Community Discussions
Native Passability: How Well Can Someone Else Tell?
I am a native Portuguese speaker that has been using English for almost half of my entire life on an almost daily basis. I often text native English speakers online for months and they almost never notice that I am actually a foreigner because of my choices of written words. The last two times that someone could tell that I am not a native because of my choice of words happened months ago: The first happened because I did let "fLorest" spelled with a "L" like the Portuguese version "floresta" slip instead of using the English version "forest". That happened when I was texting a woman online because I was too focused thinking about something else I was working on to the side. I was surprised that she immediately could tell well that I am a foreigner just because of one single written word. The second time happened when I was also texting an Italian guy online that could immediately tell well that I am not a native English speaker. I have asked him how he could tell that well because I was very curious, then he pointed out that Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese speakers have the habit of dropping the word "it" in casual contexts like this: Unusual in English: "Ok, is interesting..." Usual en Español: "Ok, es interesante..." Usual em Português: "Ok, é interessante..." Usuale in Italiano: "Ok, è interessante..." Usual in English: "Ok, it's interesting..." How well can someone else tell that you are not a native and how well can you tell that someone is not a native because of choice of written words? Do you believe that Latin Americans and Latin Europeans can recognize each other easily because of word choices when utilizing a very different foreign language? Do any of you have any revealing habit in written communication that outs you as a not native speaker?
How should I say when talking abt someone whose gender I don’t know?
For example if I were to say the sentence “if a rich person were in my place what would she/he/they do?” Or maybe “if a person falls off a building would he/she/they survive” that kinda thing How should I say it? are all of them correct? (My native language kinda throws me off on this one)
Is my English not good enough, or does reading this feel like having a stroke?
I was translating a text about mining when I came across this sentence that I still can't fully understand. Do I just need to practice reading more, or is the phrasing actually a bit off?
"Can we pay?" in a restaurant
I know that you can say "Can we have/get the bill?" in a restaurant when you're ready to pay, but how about saying "Can we pay?"? I feel like it's a bit awkward, but I'd love to hear some native speakers' opinions on this.
The pronunciation of "Roger That"
Spoken quickly, is it "Roger at", or "Roger dat", or what? I find it hard to actually say "rogher THat", with the proper th sound.
Please anwer
Which one is correct ? I appreciate every answer
I just love how English keeps evolving in the funniest way 😂
https://i.redd.it/twey4lruphpe1.jpeg
Dear natives, which show sounds decent to improve speaking? (For non-native speakers)
1) Simpsons 2) Adventure time 3) Family guy 4) Other recommendation from you 5) Friends It would be so much helpful for me if you answer Ps. Does people use ‘i’m on the level’ as ‘i’m being honest’ irl? I learned this phrase from Simpson and dared to use once to my american friend. And he asked me ‘what does that mean?‘. It made me feel embarrassed
I accidentally said "her" instead of "his", Does it matter a lot
like "he likes to play with her(I wanted to say "his") ball"
Can you use "cold" to describe a place?
A friend of mine just came back from a business trip to Maine. She told us about how cold it was in Maine during winter. This is what she said: Of all the places I've been to, none of them were anywhere as cold as Maine. Does this sentence sound natural?