Community Discussions
Do people actually say this?
Today I was having an argument with a teacher, it all started because she was making a review of opposites, and she asked my friend what is the opposite of free, I told him to say trapped, she said it was wrong, that it was actually busy, but then I told her that the question was lacking context, as free can also meen of freedom, she said that most people would ask if you're free, not that if you're busy. Was I wrong? Do people actually ask if you're free in the moment (present)? Like, do they actually say it to refer to that specific instance?
Is this accurate in your experience?
https://i.redd.it/6hvu2akcqm3f1.jpeg
I'd like to ask native English speakers:
When you meet a word that you don't understand, what will you do? I want to figure out it's useful for the English learners to memorize a lot of words?
Did you ever notice he was British? How does one achieve such a high level of proficiency?
https://i.redd.it/hs78b1h1ad0f1.jpeg
American terms considered to be outdated by rest of English-speaking world
I had a thought, and I think this might be the correct subreddit. I was thinking about the word "fortnight" meaning two weeks. You may never hear this said by American English speakers, most would probably not know what it means. It simply feels very antiquated if not archaic. I personally had not heard this word used in speaking until my 30s when I was in Canada speaking to someone who'd grown up mostly in Australia and New Zealand. But I was wondering, there have to be words, phrases or sayings that the rest of the English-speaking world has moved on from but we Americans still use. What are some examples?
"In of prison"? Is this correct?
https://i.redd.it/o3qjlv2mtuue1.jpeg
Is “blasé” commonly understood?
https://i.redd.it/ljm51ly0nhqe1.jpeg
What do you call these? "Plastic cutlery"?
https://i.redd.it/qcvft1s7vcke1.jpeg
Please, can you guys tell me what makes my accent so strong that the accent machine can detect it every time I try with 100% confidence?
There is a website called Accent Oracle, which claims it can identify your native language simply by listening to your English speech. I know I have an accent, but I didn’t realize it was strong enough for the machine to detect it every single time. Can you guys what is my accent? And if possible, please help me understand what aspects of my speech might reveal my identity. Many thanks. [Record](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yhBNiN7khFTslo0f9ymQbvKLbEBHn_jE/view?usp=drivesdk)
What does "Retarded" sounds like to native speakers in terms of offensive language?
[The definition of retarded according to Oxford Languages.](https://preview.redd.it/dp96h7hstwde1.png?width=862&format=png&auto=webp&s=4fb615cd6e93c024820587897faa2f4c02c4e384) There are a lot of offensive words, some of them are lighthearted, to the point that they even appear in flirting, like stupid, and foolish. etc. From my observation, those words can appear in TV shows that cater to children. Some of them are neutral I'd say, like Asshole, you can use it to berate a person or to make jokes with your friends. From my observation, those words can appear in Hollywood films that cater to young audiences. Some of them are serious and heavily offensive, often censored in public, which is usually race-specific, I'm not going to name them. Where does "Retarded" lay in this spectrum? If someone says to you "You are retarded", what does it sound like? And more importantly, what situation do you expect yourself in to say someone is "retarded"? And how does it differentiate from other words like "stupid" or "asshole"?