Anyone alive?)

[Alario]

Hey, everyone). Anyone alive and still enthusiastic, eh?

Tell me about the amount of English in your life lately, would you? I've been working for almost three years in a place where I don't need English at all, and now I have to admit that my English became very poor(.

@темы: discussion

Comments

[Samishige]

I'm living in a foreign country now so using english on the daily basis. But (still!) I have many misspellings, mistypings, grammar errors and many other problems with language I can describe as the second one for me. I have a fear that I can't find a really good job with this language level...

[Firesong]

We-ell, let's see. I'm working with language, so it's 50% (since I'm working with English AND Russian in equal amounts). I read only in English - I guess it will be around 80% (other 20% are diary and random advertising on streets when I don't look away quickly enough). I watch films only in English - it would be 100%, albeit a very small 100% since I don't watch all that often now. I talk with people on the web mostly in English - guess it will be about 80% too, and I talk with people by voice only in Russian so it's 0% of English here. And after doing some maths we get 62% of English in my life. Ah well, I had a suspicion that I got more English than Russian now ))))
Though mistypings really are ever-present plague.

By the way, I'd still appreciate English-speaking meetings... Want to do something about those 0%...

[Samishige]

*Chiffa, I really envy you! I'm so lazy - prefer only russian-dubbed or korean movies and tv series! But that was a big step for me last month when I realized: if I want to watch a movie in cinema I can do it only in czech or in english with czech subs. So the best motivation for me is no other choice then actually watching, reading and speaking in english. ^^

[Firesong]

Samishige, ah, you see, I'm a translator. So I just don't trust translations and when I'm reading/listening to them I just want to correct them and to do anything really painful to people who try to save on hiring a DECENT translator. So, to enjoy movies and books I have to deal with them in the original language. At least if it's the language I know ))

[Samishige]

*Chiffa, you have a point, dear. I have a really wonderful experience while watching movies with original voices so it's really a huge part of whole impression. But as many others I prefer to chose the easiest way so back in Russia it was a russian language only. Your english is very impressive so you can really understand... feel what author or actor was trying to say this way, using these words. As for me, sometimes I'm just confused especially with rough and rush english.

[Firesong]

Samishige, wow, thanks )) It's always great to hear I do it right from someone who lives among natives. )) Still, it got to being impressive right because I didn't take the "easy way" for last... 17, I guess... years preferring to read "rough and rush" English to get it easy eventually. But I like languages, so reading a totally new book with school-english vocabulary AND without dictionary was an adventure, not a chore. Though, of course, I didn't get to reading only English till much, much later ))) (And I don't count Russian books here, of course, only translated ones) As for watching films - it's quite a recent development, for couple of years when I get hooked to an ongoing series and wanted to see each new episode right away, not several days later and with fan translation...

[Samishige]

*Chiffa, awww... diaries ate my poor reply. Anyway, I'll write you once more. I think we using the same therm for a different things. When I'm speaking about rough&rush I mean actual rush - just yesterday some american woman wrote me a very mysterious reply for my simple question cause she was in rush. As a native speaker I can use specific idioms and pay with grammar and words as much as my imagination let me but if I want to be actually understandable for someone who has no... intuitive understanding of language I common with, I will try to be less poetic and more concrete.

It's realy nice that you can take all the translation hardships in your life as adventures but as for me - it feels like a pain in the ass. Not always, I love art of writing in a books but I prefer my daily business mails to be as simple as possible to understand.

It's such a shame - my fandoms for 5 years already were completely asian. So I tried to study japanese at first and then started to learn korean (I'm struggling with it even now) but I didn't read english books at all. But motivation of yours is the best, I think! Only korean based (with many american fans) fandom actually push me to read at least some fanfiction in english. And now I can't read russian stories at all. Especially the smut ones, they're horrible sometimes...

P.S. I heard we have english translation for Max Frei's books, have you ever seen it?

[Firesong]

Samishige, oh no, we mean pretty much the same here. I deal with Indian English, Japanese English and German English routinely - to name a few - and though they aren't always done in rush, they are certainly rough... and I usually AM in rush when translating them because it's a short-time order )) So I'm used to it, although they are really pain to decipher, yes...

I can't read Russian stories too (with few notable exceptions) - granted, I'm mostly in English-originated fandoms for last seven years, so I don't need to. And fan-fiction is somewhat better than books because it really gives you the feel of "common used" language, not artful book version. I have nothing against books, of course, but nothing like good fresh fanfic to get you the feeling of slang and idioms...

About Frei - yes and no. I've "seen" the books meaning I looked at covers on Amazon. Once I even take a look inside looking for I don't-remember-which name's "official" spelling. Never tried to read it, though, - my distrust of translation works both ways. I shiver to think about reading Russian books in English...

[Samishige]

*Chiffa, i don't think so - the korean, japanese, indonesian and malaysian etc version of english language are the most understandable for me. This spring I was in Warsaw at the same place with pure-blood american jazz musician and chinese guy who was desperately trying to speak with the other person. And the funniest thing in this situation was that I was a translator in between. I think it's a problem for most of native speakers and people who really can speak in language just like you. You know how to speak right to you don't blind spots in english which I would feel with "something like this" or "may be like that" level of understanding.

You know, since two years ago I really didn't know how huge english-speaking fandoms are. It's started from Star Wars may be - it was my first fandom with original stories. And as I can remember I read everything with online translator. Such an embarrassing memories!

And yes, fanfiction is the best choice if you want to be used with real language. But we need to be careful with author's selection - many writers are teenage girl and I don't want to speak like a 14 years old "chick" from Texas. T_T;;

I was thinking to buy the english translation as present for my friend but decide otherwise for the same reasons.

[Firesong]

Samishige, ah, it was different for me with fandoms. My first "serious" (where I read more than 1-2 randomly selected fics) fandom was Harry Potter when we had no Russian fandom to speak of - it grew up couple of years later. And I prefer "epic" form (multi-chaptered with complex plotline) so not many bad-spelling teenage girls in that sector, too. Usually people who write something long and complicated have well-developed language skills. Though mistypes are a plague there too )))

Incidentally, Harry Potter is the only book series I own (and tried to read) in more than one language. I even have 1st volume on Latin )) So it depends on how big a fan of Frei someone is (I'm admittedly not) - it may feel great just to have all possible versions of the very favorite book...

[KattyJamison]

I live and work in the U.S. and am married to an American boy, so the amount of English, spoken and written, and even possibly implied, in my life is plenty high. Not sure I can put it into percentages, like Chiffa does though. I read mostly in English, especially as most books I like aren't even translated or are translated horribly. My later fantasy favorites are: Sharon Shinn, Sherwood Smith, Diana Wynn Jones (she has so much more than "Howl's Moving Castle"!) and Patricia Briggs. I also have the forever-favorites that were not much translated, like Hal Clement, or even Conan Doyle.

[Black Moon Cat]

Why, for me English is everywhere: watching films and reading books in original language has its obvious advantages, for most are translated badly and some are not translated at all. But even Wiki in English usually is far more useful. I write in English from time to time just for my own pleasure, I think in English of some things, and with a friend of mine we exchange letters in English for practice and pleasure.
Ah! No russian subs ever, of course, especially not anime. *giggles* I'm interested in Japan culture, y'see (and this comes not from anime!) and its far too easier to find any information on this subject in English.
And being part of IT community requires knowing English, too.

Y'see, English for me is like water for a fish: it's already hard to see it around, using daily.

[Shae]

At the moment I'm not working so I don't have to use English that often. Still I at least read daily - books, news, fanfiction))
All in all, practically everything I need or interested in is related to English-speaking world therefore is accessible in English rather than in Russian, so I'm just happy to know the language. Dunno how I'd do without!