How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
All different ? not my experience ! At the end the only thing that i hear is LAZY, BORING, DIFFICULT, etc...
These are the words that they know the best !
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:44 pm
- Reputation: -8
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
If I was her then I'd run back to the Khmer hills and leave you to your expectations
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
There are hundreds of Cambodian girls who speak English well. What was the difference?
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
- John Bingham
- Expatriate
- Posts: 13785
- Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:26 pm
- Reputation: 8983
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
Hundreds? I meet thousands through work every year, year on year, and I've been here a while. There is a whole big world out there yet some cannot see it.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 1634
- Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:00 am
- Reputation: 1076
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
It is best to meet English speaking girls in the village. For example, one day I was walking in the village and a Khmer came up to me and said "what a big smile you have!" and another day I was in Phnom Penh and walked around smiling all day and no one said anything to me.John Bingham wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2019 7:29 pm Hundreds? I meet thousands through work every year, year on year, and I've been here a while. There is a whole big world out there yet some cannot see it.
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
I am curious where these hundreds and thousands of good English speakers are hiding. I have a hard time understanding hotel or restaurant staff most of the time and they are supposed to be trained on that subject, and have a lot of experience dealing with tourists.
By far, the best speakers of English i have seen so far are bar girls but those who speak well are rare even among them. Not that i care much as i prefer to practice Khmer.
By far, the best speakers of English i have seen so far are bar girls but those who speak well are rare even among them. Not that i care much as i prefer to practice Khmer.
- armchairlawyer
- Expatriate
- Posts: 2521
- Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 1:43 pm
- Reputation: 1518
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
Agree hugely. And it is not only Asians. There are many people in the UK now to whom English is not a first language. But they have been there so long that their vocab and grammar is excellent and their fluency is superb. The problem is their thick accent. You can understand them when they speak slowly but as their fluency improves, they become incomprehensible. Latin and African first language speakers are the worst.hunter8 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2019 11:14 am The biggest problem Cambodians and other SEA nations have with English is not grammar but mispronouncing, especially when they completely omit consonant endings, sometimes half the word. You hear it all the time from waitresses “Sir, you fini?” Of course, from the context we understand they mean the word “finished”. In other cases there is no context or it’s unclear and I often have to ask them to say again. Which is a loss of face for many of them, that is why your girlfriend shuts down after you correct her. I am sure I sound as awful when I try to speak Khmer.
- John Bingham
- Expatriate
- Posts: 13785
- Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:26 pm
- Reputation: 8983
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
Nobody said hundreds of thousands. They are hiding in plain sight in the better establishments and in professions outside of the tourist industry. Most visitors will never encounter them but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Similarly most visitors to London just go to a few sights and never get to see the bigger picture either.hunter8 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2019 8:02 pm I am curious where these hundreds and thousands of good English speakers are hiding. I have a hard time understanding hotel or restaurant staff most of the time and they are supposed to be trained on that subject, and have a lot of experience dealing with tourists.
By far, the best speakers of English i have seen so far are bar girls but those who speak well are rare even among them. Not that i care much as i prefer to practice Khmer.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
Very intriguing.
- armchairlawyer
- Expatriate
- Posts: 2521
- Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 1:43 pm
- Reputation: 1518
Re: How much do you guys correct your girlfriend's English?
I think it's true that tourist jobs are generally not that well paid and only demand a certain level of English, even in the luxury hotels.
Levels of English can be a lot better in other professions, e.g. banking and international business. In my opinion, that level is still well below that of a well-educated Westerner, but that does not matter if the necessary level of communication can take place. On the other hand, in Hong Kong and Singapore you will notice quite a difference.
Another thing worth mentioning is the low level of international knowledge here. Spoken and written English may be good but literacy is rarely strong. People here do not have a culture of reading books and acquiring general knowledge for its own sake. That does not stop them being very well versed in whatever they need to function on their particular job. But if you are looking for social relationships, you are likely to notice a difference from people in similar jobs in the West. Again, in HK and SG it is different.
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 17 Replies
- 3066 Views
-
Last post by Spigzy
-
- 80 Replies
- 18920 Views
-
Last post by MarkArmstrong
-
- 9 Replies
- 2332 Views
-
Last post by Freightdog
-
- 0 Replies
- 1222 Views
-
Last post by mymiyagi
-
- 26 Replies
- 3815 Views
-
Last post by pissontheroof
-
- 23 Replies
- 5823 Views
-
Last post by atst
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: yellowPoint and 704 guests