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Posts: 243

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Q: What are the most common English mistakes you have heard from chinese people?

Either written or spoken, there are a bunch of them and seems like all of the chinese guys/girls had the same teacher who taught the same mistakes. Some of them may be due tongue problems perhaps.

I'm from Chinr?  haha

11 years 33 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - China

 
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Shifu

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English P.H.D students cant speak English even after 10 15 years of training,

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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Governor

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"Are you from American?" 

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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they suck with the 'R' sound.

 

can't seem to get past calling Males 'she'.

 

overuse 'to' ---       going to shopping.   

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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Ururally.

 

It's the only word I correct/criticize when speaking english with my gf.  She's making great strides, as there's actually no "r" sounds in her "usually" now!

morocotopo:

Right! You made me remember the "Not at or"

11 years 33 weeks ago
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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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I find it's more to do with logic than grammar.

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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I  have heard a lot of think that sounds like fink or sink.  It's a little difficult for them to pronounce θ correctly due to their language system.

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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I hear them put the letter A and O on the end of words

Good'a, go'a , Name'o .......

lokethebloke:

Also, gonna, and wanna, probably picked up from bad American english teachers.

11 years 33 weeks ago
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philbravery:

No    

 

That one is most likely My doing laugh

11 years 33 weeks ago
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lokethebloke:

But you are one of our ex-convicts, surely you have more respect for the Queen's English?    We must preserve the language at all costs, I say invade the United States of America NOW.   Don't put bases in Australia!!!!

11 years 33 weeks ago
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giadrosich:

@Loke. Hahaha. You guys tried that once, and those struggling 13 colonies were the only ones to ever beat that superpower through armed conflict. Rugged individualism wins again!

11 years 33 weeks ago
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lokethebloke:

We can have another go, after all we do have a few nukes that we bought off you a few years ago.   Ahhh, forgot, we need your permission to use them, beaten again.   Will we ever free ourselves from this cultural imperialism?

 

By the way, my daughter has talent as an artist, that's an oil of a lady called Vivian Westwood, check out London fashion week.

11 years 33 weeks ago
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giadrosich:

@Loke. Okay, I'll look that one up.

11 years 33 weeks ago
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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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What are the most common English mistakes have you heard from so called native English speakers?   Gonna and wanna perhaps?

mArtiAn:

  Yeh, I wanna comment on your use of the word 'mistake' there.........but i'm gonna leave it.

11 years 33 weeks ago
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lokethebloke:

Are you suggesting that they are not mistakes, that some people are deliberately bastardising  my language?   We must make a stand to preserve the Queen's English.

11 years 33 weeks ago
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Createach:

I wanna say that you are right and am gonna give you a thumbs up

11 years 32 weeks ago
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11 years 32 weeks ago
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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2310

Shifu

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Do G for dog , urely as usually, orange as original, and many like this, but have to think too much and i did not finish my coffee yet :-) 

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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I'm not good at English but i have to speak English with foreign friends .confused by different accents although i speak Chinglish  

philbravery:

thats ok as a native English speaker I cant understand Scotsmen

and Teenagers have another dialect I don't understandcrying

11 years 33 weeks ago
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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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  The most common mistake i've heard made is in mistaking the word 'large' for 'huge'.

lokethebloke:

What's the difference?

 

11 years 33 weeks ago
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mArtiAn:

  My head is large but not enough to draw stares, my testicles are huge, they're like two bowling balls in a sock..

11 years 33 weeks ago
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lokethebloke:

But surely you don't go around exposing your testicles just to prove how huge they are?   You could be arrested and have them cut down to size.

11 years 33 weeks ago
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philbravery:

Don't under estimate himsurprise

11 years 33 weeks ago
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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
Posts: 186

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-Sometimes using the past tense en present tense wrong. "I go back to home last vacation."

-As diverdude mentioned, saying "he" when the person is a female.

 

lokethebloke:

What is vacation?     Do you mean holiday?

11 years 33 weeks ago
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debbie.luo:

Yep, holiday.

11 years 33 weeks ago
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lokethebloke:

YEP ?   !!!!!

11 years 33 weeks ago
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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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Yes a good list so far

 

1) he/she confusion

2) past/present tense mixup

3) usually - I hear ulually most of the time

4) the v and th sounds

5) Italian English - you make-a the pizza and then-a eat-a the pizza

 

now add misplaced question words using Chinese word order

you want to eat what? you come from where?

 

You see their Chinese teachers teach grammar, vocab and more grammar and not phrases and collocations.  Their Chinese English test (CET-4 & 6) has no speaking test. Now what do you expect from a system that is based on rote learning and passing tests in the Confucian tradition?

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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a, an, and the.... there are rules, but they arent easy to non native speakers

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11 years 33 weeks ago
 
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he/she seems to be the big one that i can't get most of my students/friends/girlfriend to correct. 

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11 years 32 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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,My exclamations although am not chinese...........Need to fix my mistakes before looking at others.........Plus i think i enjoy my mistakes and some on this forum do too so say what...Am keeping them

morocotopo:

Sure we all have, you can read my question and will find out English is not my mother tongue

11 years 32 weeks ago
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11 years 32 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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Forgetting to's and it's. Also, "are you from Spanish?"

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11 years 32 weeks ago
 
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'smile' pronounced as  'smell'

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11 years 32 weeks ago
 
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That's right here in China i came across chinese people speaking some sort of languages that I, myself wouldn't call it English but Hey they're not natives and it's not their faults. I blame their language Mandarin for not having the letter R.

SHE=HE, L=R and lots of O,A at the end of almost each word. LOL

example: My fatheL woLk in the bank, She is Bely good-O

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11 years 13 weeks ago
 
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I always thought the most common English mistake was the introduction: "Halo"

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11 years 13 weeks ago

There are cookies, bookies and too many rookies for me to sit here trying to be a hooky! Looky Looky don't call me a wooky. Touchy Touchy Feely Feely Spicy Spicy Nicey Nicey & that's what the doctor Ordered!!

 
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Urually their English sounds good to me.

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11 years 13 weeks ago
 
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for the ielts test , i just want the students to stop saying clotheses , shopping is a common topic and my friend who is an ielts examiner hears this from  many students.

no plural for clothes , fish and candy, but they forget.

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11 years 13 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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They mispronounce i sound in hit, sit and English but they pronounce i in SHIT correctly ! Thanks to Hollywood.

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11 years 13 weeks ago
 
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"Shoop" instead of "soup" (kinda like Sean Connery now that I think of it....).

Hulk:

IMA FIRIN' MA CHINGLISH

 

SHOOP DA WOOP

11 years 8 weeks ago
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GuilinRaf:

Well, I just saw Medicine Man the otehr day, and he was complaining "I found the cure for 'cansher' and now I 'losht' it!"

11 years 8 weeks ago
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11 years 9 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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Is it really? I very like it!

Are you happiness? A happiness family...You are very success. Feel very sadness.

 

Also 90% of em misplace these :

 

fun - funny, tired - tiring, scared - scary, bored - boring, excited - exciting

 

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11 years 9 weeks ago
 
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