IQ test too. You said, "Who are you to decide...?" So why not try? You might find out who I am. Don't take it too seriously. It is just for fun.
Be sure to enter the correct date of your birth. Otherwise this kind of test does not make any sense at all.
The difference of 18 points on IQ tests is very large. Below is a typical IQ scale:
85 - 115 Average: 116 - 125 Above average 126 - 135 Gifted Borderline Genius 136 - 145 Highly gifted and appearing to be a Genius to most others 146 - 165 Genius 166 - 180 High Genius 181 - 200 Highest Genius Over 200 Beyond being measurable Genius:
Statistical facts: 100 is higher than 50% of all persons 110 is higher than 75% of all persons 120 is higher than 93% of all persons 130 is higher than 98% of all persons
Maybe you can do the same on a Japanese IQ test someday if you study Japanese hard enough, for you are a Word Warrior.
>On this day, in Europe apparently there is a custom where people send >flowers to their friends and lovers. Whoever gets a flower sent to them >is said to live happily. Therefore the flowers are known as "flowers that >bring happiness".
まず、特定の花を指して××の花といっているのを、ただの花(a flower)として しまったのは致命的な誤訳で、原文とまったく違う意味の文章になってしまっている。 つぎに「習慣があるそうです」を「apparently there is a custom」としているのも、 原文の「あるそうです」の意味合いは「it appears that」ではなく「I heard (or read) that」や「I’ve learned that」なのでおかしい。そして、この文章で恋人の意味でloversを 使うのは「恋人がいますか?」という質問で「Do you have a lover」と聞かないのとおなじ理由で 不適当だね。ほかに文章としてあまり上手じゃない部分もあるけど、訳文としていけないところ はそのぐらいかな。
I suggest that other people take that IQ test as well. You might be able to compare your English proficiency with that of an above-average native English speaker to some extent.
596 :輝 ◆7jz8JnK8a2 :04/05/10 16:31 >>592 I wouldn't reccomend lecturing people on how to get better at English, since by the looks of it, you're on the wrong path.
good at Englishというのは、英語的に変じゃない?>592の人の英語に 引きずられたの?それともネイティブもそういういい方する? それともこの文脈だと許される?
なぜこういう質問をするかというと、日本人は英語が出来るというときに よくgood at Englishと書くんだけど、俺には、それは「英語という教科 で点数がいい」といっているように聞こえるんだけど。
例えばHe is good at Frenchといったら、普通 フランス語が上手いという意味になる?それともフランス語のクラスで 成績がいいって言う意味?
フランス語が上手いって言うときは、 He speaks fluent French He speaks French fluently His French is good. とか言いそうな気がする。
>>146、>>147、>>149 >つぎに「習慣があるそうです」を「apparently there is a custom」としているのも、 >原文の「あるそうです」の意味合いは「it appears that」ではなく「I heard (or read) >that」や「I’ve learned that」なのでおかしい。 >146さん、apparetnly there is a という言い方は、まさに日本語 の「〜があるらしい」とものすごく近い語感がある。 日本語では「〜があるらしい」も「〜があるそうです」もその情報を どうやって得たかを問題にしていないが、輝がいうように、I heard that というと、間違いになる可能性がある。
受験英語はそろそろ卒業したら。たまには英英辞典を使ってよ。 輝の使ったapparetnlyは下のコビルトの定義の1の用法にあたるんだけど あんたは明らかに(apparently)定義の2の用法しか知らないみたいね。 apparently 1 apparently You use apparently to indicate that the information you are giving is something that you have heard, but you are not certain that it is true. Apparently the girls are not at all amused by the whole business. Oil prices fell this week to their lowest level in fourteen months, apparently because of over-production. ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v vagueness
2 apparently You use apparently to refer to something that seems to be true, although you are not sure whether it is or not. The recent deterioration has been caused by an apparently endless recession. Rudolph said no more. Apparently he was a man of few words. ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v
横レスですまんが、 オックスフォードもこういってるよ。 http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/oald/ ap•par•ent•ly /pærntli/ adv. according to what you have heard or read; according to the way sth appears: Apparently they are getting divorced soon. He paused, apparently lost in thought. I thought she had retired, but apparently (= in fact) she hasn't.
1 [sentence adverb] based on what you have heard is true, although you are not completely sure about it: Apparently they've run out of tickets for the concert. | I wasn't there, but apparently it was a good party.
2 according to the way someone looks or a situation appears, although you cannot be sure: She managed to climb out of the car, apparently unhurt. —compare evidently, obviously
ここで言ってる「〜そうです」というのは推理や推論ではない。 ただ単に「そう聞いた」という意味だ。 日本語は主語を省略してしまうから英語に直訳することはできないが あえて言うなら、A friend told me、Someone told me、I've heard、 The book I read saysといった意味合いだ。
しかし >apparetnly there is a という言い方は、まさに日本語 >の「〜があるらしい」とものすごく近い語感がある。 こんなバカなことを言って、 「ヨーロッパではこの日、恋人や友達にxxの花を贈る習慣があるそうです」 という文には、apparetnly there isという訳がピッタリであるかのような デタラメを自信たっぷりに垂れ流してる奴はアホもいいところ。
>>190-191 はっきりそういっていた場合でも、意外だったりとか信じられないけどみたいな ニュアンスでapparentlyということはある。「something that you have heard, but you are not certain that it is true」ってやつだね。
>>190 そんなことは無いぞ。例えばネットで今拾った次のような使い方 はごく普通なんだがね。 A most interesting article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Apparently, there is an increasing trend among employers to ask applicants for their SATs long after graduation from college.
>>190の >"I was talking to Bob yesterday, and apparently he's going to get married." >「昨日ボブさんと話していたけど、彼が結婚するそうですよ。」 でも本人からはっきり聞いていたとしても、意外性や、全然知らなかったよ、 というニュアンスを出したい場合にはapparentlyを使っても全然問題ない。
>>219 If you are really an American, who can speak (or write) Japanese, please join us here with fixed hundle name, so that we know who you are. Otherwise, we can't really tell you from a bunch of bozos here.
>>231 Why? Because of some multiple choice online quiz from a website that's just trying to get you to pay them money? I took that test again the following morning and I scored a 138 (Visionary Philosopher). I'm sure if I take it again I would score even higher.
I honestly wouldn't feel anything if I knew that someone was smarter than me. I personally don't even think that I am all that smart. The fact that there are millions of smarter people than myself in the world is a fact and to feel bad or ashamed or angry about that would just be stupid.
Yeah, that's tough, not knowing whether your English is good or not, in the absence of native speakers. I have the same problem with my Japanese. 一般の日本人は、俺の日本語を聞くと「上手ですね」しか言えない。 でも、明日は初めの日本語会話クラスだ。市役所はこのクラスをあげるんだ、ただで。 楽しみしているよ。 But, I don't ever expect my Japanese to be as good as my English, I suspect that I will always sound like a foreigner. 仕方ないだろう。
おい、となりの外人さん、 Let me guess. You have a Japanese girl friend. Don't worry if you don't. You will have one. Or two or three.
>そう。三ヶ月前、北海道に引っ越した。天気が大好き。 Hey, wait till one day you wake up to find your eyes frozen shut, frost on your pillows. て、3ヶ月前は真冬か。いったいどうなってんだ この人?So you like the cold weather. Are you an eskimo American? or should I say American eskimo? and think Hokkaido winter too warm? That's obscene. That's OK if you don't understand. Nobody understands me anyway.
>俺の日本語を聞くと「上手ですね」しか言えない。 これは、「しか言えない。」なの?それとも「しか言わない。」 They can only say かThey only sayのちがいだけど。
明日は初めの →明日は始めての
>But, I don't ever expect my Japanese to be as good as my English, >I suspect that I will always sound like a foreigner.
Hey, don't despair. You don't probably know but 輝 is claiming that he has only studied Japanese for 2 years. Personally I don't believe it, but if it is true, you know? Now I just play along because he seems to be a nice guy. That's all I care. Because I'm not a nice guy you know? I'm a mean spiritted asshole everyone hates you know? Even my girlfriend hates me because I only want to f**k her. But I know how to handle that girl you know. I just grab her big tits from behind and she will be all mine. Her flesh knows hat it needs better than her mind you know?
254: I don't have a Japanese girlfriend right now, and after some unpleasant experiences with past ones, I am taking a break.
About the weather: I like cold weather, and I understand the summer here is quite pleasant. Yeah, I'm crazy.
しか言えない: Well, "they only say..." or "they can only say" would both work for what I was trying to express, but I'll take your advice and use しか言わない. Thanks.
>260となりの外人さん、 The arguement started somebody pointed out the following translation by 輝is not good. >ヨーロッパではこの日、恋人や友達にxxの花を贈る習慣があるそうです。 >贈られた人は幸せになれるという言い伝えがあって、その事からその花は >幸せを呼ぶ花として知られてます。
>On this day, in Europe apparently there is a custom where people send >flowers to their friends and lovers. Whoever gets a flower sent to them >is said to live happily. Therefore the flowers are known as "flowers that >bring happiness". He thinks that "apparently" is not the right choice, and rather it should be "I heard that" or "I read that" or something along the line.
Now do you agree that "apparently" always gives you the feeling that the information is "unexpected". Like the example of Bob getting married, was the speaker surprised or still in doubt that Bob is getting married?
>>267 I was talking to Bob yesterday. He told he was getting married. Apparently he's going to get married. じゃ勝手に、こんな風にapparentlyを使ってればいいんじゃないの。 おかしいけど、文法的に間違ってるわけじゃないしな。
>>265(257) I was talking to Bob yesterday. He told he was getting married. Apparently he's going to get married. じゃ勝手に、こんな風にapparentlyを使ってればいいんじゃないの。 おかしいけど、文法的に間違ってるわけじゃないしな。
>>265(257) I was talking to Bob yesterday. He told me he was getting married. Apparently he's going to get married. じゃ勝手に、こんな風にapparentlyを使ってればいいんじゃないの。 おかしいけど、文法的に間違ってるわけじゃないしな。
That's way too funny. If you say "He told me he was getting married," then there's no need to repeat that with "apparently, he's going to get married." It's not even a question of how to use "apparently" right.
"I was talking to Bob yesterdau, and apparently, he's gonna get married."
There's nothing wrong with this sentence right here. I'm not here to argue with you all, but this is perfectly normal. People say something like that all the time.
>On this day, in Europe apparently there is a custom where people send >flowers to their friends and lovers. Whoever gets a flower sent to them >is said to live happily. Therefore the flowers are known as "flowers that >bring happiness".
I think Teru's IQ score (118) is valid. Students who study at a community college, getting GPA's of 2.0 to 3.0 should have the average or above-average level of intelligence. If Teru's IQ were really 130 or 140, he would be studying at the University of Washington, or the UCLA, or even Harvard.
By the way, the test items in that IQ test are fine. They are similar to typical test items found in such traditional IQ tests as Binet's IQ test if I remember correctly. The only possible problem is the basis of its IQ calculation. I am not sure if the sample used for their IQ calculation really represents the entire population that it is supposed to represent. But if that IQ test does not have this problem, then it is a fairly valid test.
In any case, Teru's second result is not valid at all. If he wants to do a "re-match," he should take the test after he forgets about what is in the test completely. That would be at least a month later.
Do you really believe what you're saying? I find it hilarious that you can actually say that an Internet IQ test is an accurate judge of a person's IQ. The main problem with that test is that there is no time limit. If you take a long time and think about each problem, I wouldn't doubt it if pretty much anyone could get a 130+ IQ score.
Also, what is this nonsense you're spewing about me going to a University if my IQ was higher? To get into a University, all you need is money and good grades in high school. Since I dropped out of high school, I am now taking classes at a Community College (which is much cheaper than a University) so that I can attain an AA degree. Once I have acquired the AA degree, I will transfer to Seattle University (a private University) as a Junior, effectively completing the first two years of University at my current Community College.
I think you really need to get off your high horse and stop thinking that you know everything before someone in real life doesn't take kindly to your arrogant attitude. I realize that this is an online message board and you most likely don't act this way in real life, but if you do, you are in serious need of an attitude change in my opinion.
>>331 Realize that the last paragraph just put you on your high horse. You are in no place to be judging others either. (OK, I'm stepping off my soap box and making a quick exit)
>>328 Contrary to the kind of belief you presented here, which is common among some intellectuals, IQ tests are much more valid measures of intelligence than any other data that claim to be related to intelligence.
1. Almost all students at prestigious colleges have IQ scores of more than 140.
2. Most of the people whose IQ's are more than 150 become such people as doctors, lawyers, PhD holders, scientists and scholars. Many of novel award winners have IQ's of more than 150 as well.
Of course, just having a high IQ score does not make you a genius in a real sense. As Thomas Edison said, "Genius is 99% of perspiration and 1% of inspiration." And it seems we need even more than that to be a real genius.
>>331>>339 Don't worry. The one that you are talking to could be an expert in this field. Therefore, this person might know everything about problems with IQ tests. Have you noticed that?
i know there's some data out there that indicates those with remarkable IQs are more likely to get so-called high status jobs
to me, though, it's like so what? i don't even give it a tiny rat ass first of all, if you don't make efforts, these data don't mean nothin' so, what's the deal?
second of all, your dead wrong trying to assess others with some stupid data. that's real preposterous and pretentious you don't have any friend, do ya? i won't be surprised if you aint' got nobody cuz' who wants to be a friend of your type? haha
why don't you do us a favor and get the hell outta here
go back to your routine. you know, put your fuckin' dick into a usb socket and jerk off
Psychologist Arthur Jensen once said, "When you say that genetic factors determine height, nobody gets angry about it. But when you say that genetic factors determine intelligence, many people get angry about it."
I imagine that >>342 has led an unhappy life all his life.
Is intelligence so important to you? To me it is just something interesting in the same sense that a rare bird is interesting to watch.
Anyway most people who study IQ tests do not trust IQ tests entirely (actually many of these people are probably the ones who cannot do well on IQ tests), but those are the best measures of intelligence available at present. In a sense, that is why IQ tests are interesting to study.
>>347 Most of those who are in the top 2% are not intelligent enough to do anything intellectually creative. Apart from "doing something creative," they cannot even pass entrance exams to prestigious colleges even if they study all day every day. Of course, there are exceptions to this.
The day that I learned I would never be able to see you again, I wept the night away. The dark ceiling already looks blurred through my teary eyes. A ringtone not meant to be heard any longer. There is only darkness and silence.
Somewhere, you are out there being embraced by someone. What does your body feel after sobering up? This town, with it's electronic sounds flying about, is now just a town for creating electronics.
You, my beloved, are still sleeping now. If we could go back to that time, I wonder if you would give me another chance...
Hello,How are you today?Hajimemashitte! I am British from London living in Tokyo.Have you been to U.K?The British museum, London eye? How about fish and chips? http://www.travelbritain.org/newhome/virtual/virtual.htm Im English teacher, In my free time I rent movies, listen to music from my computer, watch football games Beckham... Im looking for serious girlfriend from friendship! Have a nice day!Cheers!
>>412 haha. Thanks for your reply. Maybe good news for you to blend in crowds of Japanese in the street. I am about 180cm and tall for Japanese but my dick is shorter than Japanese average. I am a living evidence that height and the size of it isn't correlated. Maybe I am an isolated case. Got to go to a website to get penis enlargement pills! Have a nice weekend.
Assuming that you've got your Japanese in two years, I would like your opinion about how people should learn English. (you know we study English for so many years and not very successful)
You said somewhere that you learned Japanese by talking to your Japanese speaking friends. But unfortunately that's not an option for most of people in Japan. The closest thing to talking to native speakers, in my opinion, is watching American movies or TV shows. Or reading novels and comic books (although the latter are not as popular in the US). Do you agree with me? or do you have any other suggestions?
English written by Teru is perfect in preposition, singrality and plurality of nouns, and tense. You said his English was "very very bad" and it was the proof of your not knowing english. If you think this opinion is not true, write your thought in English.
例えば、>>490は >>494=>>492が書いたのかどうか知らないけど、 確かに、本人が言っているように意味は通じる。でもネイティブスピーカー からみたら、不自然だよね。例えば、 perfect in preposition.... -> perect in terms of the use of prepositions ... とか、つーか、二番目の文章は、通じないかもね。通じるように書き直すと By telling his Eniglish is "very very bad", you are in effect revealing your own poor English skills. あと、 If you think this opinion is not true,も、ネイティブだったら、 If you don't think this is true というね。
Let's stop discussing Teru's English proficiency. It is quite obvious that his English is not as good as that of a top professional English writer. If he ever had a chance to teach English at a prestigious college like the TUFS (= the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) in Japan, it is all clear that he would be made fun of by quite a number of students there. His English is far below the level of English of typical top English learners in Japan. There is no mistake about it.
But Teru's English is a very good example of the kind of terrible English used by the ordinary native English speakers. In that sense he is a very informative person. As an English learner, his English is the kind of English we should not aim at, but it is the kind of English we should go behond.
One more thing about it, which is quite important in my opinion, is that we must know that we should not learn English from ordinary people like Teru.
>>524 Obviously you are thinking that your English is better than his.
See that's what I call 身の程知らず. YOU ARE OUT OF HIS LEAGUE and you don't even realize it. He is a native speaker of the language for Got sake. And you are not.
Your English is very good, and I can see that you have crafted your sentences very carefully, but you just don't sound like a native speaker.
>Watching the mystery(ies) in the film get solved as if a game can be quite entertaining. >As the story progresses and the state of things change for the six >doubtful characters, the terror seen in the movie can be quite realistic >and may indeed be quite frightening for the viewer.
So do you mean to say that you are better at English than me? I'd personally like to hear exactly what you saw in my writing that made you believe that my English is so terrible. Many of my translations and posts here are not going to be of the caliber you would see in a research paper, however they are in no way something that those learning English should avoid mimicing.
Are you actually trying to prove a point by talking bad about me, or do you just want to flaunt the fact that you can write fairly decent English? This may be kind of off the subject, but for some reason a lot of the people in 2ch who seem to be pretty good at writing English have really big egos and terrible attitudes. You come in here yelling at people who are trying to help and calling them morons etc... Personally, I don't get offended by it because I know this is just the internet and none of what you may feel implied to spew here has any real meaning. However, people like you probably scare off a lot of other people who are just trying to give a hand to those who aren't as skilled in English.
Everyone's writing style is different, and you may not like mine, but that does not mean that I am bad at English. Even though I skipped school a lot and I wasn't interested in school at all when I was younger, I always got very good grades in English class. All of the essays I've turned in in my college English classes have also recieved high praise from my professors, so I believe that is some indication that I'm not really on the wrong track when it comes to expressing myself in English. Of course I should probably just ignore all my teachers and the other native people around me, because you, some random guy on the internet say that I am not good. I realize that your post is probably just flame-bait, but I enjoy arguing with people who are full of themselves and putting them back in their place, even if it is just over the internet and they can easily run away.
>>540 >I enjoy arguing with people who are full of themselves and putting them >back in their place, even if it is just over the internet and they can easily run away.
Who did you say has the big ego and attitude? Seems you are being very brash, young man.
I could understand if this was another message board, but this is 2ch. I personally don't think the same rules really apply here considering its a pretty vulgar board to begin with.
There's a big difference between someone who is trying to start shit by acting like they are better than someone and someone who is responding to that person. I don't come out of the blue and start claiming how amazing I am or how amazing some other person is, it's just stupid in my opinion.
And by the way, you don't need to use ラサール's line every single time, it's been used enough.
輝の冠詞が完璧とか言ってる奴へ >>538の文 >Many of my translations and posts here are not going to be of the caliber you would see[n] in a research paper[.], h[H]owever they are in no way something that those learning English should avoid mimicing.
>This may be [a] kind of off the subject, but for some reason a lot of the people in 2ch who seem to be pretty good at writing English have really big egos and terrible attitudes.Personally, I don't get offended by it because I know this is just the internet and none of what you may feel implied to spew here has any real meaning[s]. However, people like you probably scare off a lot of [the] other people who are just trying to give a hand to those who aren't as skilled in English.
さらに、 >Even though I skipped school a lot and I wasn't interested in school at all when I was younger, I always got very good grades in English class[es]. All of the essays I've turned in in my college English classes have also recieved high praise from my professors, so I believe that is some indication that I'm not really on the wrong track when it comes to expressing myself in English. Of course I should probably just ignore all my teachers and the other native people around me, because you, some random guy[s] on the internet say that I am not good(この文は何をいわんとしているのか少し不明瞭).
やっぱり、ネイティブの文章は違うな >>538 are not goingto be of the caliber you would see in a research paper とか、 none of what you may feel implied to spew here has any real meaning. のような文章は、俺にはちょっと思いつかないもんな。
>>524 This is a funny comment though there is no mistake in it except one:
>it is the kind of English we should go behond
→it is the kind of English we should go beyond
>>538>>540 Teru is really funny. Is he really trying to compare his English with that of those within the top 100 or so students in Japan?
Teru, are you crazy or just unaware of what you are really talking about? Some of those students have spent 10-20 years in an English-speaking country and have studied at such prestigious colleges as Harvard and Princeton. There are some students who are even better than them by studying English only in Japan.
>>566 >Some of those students have spent 10-20 years in an English-speaking country >and have studied at such prestigious colleges as Harvard and Princeton.
That means those students are native English speakers.
>There are some students who are even better than them by studying English only in Japan.
So they are better than native English speakers. After all, Masao Kunihiro, often called the God of English, could not even pass the entrance exam to that college.
That is why ordinary native English speakers can never teach English there.
>>601 よし。じゃあ私が英文を書いてうだうだ言ってあげる。 I think, Teru's English is good. His English is much better than >>524. >>524 should study harder. He should learn how to write like a native speaker. This is my personal opinion. There is no mistake in my English. どう?完璧でしょう。
i went to the theator and watched Troy yesterday. it was such a great movie. acutually, one of the best movies i've ever seen i recommend you guys watch it, too!
>>637 優しくしてもらいたかったら、他の人にも優しくしないと。 他の人に、罵倒を浴びせてたら、誰も優しくしてくれないよ。 If you want others to be kind to you, you should be kind to others. If you abuse others, nobody will be kind to you.
>ゲーム感覚のように進んでいく謎解きはとても面白い。 >6人が段々と疑いや恐れを持ち、変化していく様は >現実的にありうる恐怖として共感できるであろう。 > >Watching the mystery(ies) in the film get solved as if a game can be quite entertaining. >As the story progresses and the state of things change for the six >doubtful characters, the terror seen in the movie can be quite realistic >and may indeed be quite frightening for the viewer.
>350 :名無しさん@英語勉強中 :04/05/25 05:33 >分詞構文を使って、「どうしたらよいかわからなかったので」を >英訳してください。よろしくお願いします。 > >351 :anonymous translator :04/05/25 05:34 >>>350 Not knowing what to do > 352 :輝 ◆7jz8JnK8a2 :04/05/25 05:51 >>>350 I didn't know what I should have done, so...
That is why I do not think his English is suitable to be used in an English textbook. English learners should learn to understand that kind of English when it pops up in films or daily conversation with ordinary native English speakers. Or they should learn it from someone who normally speaks elegant English.
Ordinary native English speakers use vulgar English, and unless you want to sound vulgar, stupid, and untrustworthy, you had better avoid that kind of English until after you have completely mastered good English.
What exactly was mistaken in my sentence? If he'd point that out then I would acknowledge that he corrected what I wrote, but all he did was change the way it was written into a manner that he preferred. "Entiende?" yourself, jackass.
Teru, if you are so confident about your English, why don't you rewrite the following text in your proud writing style. In case you do not know, this is from a famous author's book. So, do not search the Web.
WHEN I WROTE the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.
I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of my readers if very particular inquiries had not been made by my townsmen concerning my mode of life, which some would call impertinent, though they do not appear to me at all impertinent, but, considering the circumstances, very natural and pertinent. Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained. I will therefore ask those of my readers who feel no particular interest in me to pardon me if I undertake to answer some of these questions in this book. In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this it will be retained; that, in respect to egotism, is the main difference. We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking. I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience.
Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land; for if he has lived sincerely, it must have been in a distant land to me. Perhaps these pages are more particularly addressed to poor students. As for the rest of my readers, they will accept such portions as apply to them. I trust that none will stretch the seams in putting on the coat, for it may do good service to him whom it fits.
You don't have to teach me anything, you're doing it because you want to obviously. No one is forcing you to do anything. Though I do appreciate you correcting my sentences :)! Thanks!
I'm not really trying to pick a fight, the way that person so arrogantly wrote his post sort of angered me is all.
Why would I re-write that? The author is a professional writer who has probably gone through school and obtained a masters degree in their field of writing. Of course they're going to be more skilled at writing in that style than I currently am. However, everyone has their own unique style of writing, so even if I just change the words and sentences around a bit, even if the meaning stays the same, some people may prefer my style compared to the original author and vice versa.
I could re-write it, but I'm sure I would only be shot down by the trolls on this board who have nothing better to do than make fun of me, so it would really be a waste of time.
>>702 I believe you may have read it in a previous post of mine, but I dropped out of highschool after only finishing the 9th grade. I wouldn't be surprised if most Americans do read this author's work, but I just didn't have the chance. I really don't read much English outside of school anymore, but I used to mainly be interested in novels and books on psychology and what not, so I wouldn't have had much exposure to this author anyways.
Just because you think it sounds better, doesn't mean that it actually does. It works either way, and in fact I actually prefer the usage of "of", over "about" in this context. You're not going to help anyone out by stating your opinion as fact and confusing those who don't know better.
>>713 Just curious. Why do you prefer using of over about in this case? You might be doing the same (confusing those who don't know better) if you don't provide reasons behind your preference.
Either way, >>704, >>705 and >>707 are the same one person. I was just talking to myself...out loud.
"Of" is better because it suggests a "knowledge" of English grammar and usage. On the other hand, "about" suggests an "opinion" about English grammar and usage. Since the problem is whether the person in question has accurate knowledge of English grammar and usage or not, "of" would be a better choice. However, "about" is also fine because what he thinks about English grammar and usage may be the source of the problem.
The use of "wo" strongly suggests the omission of the agent. But there are two sentences in between. Therefore the minimum way to correct it would be the use of "wa" instead of "wo."
But in this particular context I think it is best to show the agent "ore."
>>719 has never said anything about the way Teru uses articles. Do not mix up. >>719 has never written Japanese here except a few sentences above.
>>720 Anyway >>720 is probably not very good at Japanese. At least he should show something other than childish logic because grammar does not work that way.
>>715 Thanks for the reply (>>714). Your answer is fine. In fact, many of my American friends answer the way you did when I ask them similar questions. Thanks for giving an honest answer.
I am >>719, and I have not written anything about articles. I am not interested in this problem, and I have hardly read anything related to it. Consequently I do not know what those people were arguing about articles.
If you insist, however, I might want to analyze articles in Teru's writing.
Your English sounds really stiff an unnatural in my open. I think you need to drop the self-made image of "genius-English-god" before you embarrass yourself further. I will acknowledge that you seem to know how English works very well, but you don't know how to make it sound natural at all, it seems.
Please do analyze my writing. I'd like to see what someone so cocky, and so confident in their English abilities like yourself can dig up to try and say that I am wrong.
I'll use a line that you seem to be infatuated with: "Good luck, you brash young man!"
>>736 Teru. Unless you identify what and why it sounds stiff and unnatural, what you are saying may not be convincing. I would appreciate that you identify what is stiff and unnatural and give reasons why. Otherwise you'd appear arrogant or making unreasonable if not baseless claims. (I'm just an audience, not >>734.)
>>737 でもさ、読む人が読めば明確じゃん。>>734の英語が日本人臭い学校英語なのは。 まず、書き出しの | I am >>719, and I have not written anything about articles. からして、かなりぎこちない。ついでに | I have hardly read anything related to it. は何を言いたかったのかすらわからないほど意味不明。 | Consequently I do not ... のConsequentlyもずいぶんぎこちないし、 | If you insist, however, I might want to もmightの使い方が変。
Teru seems to believe that 2 is absolutely better than 1. But in reality 1 is absolutely better than 2, and many of 2 kind of girls drop out of school, get bad grades, show bad attitudes...etc.
1 is by no means unnatural.
However, if Teru talked that way, he might sound very, very unnatural.
Look at the following familiar scene. You need to study something for your work or for an exam. You sit comfortably on the sofa with the book in your hands and start reading. After a while you feel hungry and go to the kitchen to eat something.
You return to read, and then hear people talking outside. You listen to them for several moments and then bring back your attention to the book. After a while you feel restless and want to listen to music and so you switch on the radio. You continue to read for a little while and then remember something that happened yesterday and your thoughts chase that event.
When you look at your watch, you are amazed to find out that one complete hour has passed and you have hardly read anything.
別にI am not interested in this problem, and I have hardly read anything は大丈夫だと思うけど、そのProblemというのは文脈に変。 わかると思うが、「その話について、ほとんど何も読んでない」という意味だ。 この文章にHardlyはBarelyと同じね。
The usage of the word problem in the original text sounds very odd to me. It makes it sound like there is some sort of situation or epidemic occuring. Should you have used "argument", or "discussion" it would have sounded much more natural in my opinion.
>>769 I thought about using "argument" or "discussion," but I did not know anything about it. I did not know whether you were arguing or discussing or just yelling or harassing each other. It was impossible for me to decide which word was really appropriate. So, I just wrote "this problem." That word fits the situation more or less almost whatever you were doing.
If you claim that you did not know what was going on, then how did you know that trouble was occuring, thus deeming it a "problem"? If you wanted to stay ambiguous about whether it was a problem or not, you should have just wrote "discussion", since pretty much any communication that happens over this board is done with words.
>>771 I happened to read part of someone's post,and that part led me to think that some sort of problem was happening. So the first word that came to my mind was "problem."
There are people who do not seem to understand. I write the way I do because I want to sound like myself. I am exactly the kind of person that my writing style suggests.
If you want to sound like Teru, you should simply write the way he does.
But I never want to sound like Teru.
By the way, I often skip posts written in Japanese. Maybe you had better write in English if you want me to read what you write. But that does not mean that I read every post written in English. You must write in good English, and you must write something interesting or fun. Actually, I have skipped many of Teru's English posts for this reason.
There is one thing that Teru seems to misunderstand.
When we learn English as a foreign language, we normally focus on the kind of English spoken by the upper-middle-class big-city residents in the Midwest of the United States or southern England, who probably constitute less than 2 or 3% of the entire population of the United States or Britain.
Teru's English is not the kind of English spoken by these people. That is why English learners should avoid his English. If Teru's English is the kind of English spoken by most of native English speakers, then that is exactly the reason why we should avoid it.
When you learn a foreign language, you should have basic knowledge as to what variety of the target language you are supposed to learn.
I am sorry I do not have much time to spare for you, but historically I am not the one who decided it. If you are interested, go to the nearby library and read some books about language education. Sociolinguistics books may be of some help.
I will not respond to similar ignorant arguments from now on.
>>806 Do you have functioning gray matter? If you want me to get interested in what you say, you had better make use of something in your head before you post.
Please do not post boring messages like >>805 and >>806.
>>804 >When we learn English as a foreign language, we normally focus on the kind >of English spoken by the upper-middle-class big-city residents in the >Midwest of the United States or southern England, who probably constitute >less than 2 or 3% of the entire population of the United States or Britain.
Not true. The kind of English taught in Japan is more like the common denominator.
>Teru's English is not the kind of English spoken by these people. How do you know? I don’t think you can tell the demographic back ground of a writer by looking at his casual writing, unless the person’s writing skills are severely limited due to lack of education. Teru may not have a college degree (yet), but he is by no means unsophisticated. Actually, he is unmistakably an intelligent person. Let me ask you then. Can you tell on 2ch, even in Japanese, if someone is from Tokyo or Akita, or a highschool grad or a Ph.D? I would be amazed if you said you can.
814の続き That said, there is one thing I can tell about Teru’s English: His style is typical of young Americans. I wish I could post some of the e-mails that I receive daily from my colleagues (I can't for confidentiality reasons). Some of them are in their early 20's, graduates from top schools like Stanford and MIT and their writing is very casual and doesn’t always follow the grammar. But that doesn't mean that their English is improper in any way, much less incorrect.
In case you don’t know, the language commonly used in the US is, in general, fairly casual (even in a business context that is.)You hardly ever see some of the phrases and expressions that are mainstays in college entrance exams in Japan. And a simple and succinct style is often considered more practical and better than those wordy and more formal styles of the past.
>But I never want to sound like Teru. That's fine. It is a matter of personal choice, but you should stop criticizing someone’s English just because it's not to your taste.
What you doing won’t make you look smart, but rather it makes you look stupid. I’m saying this because, anyone with a lot of experience with “real” English can easily spot some parts in your writing that are characteristically “non-native". Not that I’m trying to pick a fight with you, but this is my honest observation. So stop that nonsense huh? I’m off to bed.
>>814 You are probably too ignorant. You had better read a few linguistics books in your spare time.
>he is by no means unsophisticated.
He is not really very intellectually sophisticated.
>Let me ask you then. Can you tell on 2ch, even in Japanese, if >someone is from Tokyo or Akita, or a highschool grad or a Ph.D?
I would not say it is always possible to do so, but in many cases it is possible. You do not need to be surprised by it. If you have taken a course in linguistics in college, you may know that some teachers do it for fun every year.
Hello. What is your name? --My name is ***. What other courses are you taking this year? --I am taking ***. Oh, you are from Shizuoka, probably somewhere near Shimizu, right? --No, but I lived in Shimizu when I was in junior high. And then either your father or mother is from Aomori, right? --My father is from Aomori. But how did you know that? ...etc.
>>822 お前さんもreal Englishを習ってきたかも知れないが、彼がいってるのは a lot of experience with real Englishだろ?教科書をちょこちょこ っとやったのとは違うじゃない? お前さんの英語は不自然だって散々指摘されてるじゃん。 またみんなに指摘してもらう?
>>820 Hello. What is your name? --My name is ***. What other courses are you taking this year? --I am taking ***. そりゃ、発音を聞いたら分かるっしょ。 でも、2chで書いた日本語からじゃ分からねーな。 英語だったら分かるのかい? 俺の学歴分かる?出身地分かる?
>>830 I do not remember how much of Teru's writing I read, but I think I read enough to judge Teru's personality as well. In fact he is very consistent in the way he acts. Anyway he probably wrote far more than several hundred lines.
I want to spend my little time analyzing his English. So please do not ask me irrelevant questions, will you?
>>831 あれ?これから解析なんてしなくても、君はもうとっくに結論は出してるんだろ? しかも君は、troubleの件で、興味ないからほとんど読んでないとまで言い切った。 つまり、ほんの数レス程度で輝の階層と地域を断定したということだ。 よって、 > Anyway he probably wrote far more than several hundred lines. はまさにirrelevant argumentだ。
ついでに言わせてもらえば、 > I want to spend my little time analyzing his English. とっくに結論を出したのにこれから分析するなんて、研究者にあるまじき姿勢だね。 特に言語という主観が入りやすい対象を扱う時にはその手の先入観は大敵なんだがな。 あんた、本当に言語学者?つーか、アカデミアであることさえ怪しいね。
>>831 その程度の、ぎこちない英語しか書けないあんたに、 輝の英語の細かいニュアンスまで分からないよ。 まず自分の英語をあんたが学んだっていう English spoken by the upper-middle-class big-city residents in the Midwest of the United States or southern England, に近づけることに力を注いだらどうだ?
君の英語はまだ English spoken by the average learner of English in Japan だからさ。
You make me laugh, really. Honestly, who do you think you are? Do you actually think that anyone even cares if you post here or not? What you need to do is spend less time with linguistics and more time with a psychiatrist in my opinion. Pretty much, what you want to say is that 96 ot 97% of the Native English speakers in England and America speak English that shouldn't be imitated? I hate to say it, but I think you missed the logic train. First off, you make wild claims like the above without any references or backing, other than the fact that you claim it to be true. Secondly, if 96 to 97% of the Native population speaks one way, then that is by far the majority and decidedly the style that should be imitated if one wants to be understood.
Do you honestly believe that the extremely rich Native speakers utilize a different style of English than that of a lower class school teacher, or anyone else? If you do, then you really should have your head checked out. However, I implore you to continue and chat here, I get a good laugh out of reading each one of your posts and seeing how full of yourself you are. Your grammar is good, but you write like that of a English text book that Japanese students. And just for your information, the English used in many Japanese text books to study for exams and what not is neither that of British people or American people. It is English made by other Japanese people. If you're not looking to speak to Native speakers, then I guess its fine to use Japanese-English, but then I think the point of learning the language becomes kind of inane.
>>538 >Are you actually trying to prove a point by talking bad about me, >or do you just want to flaunt the fact that you can write fairly decent English?
What is wrong with this? Which part is not appropriate to teach?
Teru, You said that you have a girl friend. Is that true? First time I saw your pic, It wasn't like Wow. But I don't know, I guess I'm getting interested you. Now I've been thinking about you all the time from this warm secluded bed. Your smile's really killing me. I want you badly. Your girl friend might be cuter than me, but I kick her ass in a bed. You should try me.
Teru has a lot of jap girlfriends. give him up. I think his motivation for the Japanese language comes from his lust for women. There are lots of jap girls like you out there who wants to be the one. Consequently he has many. You saw the photos on his website, didn't you? Each and every pic had a girl or two, didn't they?
The unwanted truth is that highschool dropouts are highschool dropouts. You don't want your child to hang around with highschool dropouts. Then you had better not listen to them. They are too stupid.
>>819 >their writing is very casual and doesn’t always follow the grammar. >But that doesn't mean that their English is improperin any way, much less incorrect.
Not true. It is incorrect and improper. However, it's not worth disrupting the flow of conversation or discussion and they go unmentioned just like you wouldn't correct or mention incorrect uses of tenioha or ra-nuki kotoba during a day-to-day Japanese conversation. Reminds me of the time you were insisting that "I have a friend of mine who..." and other improper but often used phrases as not incorrect or improper. You, especially as a non-native speaker who feels to have accomplished a certain level of proficiency, ought to be more sensible in kind of matters. Even though it is said that usage determines what is good English, passively or reluctantly accepted abusage is still improper (at least to me).
>>835 >And just for your information, the English used in many Japanese text books >to study for exams and what not is neither that of British people or >American people. It is English made by other Japanese people.
This is completely wrong. I checked my high school English textbook, but none of the texts was written by a Japanese writer. It may be true that a large portion of English texts in junior high school textbooks is probably written by Japanese native speakers, but when I recently happened to read a popular junior high textbook, I found an expression like this:
>Hanako Suzuki was killed by an atomic bomb over Nagasaki.
(The woman's name above is changed.)
It was probably written by a native English speaker because most Japanese would write "by an atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki." (I would write "in an A-bomb blast in Nagasaki" or something, though.)
In any case, your claim that my English sounds like the kind of English commonly found in English textbooks written by Japanese native speakers and used by Japanese students is completely wrong. You are just saying it because my English is always grammatically correct and yours is sometimes not, or because mine is always formal and yours is often informal. If you really know a lot about school textbooks of English used in Japan, you should notice the difference between my English and that of those textbooks. It seems that you are not very good at English after all.
So you actually believe that you're better than me at English? That's a good one! You must be getting quite agitated with my posts here to warrant the responses you have been writing. It really doesn't matter how much grammar or Japanese-English you know, you're never going to be able to comprehend English as well as an educated Native Speaker. The same goes for me and Japanese. It doesn't matter how many words you know, because you will never completely learn exactly when to use what word in what situation. I'll acknowledge that you seem to be fairly highly skilled in English, but your writing is very stiff (not formal) and there are many cases where you use words that make me think, "huh?" because they just don't match the situation. Your grammar is not always correct. I think it's fairly safe to say that there is no one in the world whose grammar is always correct. I don't know how old you are, or how long you have studied English, or where you studied it, but you seem to get extremely annoyed at the fact that you can't compare to a Native English speaker when it comes to writing, speaking and most likely comprehending English. You would probably be a very interesting person if you dropped the I-am-god attitude and learned how to be a little more humble.
Anyways, keep on posting here please. I really do get a laugh reading the blasphemy that you have become quite adapt at spewing in your posts. Cheers!
I'll post a little follow-up just because I have some time to kill.
Here's a small error I immediately noticed when I browsed over your most recent post.
誤 This is completely wrong. I checked my high school English textbook, but none of the texts was written by a Japanese writer.
正 This is completely wrong. I checked my high school English textbook, but none of the texts WERE written by a Japanese writer.
And when I made the comment that a lot of Japanese text books are written by Japanese writers, I was using the books that I have seen personally as reference. Many are collaborative works with Native speakers, but almost all of the many books that I have seen up until now have been written by Japanese people. Quite a few of the books even (mainly those directed for entrance exam study) have exclusively used example sentences written by high level Japanese University students.
If you are so concerned about references, here is an excerpt from my high school English textbook. Which part of it is unnatural? Which part sounds like the kind of English made up by a Japanese native speaker.
"Have you got a cat?" asked the little girl on skates of the man who was leveling off fresh cement on the sidewalk.
"I've got a great big cat," said the man, "and it says 'Mouooo.'" The little girl looked down at the man who was on his hands and knees, working swiftly with the towel, smoothing off the surface of the soft cement. She thought it was wonderful about the big cat, and the way the man mioued was really excellent. He might be the big cat himself, on his hands and knees.
"Miouoo," he said, "miouooo," and he lifted his head like a cat letting out a mournful cry.
Other than the spelling of MEOW, it seems fine to me. I didn't say that all text books were written by Japanese people, just a lot of the ones that I have seen are.
>>871>>869 Let me explain further. The use of the singular form of a verb after "none of + plural noun" is correct formal English, The use of the plural form of a verb there is informal English. Therefore you did not need to correct my sentence.
Hi Teru. How's it going? Did you read my massage? I'm a bit jealous You have a girl friend, but I'm ok with that. Cause I know I'm the only one who can connect with you. If you wind up with out me, you'll be sorry.
>>874 I am not the author of that high school textbook, but you can have your students think why William Saroyan used that particular spelling in that context, when he could have used a more common spelling such as "meow." So you can say it provides a good opportunity to teach about onomatopoeia.
There was a typo in >>870. Correction: "I've got a great big cat," said the man, "and it says 'Mouooo.'" →"I've got a great big cat," said the man, "and it says 'Miouooo.'"
The excerpt is the beginning part of "The Cat" written by William Saroyan (1908-1981).
I think you guys are talking two different things. >>864 and other Japanese are using the term “textbook” as a direct substitute for 教科書, which has a slightly different meaning from English term. 教科書strictly means those official text books approved by the education ministry for used in high schools across Japan. And you are using “textbook” in the usual sense, which includes any books that contain teaching materials for English learners.
Also on “none of the texts were”, apparently this has long been a subject of debate among scholars. Webstrer’s Dictionary of English Usage spends two pages on this subject: “...For instance, when none is followed by an of phrase containing a plural noun or pronoun, you might expect the plural verb to be more natural, as in the Bible’s ... Our evidence, however, shows both the singular and plural verbs;...”
To avoid shooting yourself in the foot, I suggest you steer clear of grammar. You'd be surprised how much they know when it comes to grammar. They watch every word you say and they are ready to pounce.
Yeah, I realized that I was incorrect (sort of) in correcting the original "none of the texts was". I looked it up on the internet after the guy everyone is calling PSE decided to grace me by further explaining the sentence.
As for avoiding grammar, I don't really care if people pounce on me. If I'm wrong I don't mind admitting it, I can only learn from it. I'm actually kind of studying English grammar through Japanese textbooks and it's a lot more complex than I ever really imagined. It is a lot of fun to sort of learn the workings behind the language that has been embedded in my brain since birth. However, since all languages are called "alive", no matter how many rules are made around it, there are always exceptions.