User Comments - leeinengland
leeinengland
Posted on: Paris
April 29, 2008 at 6:55 AMI can't understand some of the comments in this discussion as they are 100% hanzi. I really think that people writing on the discussion boards accompanying elementary lessons, should grade their language to suit elementary learners. 100% hanzi belongs in the upper-intermediate / advanced section. Thank you.
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 14, 2008 at 5:40 PMoops, mono-culturalist is not a new idea.
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 14, 2008 at 5:34 PMThere was nothing wrong with what Auntie68 had written. And now an objective comment, "tightwad "or "cheapo.", are words I've never heard of. I AM English, and well, it must be the American's ignorance of the English language and its common usage in countries OTHER than the USA, that leads him or her to believe that non-standard Americanisms are old fashioned or plain wrong. "mean" and "tightfisted" are often used in England, to this day, so don't say that English is old fashioned. A less known phrase is, "skinflint"(n), which suggests that a person would skin a flint(stone) to save some of it; I won't flame Americanisations because I'm not aware of them, or I think they are wrong, and I certainly won't tell a person that it's not a good idea to use them. It should be said that in America you are likely to hear one thing and in the rest of the English speaking world (except those taught by Americans who don't know any other), another. I would suggest that more people living in the UK that can translate American into English, than there are Americans who can do the same. Don't be mono cluturalist (new word) when it comes to the English language or any other language which may have variations between its mother (native) country and another, such as Spain and Mexico. Best regards and good luck in your quest for language acquisition.
Posted on: Is someone in here?
February 4, 2008 at 6:13 AMIn Harbin, North China, my younger students ask, "Teacher, can I go to the W.C."? I'm not exactly sure how they latched onto it, but they do say it. Where possible I teach my native English and North American / Canadian variants, just so the students are aware of the differences. In the UK, we are asking where the TOILET is, not the room it's housed in; otherwise we'd call it a toiletroom, wouldn't we? Blame it on the Romans. A bathroom is a room in which to bathe, by use of a facility known as a bath. Swimming pools used to be called baths. I wouldn't want to bathe in a toilet. I think C-pod has gone with the Americanisms because the majority audience my well be from North America and Canada. Maybe we should change the reference to the toilet (room) completely to, 'fecal ejection facility', or 'post consumption depository', or even, 'evacuation chamber'. Ah! How about, 'business suite'? Enjoy doing your business! Lee.
Posted on: I'm hot!
August 29, 2007 at 9:44 PMthe comment box won't let me use capitals properly for some strange reason. All being well i'll be in harbin from october, so i guess there's not going to be much chance of being too hot there. i'll be looking forward to minus 30 winters. At last, proper snow.
Posted on: Jaywalking
August 6, 2007 at 9:49 PMRich, I accidentally capitalised 'and'. Well, when I get to China, I hope not to upset the people in charge of the crossings, or get ran over by a car.
Posted on: Jaywalking
August 5, 2007 at 11:40 PMCapitalising 'and' in the middle of a sentence wasn't a good idea.
Posted on: Jaywalking
August 5, 2007 at 11:38 PMRich, We call 'diapers', nappies(pl.) nappy(singular). Apparently England And the US speak the same language; apparently not. I hope Mr. Bush and Mr. Brown have bilingual dictionaries. Regards, Lee.
Posted on: Jaywalking
August 5, 2007 at 8:59 PMIs 'jaywalking' the action of only crossing a road on a red light, or can it be applied to generally walking in the road? Rich mentioned something about a, western-style daiper? How far West is westtern? I live in the UK, but never came across a diaper.
Posted on: Not on purpose
April 29, 2008 at 7:27 AMLight487, Marmite is also a yeast extract spread; it also has a unique taste. The Marmite ads used to (don't know if they still do) had a slogan like, you'll love it or hate it. Often the ads showed people enjoying or running away from marmite on toast. I like to load my toast with marmite, I love it!