Naomi Chambers Newbie United States thepolyglotexperienc Joined 5072 days ago 23 posts - 30 votes Speaks: Spanish Studies: FrenchC1, Swedish
| Message 49 of 88 28 April 2011 at 9:27pm | IP Logged |
SamD wrote:
There is always the possibility that the woman in question is lying.
On the other hand, she may genuinely believe that she is fluent. Even if she's not
getting an A, even if most of us in this forum who speak Spanish would hear her speak
Spanish and feel quite strongly that she isn't fluent, she may just believe she is
fluent.
It could mean that she doesn't know what "fluent" means.
She might also sit next to two other students who are even further from fluent than she
is and so overestimate her ability.
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I know this person is lying. She has a low self-esteem and is doing it for attention.
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Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German
| Message 50 of 88 28 April 2011 at 9:31pm | IP Logged |
Regarding intelligence: non-intelligent people are born that way, even moreso than, say, overweight people.
We could even call it a handicap. Some say that less intelligent people (such as this woman of whom we
have a very one-sided view) will often claim to be intelligent. Seeing as this is a result of the way they are
born, does this mean they deserve our ridicule?
Topic two: people may use a word differently than you use it. It does not mean they are wrong, unless it's a
technical term with a precise definition, which the word "fluent" certainly is not. There is no "slippery slope"
that will lead to a state where nobody is able to communicate with anybody else. Languages don't work that
way.
Topic three, this on a more personal note. Confidence is a good thing and in my experience people suffer
more from low self esteem than from high. If this is the case, trying to take people down a peg when they
are feeling good about themselves is not a good thing. If you think the person in question may get in trouble
from her overestimation of her abilities, you'll do her a favor by correcting her in a friendly manner. If it does
no harm to you or anyone else, give her a "good for you!" and be happy for her, as she's found some
confidence, some belief in herself, which is not always easy to find in this world. She's most likely better at
Spanish than someone who has never studied it. Let her be happy about that! Or if the boasting is a result
of low self esteem rather than high, taking the person down a notch is not helping anyone and is in fact kind
of a dick move.
Edited by Ari on 28 April 2011 at 9:34pm
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Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5767 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin
| Message 51 of 88 28 April 2011 at 9:33pm | IP Logged |
And why do you concern yourself over her? I mean, I can understand that it might be a bit annoying to see somebody bragging about non-existant skills when you work hard to learn exactly those skills, but isn't is a bit fruitless to be annoyed over it? In German, we say sich ärgern, which nicely depicts that it's an activity one does to oneself. It just isn't worth the time of the day unless you want to grow an ulcer.
By the way, people may change when they suddenly have the motivation to work hard for something. I was pretty ashamed recently when I noticed that one of the girls I expected to leave school early is in university now, whereas I am the high school dropout.
Edited by Bao on 28 April 2011 at 9:35pm
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Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5382 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian
| Message 52 of 88 28 April 2011 at 9:33pm | IP Logged |
Naomi Chambers wrote:
I think that a person should get an A in Spanish 101. For goodness sake, this kind of
class involves numbers, the alphabet and basic vocabulary. If a person cannot get that
stuff down solid, they cannot progress. |
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What exactly is covered in a 101 class varies immensely and it usually involves a lot of vocabulary and some conjugation.
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s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5431 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish
| Message 53 of 88 28 April 2011 at 9:39pm | IP Logged |
What is this discussion about? Someone claims that someone else is lying about their level of fluency in Spanish. Nobody else has heard the Spanish of the accuser or the accused. And the accused is not here to defend herself. And we are supposed to explain why some people lie about their language skills. Enough is enough. I can't take this pointless argument anymore. I give up.
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Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5382 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian
| Message 54 of 88 28 April 2011 at 9:50pm | IP Logged |
s_allard wrote:
What is this discussion about? Someone claims that someone else is lying about their level of fluency in Spanish. Nobody else has heard the Spanish of the accuser or the accused. And the accused is not here to defend herself. And we are supposed to explain why some people lie about their language skills. Enough is enough. I can't take this pointless argument anymore. I give up. |
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HAHAH!
I think my point in all of this is that the person may or may not have lied -- who knows! -- but it has nothing to do with the fact that she took only 3 classes for which she didn't get an A, because that does NOT exclude fluency.
Edited by Arekkusu on 28 April 2011 at 9:58pm
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Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5767 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin
| Message 55 of 88 28 April 2011 at 9:51pm | IP Logged |
Ahaha hands up, you're arrested! :D
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seldnar Senior Member United States Joined 7133 days ago 189 posts - 287 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, French, Greek
| Message 56 of 88 28 April 2011 at 10:17pm | IP Logged |
I give up too. The OP seems obsessed with this, yet has not provided any proof of the accused's ability (or lack
thereof) in Spanish, nor proof that she is lying. I would suggest that she forget this person who irritates her so
much and apply that energy to her own studies.
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