Question for our ESL friends

[Shiksa ♥]

For those of you who have learned English fluently, and it is not your native language, I have some questions to ask in hopes of satisfying my curiosity.

In your efforts to learn English, I assume that you surfed the internet frequently to either practice, get the gist of the language, or something of the like. Has n00bspeak, or "abreviations" like "r u going 2 skool 2moro" confused you or hindered your learning, or do you find that these phonetic spellings simplify the language? In broader terms, have grammatical and spelling errors made by natire English-speakers (in the media, or in everyday encounters such as signs in stores) confused you or caused you to learn a certain idiomatic nuance or grammatical concept incorrectly?

On a slightly different tangent, has anything in your native language inhibited you from learning a certain concept in English?

And lastly, do you find the extensive--if not redundant--English vocabulary to be daunting, or rather helpful in more precise expression through language?

 

[Habunake]

I speak English naturally, but if I learned English from Forum members....I'd be screwed. XD

 

[Murgatroyd]

I can't speak for learning English, but I have encountered the French equivalent. Netspeak, particularly the phonetic simplifications, can be a major impediment to comprehension. To use some specific examples, when I see the letters "g" or "c" by themselves, it always takes me a few moments to remember that in French, they're pronounced like the words "j'ai" (I have) or "c'est" (it is), rather than with the English pronunciations I've known for decades.

 

[Dark Fire]

For those of you who have learned English fluently, and it is not your native language, I have some questions to ask in hopes of satisfying my curiosity.

In your efforts to learn English, I assume that you surfed the internet frequently to either practice, get the gist of the language, or something of the like. Has n00bspeak, or "abreviations" like "r u going 2 skool 2moro" confused you or hindered your learning, or do you find that these phonetic spellings simplify the language? In broader terms, have grammatical and spelling errors made by natire English-speakers (in the media, or in everyday encounters such as signs in stores) confused you or caused you to learn a certain idiomatic nuance or grammatical concept incorrectly?

I didn't really surf that much when I was learning the langauge, but I never found online lingo to be too confusing. I just had someone explain to me what some of the abbreviations and odd spellings were about and that was the end of that.

On a slightly different tangent, has anything in your native language inhibited you from learning a certain concept in English?

I actually learned English as my third language, so when I was just starting out I mixed my three languages together a lot. When I think about it, I find that most English speaking people have a hard time trying to talk in my native language than I ever did starting with English.

And lastly, do you find the extensive--if not redundant--English vocabulary to be daunting, or rather helpful in more precise expression through language?

I think English is quite simple actually. Compared to French, Hebrew and Russian the verb conjugation is very straightforward. The only real big thing is, some words are spelled so stupidly, but then again in French you don't pronounce half the word =P

 

[Kadabra]

Has n00bspeak, or "abreviations" like "r u going 2 skool 2moro" confused you or hindered your learning, or do you find that these phonetic spellings simplify the language? In broader terms, have grammatical and spelling errors made by natire English-speakers (in the media, or in everyday encounters such as signs in stores) confused you or caused you to learn a certain idiomatic nuance or grammatical concept incorrectly?
Not really. I did not take what random people posted on message boards seriously, except the ones that I admired. For example, back in 2000 or '01 on the old BMGf, there was a user (I think his name was Burkey or TheBurkey..) that helped me out with my game programming project. His posts, in terms of quality of writing and content appeared to surpass most peoples', so especially after seeing that, I couldn't care less about sum1 tieping liek dis.

On a slightly different tangent, has anything in your native language inhibited you from learning a certain concept in English?
Nothing that I can think of.

And lastly, do you find the extensive--if not redundant--English vocabulary to be daunting, or rather helpful in more precise expression through language?
Not really. When I just arrived to Canada, I learned the very basic vocab I needed to be able to express myself, and that wasn't too hard. I just built it up slowly from there.


Dark Fire, I think we know the same languages. XD Except, I learned English last.

 

[Dark Fire]

Dark Fire, I think we know the same languages. XD Except, I learned English last.

Really? Where are you from? And where do you live in Canada? =P
...
... and I am not a stalker >.>