.. Posted December 26, 2004 Report Share Posted December 26, 2004 I'm not disagreeing, but wondering if you mean real spelling errors (e.g., your instead of you're) or cultural spelling differences (e.g., color instead or colour, commonize instead of commonise, pediatric instead of paediatric etc.)? And of course to really foul up a good theory, Dog, the worst speller of the board, is from Oz! Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 27, 2004 Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 I mean the real spelling errors. The internet is full of them. Masterbate. Fabolous. (Just off the top of my head, and I hope they do not reveal any disturbing facts about my head...) It is perfectly clear to me that you can only spell "indefinite" in one way. I do not need "spelling bees" to know that. So, is it the very fact that English speaking people can SPEAK the language that makes it so difficult for them so spell it? Is it just that I as a foreigner cannot even conceive of any alternatives to the spelling, when they are quite obvious to a native speaker? Is it the fact that we have to learn to speak WITH the spelling that makes it so straightforward to us? The words are only meaningful with their spelling, and do not mean anything alone? Duh. English being a third or fourth language for me makes it very difficult to explain clearly what I mean. But I am quite understanding when people point out my mistakes, so please feel free to correct me or ask for clarification if any is needed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 27, 2004 Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 I don't think Thais speak English that badly. If I consider what my Thai speech must sound like or what I hear from people who are learning English in the English-speaking (kind of) city that I live in, I think the Thai people do quite well. I think also that a lot of the people that I meet in Thailand have not had the advantage of extensive formal training/education in English and so have picked up their English from random sources. I'm glad I don't depend exclusively on my paasaa Thai while in BKK. pksword Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 27, 2004 Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 teppo42 said:I mean the real spelling errors. The internet is full of them. Masterbate. Fabolous. I'll take a shot. Two reasons, IMO. One, as someone mentioned, as long as English does not become internalized (i.e. for most ESL learners), words are remembered by their spelling, and their pronunication is (mentally) derived from the way they are written. For English speakers it's the other way around, and there is usually more than one way to spell a word to get the same sound. The second reason is that Internet became a truly ubiquitous medium and every Dick and Harry now have their web sites and write for public consumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 << there is usually more than one way to spell a word to get the same sound. >> Have you any idea how HARD it is to master Thai spelling? Even students have to study the exceptions all through school -- silent letters, silent syllables, spellings that make no sense what so ever ... e.g. THAM-MAH (dharma) if transliterated would be TRRM The name Somsak is written S-o-m-s-a-k-d-i SAI (beach sand) is written TRAY The word for "vowel" and a "swimming pool" are both written SRA, but one is SAH-RAH and the other is SAH. To look at cities, Nakorn See Thammarat is NKRSRITRRMRAJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 what's dodgy about burnt toast containing lots of cancerogenous substances? I assume you mean 'carcinogenic' ? If so, I've also been told this many, many times : often while ladling jam onto a piece of burnt toast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 I know. The first strangely spelled word that I learned was jing (really) which is spelled JRING. Made my head spin. I was trying to explain a phenomenon, not to excuse a lack of literacy. I agree, it's a regrettable situation. Acknowledging that Thai spelling is a challenge, let me just say that once I've asked how you spell soong (tall) and I've had 4-5 girls arguing for 2 minutes before they came to an agreement. You may argue that these girls are uneducated. Yes they are, and that was one of my points--many English speakers with equivalent education are often writing for the web, discussion lists, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 28, 2004 Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 The kids seem to be the ones who have invented this "spell anyway you like" nonsense on the internet. I've seen posts that were incomprehensible, not to mention those "Hi, M8 - Y R U hear so L8" forms of "English". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 English, from England, has changed considerably over the centuries. If you look at some of the original words in the King James Bible, you might shake your head in trying to figure out what is being said. And then, which 'version' of English is the 'correct' version and which dialect is the proper dialect. Even with those that speak 'English' as their first language, I have a hard time understanding what many are trying to say. If you can sort out the above, how do you think a Thai can get thru the language jungle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Yep - English is a "Living" language, it evolves and ages as we do, I like it that way! K9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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