(no subject)

[bubosquared]

So here I am, looking back on my first fandom, and I find this website, which I came across a few times, back in the days, and I start reading their blog and look at that. PuppyFen! :D Small world, innit?

In other news, Sae (sivan) said:

Oh, something else. In fanfic reviews, it's a common occurrence for the reviewer to concede: "Well, her spelling and grammar might be excusable if she's not a native speaker. I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt."
Now, for obvious reasons I'm very much in favour of that if the spelling and grammar insecurities are singular. If, however, a text consists of nothing but errors, it isn't not being a native speaker. It's being sloppy and too lazy to make an effort. And it always makes me feel a little resentful to see the 'not a native speaker' excuse, because I am making the effort to use proper verb forms and spell correctly and whatnot. And while I'm not saying that everyone ought to obsess over it as much as I do, I still think that even with a small amount of dedication it should be possible to make a text, y'know, intellegible.

Ah, yes. And then there's the ever-fathful "If English is your second language, get a beta," which makes me grit my teeth, clench my fists and take deep breaths.

Look. I'm going to be conceited here for a second, but I do think I can honestly say that my English is better than that of about 60-70% of the (online) native English speaking population. I have a largeish vocabulary, I know how to spell the majority of the words I use, and I know how to use a spell checker when I don't, and I may not know the formal rules of grammar, but I've internalised then rather well, I'd say. Basically, very few people realise, without me telling them outright, that I'm not a native English speaker.

And I hate being singled out one way or another because I happen to have been born in a country where English isn't the/a national language. Don't do me any favours. Don't treat me like the 'special' child in the class. Don't go easy on me, but don't tell me I should be extra careful, either. Everyone should use a beta, and wether you can get away with not using one depends on your skills and not on how old you were when you learned English.

English isn't that hard a language to learn, if only because we're bombarded with it almost 24/7 via songs, television, movies, etc. For most non-English speakers, learning a second language is also quite natural, because if you want to travel and be understood, you've to at least learn, that's right, English.

Basically, what I'm saying is, your language isn't that special, and there's probably more non-natives who speak it better than your average netizen than those who fail to use correct grammar and spelling. (And the latter will usually be more inclined to ask for help, being aware of their limitations.)

(Actually, allow me to amend that last sentence, and emphasise the word "usually". Because more and more, I see "I'm not a native speaker" being used as an excuse for not asking a native to beta, and no. That's no valid excuse.)

Comments

[sonatine.livejournal.com]

As a native speaker, I'm utterly embarassed by how horribly many most native people write it, offline, online, or otherwise. I blame only some of it on those traumatic freshman year grammar classes and more on sheer laziness. And then there's all that bloody IM speak. (2 kewl is not part of a dialect goddamnit!!) I blame it all on American imperialism and the sheer bloody godawful ethnocentrism that this country produces.