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Why do Koreans speak such good English? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6910 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 25 of 27 09 March 2011 at 1:29am | IP Logged | ||
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Darklight1216 - everybody up here learn English in school. We're are surrounded by the language everyday (radio, TV, music). So, everybody has a chance to learn English to a fairly high level. Some become more interested in the language and spend more time on it, but spending time on English (for whatever reason) doesn't equal being good at English. Accent is something that Swedes, Norwegians, Germans (and basically any nationality) aren't that good at. I still wonder if it's the non-English speakers who think that we (up here in Northern Europe) speak super English. I mean, I'm not surprised if... Russians, Chinese, Japanese (even Germans) think that "we" speak well since their own accents might be viewed upon as somewhat stigmatic. (Accent-wise, it seems as if some speakers don't even try to sound any bit like "English" - at all)
In the Youtube clip you posted, Nicklas Backstrom has the typical "Swenglish" accent (and that's not a good sign - basically everybody I know speaks like that, unless they have put some effort on accent and/or lived abroad for a longer period). 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| russellballard Tetraglot Newbie China Joined 5135 days ago 16 posts - 16 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, French Studies: Japanese | Message 26 of 27 09 March 2011 at 2:29am | IP Logged | ||
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Alright I get it, I was wrong...I don't need 20 people to affirm this for me. All the Koreans I know from Seoul are all
enrolled in elite American universities like Harvard and Yale, and perhaps are some of the cream of the English- speaking crop. Their English is often indistinguishable from other American students, more so than almost all of my european classmates. apologies. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| crafedog Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5819 days ago 166 posts - 337 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Korean, Tok Pisin, French | Message 27 of 27 11 March 2011 at 12:26pm | IP Logged | ||
No need to apologise. It was just an erroneous assumption. Everyone makes them. I apologise if you felt that we were being critical of you or condescending of you or something like that because of the assumption. I'm sure I can speak for others when I say that wasn't the intention; it was just to correct the initial, surprising claim. If you're curious about a Korean who learnt English fluently, there was a story from a blog going around the forums (http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2010/01/koreans-english- acquisition-and-best.html) by someone called "The Korean" which, despite how arrogant it kind of sounds (I mean, seriously, who calls themselves 'The [something]'), it's still quite an interesting read. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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