Is English your first language?

[Koa]

Liked Dr. Zhivago, nice little tale.

Little tale? And it seemed a big novel to me...

Yeah, I read that book you're talking about... Doppeltraum, by Schnitzler. Sorry if that gives away your mothertoungue too obviously, but we have other speakers of that around here, and noone will really correct you unless necessary (I can only remember having being corrected once, even if I welcome corrections), nor care if you speak American or British or Babylonian English... Personally I'm a purist of British, but I'm aware that there are millions of Americans around the globe...
Thankfully we don't even seem to have people whose vocabulary consists mainly of "dude" and such...

[Themis]

I tend to not mention my native tongue because I know for a fact that some people who are English native speakers -one can easily distinguish these learned types lol- like to correct me while indeed they are wrong without their knowing it.

Like Koa said, most around here won't care what kind of English you speak and not correct you. Besides, I don't think your mother tongue would have anything to do with it should anyone correct you. It's what you say in English that counts, not what you could say in another language.

[Whifflingpin]

"Babylonian English"
Is that what my 18month old granddaughter speaks?

.

[Fontainhas]

First language is...Portuguese ó ié!!!

[AttorneyGonzo]

Little tale? And it seemed a big novel to me...

yes you are actually right. I've got some strange, abreviated version. It's not the real thing. But I love the movie.

I have to give Kubrick some credit though. I found he kind of improved Schnitzler's Traumnovelle/ Dream Novella. He made it more into a detective story whereas Schnitzler's original was interesting from a literary point of view but didn't have that tension/suspect element. It really was as the title suggests more of a dreamy narration (with all the erotic elements )

[ElizabethSewall]

First language: French.
Studying English in College but I guess I'll only be fluent when I live in an English speaking country.
Trying hard though... :P

[ClaesGefvenberg]

If you vote No, it would be interesting if you would post here what your primary language is.

Hullo all,

Nope, english is but my second language. My native tounge is swedish, and I can manage a bit of french and german as well.

/Claes

[ClaesGefvenberg]

Something just occured to me: In spite of the fact that I am a native Swede, I would wager that at least 50% of my reading is in English... What about the rest of you?

/Claes

[SleepyWitch]

[off-topic]hey Claes i think your from my town's twin city I'm from Erlangen, Germany the bus i take to go to univ terminates at Eskilstuna Street.[/off-topic]

my first language is German. been studying English for God knows how many years (I'm not a mathematician ). 100% percent of my reading (Lit, not newspapers or reference) is in English.... i'm writing my novel in English because it just feels more 'natural' ... i'm not saying my English is all that great, it's just I can't express myself in German...
anyone else feel this way?

hey, I'm surprised there's 60% non-native speakers in here. I thought i would be much less. so that probably means everybody's English is pretty good

[Themis]

i'm writing my novel in English because it just feels more 'natural' ... i'm not saying my English is all that great, it's just I can't express myself in German...
anyone else feel this way?

It's offtopic but still ...
I think writing in English is far easier than doing the same in German. In German there are much more expression, more nuances to use and I believe that makes it difficult for a lot of people to express themselves in that language. In comparison English is fairly easy. I use it lots of times myself when writing a story.

Ad Claes' question: I'd say 60, 70 % would be about right for me. I use the internet frequently and there, almost everything is in English.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

[off-topic]hey Claes i think your from my town's twin city I'm from Erlangen, Germany the bus i take to go to univ terminates at Eskilstuna Street.[/off-topic]

Erlangen? Well, hello there . I haven't ever actually been there, but at least back in my flying days (late 70's to early 80's, the Erlangen visitors used to come to our local glider club and fly with us. Perhaps they still do? Anyway, I've taken many Erlangen youths for a spin over Eskilstuna. They were always great company... Really nice kids. [QUOTE=SleepyWitch]

i'm not saying my English is all that great, it's just I can't express myself in German...
anyone else feel this way?

Not really, but I get your point. You're used to English, so English it is. Hardly surprising, given the circumstances. I have to say though, that you should take care not to leave your native tounge on the backburner. You will always need it, you know.

I thought i would be much less. so that probably means everybody's English is pretty good

Yes, events seem to indicate that it is. Compared to other forums I have to say that I see few king size mistakes here.

Ad Claes' question: I'd say 60, 70 % would be about right for me. I use the internet frequently and there, almost everything is in English.

That is certainly a factor.

All things considered, English is all around us every day, so I guess we'd better learn...

/Claes

[Logos]

oooh, exactly 40% yes, 60% no.

Not a total surprise to me, especially after being on the site for so long, I just wish that some people wouldn't make assumptions or judgements about a person's use of english in a text dominated medium

Although.. blatent use of text or chat speak is really irksome I've been exposed to many different languages in my life and travelled to many countries, I think it's really helped in my perception and understanding of others.

[Wirhe]

Nope, my native language is finnish, secondary english, and somewhat decend swedish. Not really proud of the last one, for swedish is that mandatory crap everyone is forced to swallow in finnish schools.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

Not really proud of the last one, for swedish is that mandatory crap everyone is forced to swallow in finnish schools.

I hear you. Learning in general, and languages in particular, works a lot better if it is done on a volountary basis. We have a lot of people with finnish ancestry here in Eskilstuna btw.

/Claes

[Logos]

Just a bump for all the newbies