Previous   Next

How would you rate your command of the English language?

Asked at Massachusetts Street on July 24, 2007

Browse the archives

Photo of Patience Allen

“Advanced I guess. It compares on what I’m comparing it to, but I teach English as a second language and translate documents.”

— Patience Allen, entrepreneur/translator, Oslo, Norway

Photo of P.J. Metzen

“I’d probably say average. I don’t have to use proper English where I work, and living in a rural area has something to do with it.”

— P.J. Metzen, toll collector, Wellington

Photo of Caitlin Curry

“A little above average. I’m a college graduate, but I wasn’t an English major.”

— Caitlin Curry, young adult reference assistant, Lawrence

Photo of Nathan Jervis

“I’d say a bit above average. I have dyslexia, but it doesn’t really hold me back.”

— Nathan Jervis, musician, London

Comments

sgtwolverine 10 years, 2 months ago

That depends on whether I'm speaking or writing.

0

Linda Aikins 10 years, 2 months ago

gud

0

Bill Chapman 10 years, 2 months ago

Fairly good - I read constantly (this tends to help with any English class). The reading helps to keep me current with both the historical and the current usages of syntax, structure, etc.

0

Dayna Lee 10 years, 2 months ago

You'd be amazed how much you can say without saying anything at all in America.

0

Linda Aikins 10 years, 2 months ago

Spywell, you maybe should have slept a little longer this morning....and not to ruin your already soggy cereal, but your response was well written.

Speaking of which, were all of you up all night or something?

0

geekin_topekan 10 years, 2 months ago

Fair,now lets all learn Spanish!!

0

Linda Aikins 10 years, 2 months ago

compares = depends

Typo? I wonder..........

Good catch, Mr. Harley!

0

H_Lecter 10 years, 2 months ago

englisch Ich spreche gut

0

sunflower_sue 10 years, 2 months ago

The inflection of my speech does not compare to the idosyncrasies of my dialect.

RI, I just thought they were alike in their likeness. Mine's like that, too.

0

jonas 10 years, 2 months ago

Well, I was going to say very good, but as FerdinandLanghoff doubts my grammar, and that other poster, whose name apparently failed to imprint, questions my spelling, my entire world has been thrown into a dark morass of self-doubt and loathing.

So I'll stick with saying that my command of English is better than my command of the several other languages I'm learning. Better than dreadful is still better, after all.

0

geppetto 10 years, 2 months ago

Que

0

Christine Pennewell Davis 10 years, 2 months ago

I am with sgt. as any one who reads these posts know.

0

lmpaul 10 years, 2 months ago

Occasionally I am quite embarassed for writers and speakers. Today's grammar is terrible. My current gripe is everyone saying, "You've got" which literally is "you have got". Then I received a letter that said, "Thanks for speaking with myself and John." (Should be "speaking with John and me.") Eeeeek! I don't want to go all Elizabethian, but come on, people, stop murdering grammar.

0

Linda Aikins 10 years, 2 months ago

Impaul, you will have better luck getting people in Boston to use their turn signals!

0

Bradley Kemp 10 years, 2 months ago

What's wrong with "you've got" or "you have got"? You've got to tell me.

0

beatrice 10 years, 2 months ago

Gooder then most people do.

0

Linda Endicott 10 years, 2 months ago

Depends on who you ask. I've always thought I had a little better than average command of English...but other posters on this forum (the grammar and spelling police) have had different opinions.

Ah...screw them!

0

Sean Livingstone 10 years, 2 months ago

Huh, wot ez "English"? I are not god :P

0

massst 10 years, 2 months ago

english is good for doing

0

Frederic Gutknecht IV 10 years, 2 months ago

I play a poetically licensed axiom murderer on TV and acoustic/electric bass so when a note falls in a forest I hear tell and know whereof I speak, if you catch my adrift drift.

0

jonas 10 years, 2 months ago

Impaul: And what, pray tell, is wrong with saying "you have got?"

A world where I can't say "AY! You have got da soul insida yuu!" is a world suddenly a little bleaker, if you ask me.

Next, you'll be telling me I can't say "You dun got dat der motorhuckle runnin guud, budzo!"

I'm going to have to dispose of a lot of hats and overalls.

0

sgtwolverine 10 years, 2 months ago

Whoa! How did rumors start flying about me?

0

ramsrevenge 10 years, 2 months ago

Speaking of language, this site made me laugh. I'm sorry.

http://www.kerman94.com/mexicotourism.html

0

james bush 10 years, 2 months ago

It was better before Lawrence blogging came along and now it really doesn't matter considering the recipients of my blogs!

0

aeroscout17 10 years, 2 months ago

OTOH, it is all about communication. If people know what you are saying, who cares if it grammatically correct. Anybody remember diagramming snetences?

0

packrat 10 years, 2 months ago

I speak English vey goodly

0

Mandie Eutsler 10 years, 2 months ago

we do not speak english as americans we speak a bastardized version of english we should call it 'merican and since i'm calling it whatever i want i can skip punctuation and spell it however i want i can skip the ugh in donut the u in color and favor etc.

0

jonas 10 years, 2 months ago

I don't know, Marion, are you sure that's not a slightly bastardized version? I could understand all of that, and I seem to recall the Old English side of the page being much more incomprehensible.

0

Commenting has been disabled for this item.

loading...