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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Ezy Ryder Diglot Senior Member Poland youtube.com/user/Kat Joined 4160 days ago 284 posts - 387 votes  Speaks: Polish*, English Studies: Mandarin, Japanese | Message 9 of 24 12 July 2014 at 1:54pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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According to the Wiktionary, the plural of "point of view" is "points of view."
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| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4720 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 10 of 24 13 July 2014 at 8:21pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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Napoleon, I wonder why you want to take the CPE if it's not popular or well-known in India? I'm not saying you shouldn't, I am just curious. (Also, I'm posting so I can follow your progress).
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| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 4827 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 11 of 24 14 July 2014 at 9:18am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Thank you Gemeuse da for your feedback. It is not that I am unaware of the issue of gender sensitivity in writing. Were I writing an academic paper, I would have tried to be as gender-neutral as possible. I believe there are two ways in which I could do this: 1. Appending "/her" after every "him", as is the norm in India- "This book helps him/her make sense of the world, and helps him/her..." 2. Using plurals- "This book helps children make sense of the world, and helps them..." As you can see, the former is clunky and does not read very well, and the latter is somewhat unnatural. However, I understand that I am writing for an examination. So, it is perhaps better that I sacrifice a little style for the sake of political correctness. If I don't, I hope you will point it out to me.
1. Well, here we are talking about individual members of a generation, so 'generation' behaves like a plural noun. Writing "...does not regard...its..." is also correct, but then the meaning gets changed. That would mean we're talking about the generation as a whole. For example: The jury was unanimous in its verdict. The jury were divided on the verdict. 2. Like Ezy Ryder said, the plural of "point of view" is "points of view". Somewhat similar to "brother-in-law", whose plural is "brothers-in-law" and not "brother-in-laws". Thanks for your feedback and hope to hear more from you Gemeuse da. :) Edited by napoleon on 14 July 2014 at 9:32am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 4827 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 12 of 24 14 July 2014 at 10:26am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
A couple of reasons- 1. If I pass, and I hope I do, I get a certificate that stays with me for life. Unlike a TOEFL or an IELTS score that has an expiry-date. 2. All my peers claim English "fluency". This may come across as bragging, but that isn't my intent: I know my English is better. How do I prove it, though, short of spending 3 years doing a B.A.(Hons) in English? 3. That the certificate is issued by the Univ. of Cambridge is a huge plus. (Call it a colonial hangover: a Cambridge certificate has value, especially in India.) 4. When I see the regard most of Europe and Latin America have for the Cambridge Proficiency exam, I cannot but help reciprocate. (I'm assuming that even though the CPE is not popular here, it is well-known abroad.) Now, I've got a couple of quick questions for you- :) 1. You are a teacher, so you're well placed to answer this: do you think I am not ready for the CPE? Please be honest. I'd rather wait a year or two (and get an A) than sit it this year and not pass (or God forbid, get a B). :) 2. If I go the UK for higher studies (Masters/PhD), will having a CPE be beneficial? Thanks for dropping by. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Lugubert Heptaglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 6678 days ago 186 posts - 235 votes Speaks: Swedish*, Danish, Norwegian, EnglishC2, German, Dutch, French Studies: Mandarin, Hindi | Message 13 of 24 14 July 2014 at 10:29am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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Using singular/plural verbs for collectives seems to be different in BrE and AmE. Try "the jury was/were" here.
One interesting way to be PC is to use "singular they". It gets more than 90.000 Google hits. Especially interesting discussions at languagelog, with a nice collection of those found here. Edited by Lugubert on 14 July 2014 at 10:32am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4720 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 14 of 24 14 July 2014 at 12:25pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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Napoleon, for the most part I think your written English is excellent. I noticed one typo in the second paragraph of the first essay: "happend". I doubt, however, that you would lose an A for a single typo.
One minor concern about the first essay is that I would suggest you back up your key assertion with evidence:
This could be followed up with an example of an artist or inventor. As to finding gender-neutral pronouns, that is a tricky subject. It actually has been used in English for centuries. In university in the USA, I starting using "singular they" rather than "he" and got away with it. But my university had a strong tradition of gender equality, so professors might have been more tolerant of it than CPE examiners. Paul Brians argues that it shouldn't be used in formal writing: they/their (singular) I really recommend you keep Paul Brians' list of common errors in your favourites. He is an American, but he does refer to differences between British and American usages. Common Errors in English Usage However, maybe you should see if you can find a guide specifically made for the CPE. It should tell you about what is expected in the cases we have been discussing. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 4827 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 15 of 24 16 July 2014 at 6:30pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
I’m really very sorry for taking so long to reply. I think you’ve made an excellent observation. Citing an example would have made the essay so much better. This is exactly the kind of feedback I’m looking for. It’s funny how this reminds me of a dialogue from Unit 4 of the FSI French Basic Course:
Now that I’ve graduated, there are very few people whom I can approach for this kind of thing. So don’t hold anything back. Be brutal in your assessment. I’d rather cry today and fix whatever is wrong than cry later if I don’t do well at the CPE. :)
I’d heard of this book before but I never got around to buying it. In any case, it’s an excellent recommendation. Thanks. Edited by napoleon on 17 July 2014 at 5:09am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 4827 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 16 of 24 29 July 2014 at 11:03pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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Books I'll be using:
Workbooks: CPE Practice Tests Advanced Writing with English in Use Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises for Grammar in Use Advanced Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises for Advanced Grammar in Use Common Mistakes at Proficiency Reference & Style: Word Power Made Easy Practical English Usage Practical English Usage Diagnostic Tests Standard English and Indian Usage Indian and British Usage Indlish 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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