You see my point. This sentence was so short and I still made a mistake, I was thinking along the lines: it's a hypothetical day, that may (he he) never happen, so it should be "a day", at least that's how it would work in French/Italian/Spanish (I hope).
Yes. (A) day doesn't sound right within the context of the sentence. In English it would definitely be "(The) day..." :)
okay, so my boyfriend is polish and has been living in england for two years. He arrived only knowing how to say hello but after one year he could already speak fluent english. The only problem is the sentence structures. i go to the shops becomes i be go to the shop... and with all the time i nspend with him i've picked up this. I find this very weird considering i have spoke english all my life.. Is this normal or am i just a freak?
i get this also. while and still chatting up polish girl i like we sms ALOT i mean i had deleate my inbox and there was 697, 600 bein from her! i noticed i speak like her now and then. really is weird like a rub off effect
this thread has atturely become cute and funny... itz sad to say that people now days speak such rubbish :) my friends hav even began to pick up some of this...
i thought i was the only one i have been with my polish boyfriend for over 2 years now. i find myself wondering if im saying right im native english speaker. his english is good he is here 4 years now. glad im not the only one.
Conclusion? Speak to your foreign friends using "proper" :) English and correct them as much as possible, that'll really help them:) I really appreciated that when I used to live in England.
Hej ! My Fiancee is Polish-Fantastic but after being together for over a year my English is really CRAP! We live in a house with other Poles I'm learning the lingo and I find my self mixing Polish/English when out and about people think I'm crazy foriegner!!! We call my language Polenglish and my nationality Polirish!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have the opposite trouble, and often find myself putting english words in when speaking polish, even though polish is my native language. I live with my scottish wife and only work with english speaking people, so really only get polish conversation when I phone home fortnightly. I think my polish is slowly going down the drain; dunno if anyone else has that problem, or if i'm just weird ;)
DRJ, it's not just you. everyone i know has undergone this change, and it's not something you can avoid. when i talk with my sister or her husband, almost every time a silly word slips into our conversation. it makes for a good joke most of the time. whenever a person gets exposed to another language, things like that do occur.
I think it's just people's tendency to conform to norms... you hear it used a certain way and understand its meaning thus begin to see it as proper. It's how we all learned our first language... long before someone broke things down into nouns and verbs and all those wonderful tense tables >_<
I've a annoying ability to assimilate accents...Only for so long as the people around me use said accent, mind you, so doing an impression a week later (when the ability might be fun) proves impossible.
Most of my life I've lived in California... moved there from Poland at 8... went to germany for 10 days when I was 16... dormed with people from liverpool (only people around who spoke fluent english vs the stuff taught in a classroom). 1st day, couldn't understand them half the time (specially when they started speaking a mile a second) 2 or 3rd day mom calls... I say 'hi mum' and proceed to insist for the next ten min (after realizing I simply cannot shift back to my beloved california accent) that I am not a friend helping her daughter play a prank. -___-;
i would say you have to correct them, you are doing no favours allowing them to get comfortable with bad grammar. For the first 2 years of our relationship i let it lie, but now another two years on i correct ALL of Piter's grammar and work hard to explain it (even though sometimes there is no great explanation).
In turn his English is now miles better and everyone notices.
I speak Polish with his family and they ALWAYS correct my grammar. I think when children are coming into the situation you dont want your children growing up bilingual but with poor grammar in both languages!
Haha! I found that since being with my Polish fella Ive started picking up his little habits such as "we're going on the town" and stuff like that. Ive also taken to speaking english to friends and family more slowly, more decriptive, dropping all slang and waving my hands in the air alot when I speak. They think it's hilarious! :) xx
the thing with picking up some sentences/sayings from people that you often see is quite normal... and it has nothing to do with some specific languages. Just simple example.. I've started new job some time ago... a colleague of mine (we share the same room in an office) always says 'siemanko' as a greeting when he comes in in the morning... at first I thought it is quite weird word as I haven't heard it earlier too often... a few weeks later I've noticed that I also say 'siemanko' when I enter the room ;)
ps. siemanko = siema (or sie ma) = cześć in Polish...
I have noticed that when I have had too much to drink I speak bad English, like a foreigner. Is this just cos Im drunk or cos I have a Polish boyfriend?
I spend a lot of time working alongside a Polish guy who is now teaching me Polish, for which I am very grateful. I definitely notice that i have the urge to eliminate certain words(like articles) or change word order sometimes, and my exposure has not even been that intensive.
Being aware of this, I make the effort to remember to speak and write proper English, because it is important to me, and its something I have spent the last 30 years learning. :)
But yes, it is quite bizarre.
I must say though, I am a bit dismayed by the quality of writing on most internet forums. I think a similar influence is in effect. Not to get on my soapbox too much, but I think if we care about our language, we should strive to render it properly. I mean, really, it takes a lot longer to think of a worthwhile response than it does to type it.
