Hacker News Reader

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned in any language-related discussion is that understanding is often a matter of discarding possible "neighbouring" meanings. To do that, you need to have a comprehensive knowledge of the language.

In English it's particularly bad because of the proximity between some vowels. In many cases a monosyllabic word is one of six or seven almost identical. And that's for basic vocabulary. Think bird, bear, beard, bore, bar, boar, beer, birth, born, burn, bier... when someone is whispering the words or talking over a noisy medium.

I’ve experienced this problem for native and non-native speakers alike, where perfectly capable English speakers almost freeze up when they mishear a word, rather than try to help the conversation along. I’d usually ask the other party to spell it out, whereas some simply drop the conversation dead and awkward silence ensues.

> perfectly capable English speakers almost freeze up when they mishear a word, rather than try to help the conversation along.

As a person who speaks a second language I learned as an adult, I find this situation incredibly difficult to negotiate.

In my first language, I can get through almost any such situation by using humour. In my second language, at best, I can manage 'just one more time?' with a frowny face.

I often think - why wasn't I taught this skill in any language school I attended?

Here is another BBC article, from which I learned that this international insurance company has organized training for native speakers to speak in a more understandable manner:

> After taking an in-company e-learning course to help native English speakers communicate better with non-native speakers, Barron slowed down his pace of speaking and edited his “American speak” to avoid jargon and idioms that don’t translate globally.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20161215-you-need-to-go...

Thanks for linking to this article. Can anyone recommend a place to get this kind of training for those of us who don't work at a company that offers it? I'm a monoglot American living in a midwestern city where I'm mostly surrounded by other such Americans, but I want to raise my awareness of how I might be a bad communicator.

In the UK, there is a campaigning organisation called the 'Plain English Campaign' which promotes clear, easy-to-understand written English suitable for any industry or profession.

Although, the organisation is based in the UK, their advice is relevant for anyone who writes or reads English.

Here is their clear, simple and short guide on How to write in plain English [PDF]:

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/howto.pdf

Even English speakers sometimes miss this context. I played FFXI, and it had an auto-translate feature (hit tab to enclose certain words, to translate to the reader's language). Very useful with some care taken to understand what you're writing.

A lot of people didn't put enough thought into how they used it though, and tripped over many English homonyms/colloquialisms. For example putting {cap} as a synonym for 'limit', when it meant 'hat'. So when they wanted help with the level 50 limit quest, Japanese players must have been confused why all the Americans are talking about level 50 hat quests.

Have you ever been to France and tried speaking French after a few years of study? Have you ever had to deal with someone there who speaks far better English than you, but refuses to because of snobbery?

This article is trash

Have you ever spoken to a French person while imitating their accent and found that they understand you much better?

Yes, I thought I was being funny with my exaggerated french accent. They just found it clearer. Unfortunately this makes them think I have better french than I actually do and they speak to fast.

I found in Paris, the easiest way to communicate was to speak English with an exaggerated French accent, and throw in the few words of French I know. In the other parts of France I've been to, English was effectively useless; I made do with broken German. This wasn't for conversation, but conveying information, buying stuff etc.

Have you ever spoken to a Glaswegian while imitating their accent and found that they understand you better?

I was really worried that people would think I was making fun of them, but, in reality, they just thought that my horrible American accent had gotten a little bit better. :)

I think enjoying parroting is one of the keys of getting good at pronunciation in a second language as an adult. If you smile while doing so it'll probably help the conversation along too.

I even have to do that with Australians as a Kiwi - asking for a "pen" sounds to them like I want a "pin", so I have to stretch my vowels and ask for a "peeen" which sounds to me like I'm taking the piss, but they don't seem to take offense, and then hand me a pen.

As an aussie, I guess I might notice you sound a bit odd but appreciate that you are making an extra effort over and above the usual. Not going to complain about that!

Also, given how poorly aussie accent is portrayed in so many TV shows and movies - even by australian actors because "they have to" - we might be used to it and see your effort as pretty minimal.

I'd give you a pen anyday. Have a good one!

That isn't really relevant to the article. The article is only comparing native English speakers to non-native English speakers, not other languages.

The comment you are replying to is exhibiting the result of the article's poor communication style. The way it was written comes across as too confrontational and sets people up to be defensive.