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Case Assigner Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
English Grammar - an overrated issue?
0 The topic is already my question. Do you think that english is an overrated issue? 02 br
00 Maybe this is an odd question. But when I think about German, there are often incidences where others talk to each other, use wrong tenses and no one even notices it. There is some kind of understanding within language that enables us to understand the meaning even when there is wrong usage of tenses. Not in every case, but often. I can only talk for German, but when someone talks to me and suddenly uses the Past Perfect instead the Present Perfect, or vice versa, I will still understand him perfectly. Maybe I am wrong. What do you think about it? 02 br
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00 I just ask because I have the impression that we sometimes are afraid of talking to native speakers because we seem to believe that every native English speaker immediately discovers all the grammar mistakes that we have produced while talking English. 02 br
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00 There may be grammar mistakes in this text as well....... If that´s the case, I will never ever post something in here again 05 0 010id 5
00 Maybe this is an odd question. But when I think about German, there are often incidences where others talk to each other, use wrong tenses and no one even notices it. There is some kind of understanding within language that enables us to understand the meaning even when there is wrong usage of tenses. Not in every case, but often. I can only talk for German, but when someone talks to me and suddenly uses the Past Perfect instead the Present Perfect, or vice versa, I will still understand him perfectly. Maybe I am wrong. What do you think about it? 02 br
02 br
00 I just ask because I have the impression that we sometimes are afraid of talking to native speakers because we seem to believe that every native English speaker immediately discovers all the grammar mistakes that we have produced while talking English. 02 br
02 br
00 There may be grammar mistakes in this text as well....... If that´s the case, I will never ever post something in here again 05 0 010id 5
Top answer
I'm sure it's the same for all natural languages. In the flow of conversation, people make mistakes in their grammar. Tenses and agreements go awry, but the benefit of context and non-verbal communication allows the meaning to be understood regardless.
- I'm sure it's the same for all natural languages.
- In the flow of conversation, people make mistakes in their grammar.
- Tenses and agreements go awry, but the benefit of context and non-verbal communication allows the meaning to be understood regardless.
- It's harder not to be tripped up and confused by errors in written language though, particularly in formal contexts, because we lack the non-verbal cues given in a live interaction.
- Wouldn't you agree?
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10 Answers
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I'm sure it's the same for all natural languages. In the flow of conversation, people make mistakes in their grammar. Tenses and agreements go awry, but the benefit of context and non-verbal communication allows the meaning to be understood regardless.
It's harder not to be tripped up and confused by errors in written language though, particularly in formal contexts, because we lack the
It's harder not to be tripped up and confused by errors in written language though, particularly in formal contexts, because we lack the
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Oh yes - when speaking, things do NOT follow the correct grammatical path. We change our mind about what we want to say or decide to emphasize something else or just get distracted, and our sentences are not grammatical at all. If you are telling a story, you switch from present to past to whatever, and no one notices, because you're interacting. If you ever read transcripts of interviews, this is
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I completely agree that written papers, especially in formal context must agree with grammar aspects. Otherwise ambiguities can arise. @ grammar geek: The stop sign comparison is a very good one. You are right, not using correct grammar does not mean that we do not know how to produce a well formed sentence.
It´s just a funny phenomena that I have observerd here in Germany. People sometimes t
It´s just a funny phenomena that I have observerd here in Germany. People sometimes t
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The mistakes a person makes in his own language are completely differentfrom the mistakes he makes in someone else's language. Therefore, if only so as not to make a fool of oneself, a person should realize that it is more important to know the grammar of a foreign language than of one's native language. It would be a very unusual person indeed who, in learning a foreign language, st
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That´s true..... it would a very unusual person.....
Maybe I see your point now. Grammar is not an overrated issue, it is very important to know the basics, even to a higher extend than is actually needed, to avoid mistakes that may make a fool of oneself.
Maybe I see your point now. Grammar is not an overrated issue, it is very important to know the basics, even to a higher extend than is actually needed, to avoid mistakes that may make a fool of oneself.
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CalifJimThe mistakes a person makes in his own language are completely differentfrom the mistakes he makes in someone else's language. Therefore, if only so as not to make a fool of oneself, a person should realize that it is more important to know the grammar of a foreign language than of one's native language. It would be a very unusual person indeed who, in le
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Hi everyone,
I know nothing at all about Italian grammar, if I have to speak in Italian I just say what sounds good to me, what I've heard many times and I know it's ok. So if anyone made a "strange mistake", I would understand immediately that they are foreigner. Plus, regional dialects make Italian a very flexible language. I even often asked here about sentences that I'm not even sure
I know nothing at all about Italian grammar, if I have to speak in Italian I just say what sounds good to me, what I've heard many times and I know it's ok. So if anyone made a "strange mistake", I would understand immediately that they are foreigner. Plus, regional dialects make Italian a very flexible language. I even often asked here about sentences that I'm not even sure
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This is very interesting. Idiomatic expressions a more important than grammar sometimes. I totally agree with that. It occurs quite often that I read a lot of post here and think:" Hmmm, I would have written this one in another way. This is one of the reasons to be in this forum here. To learn as much about idiomatic expressions as possible. I just have to use them to get used to them
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idiomaticness is more important than grammar sometimesSo true, but such a hard lesson to learn for so many. Learners are often more interested in finding twenty ways to say something correctly than one way to say it idiomatically! But I suppose it can't be helped. That's just the way our brains work with language once the language-learning window closes at age 10
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There are times when intuition comes to the aid but there are equally times when accuracy of grammar is essential - when making an agreement, for example - and it is therefore safer to fall into the habit of speasking correctly than otherwise. If you said to a policeman 'I don't know nothing', what is he supposed to make of it?
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