Re: Foreigner(s)

<jens@xxxxxxxxx> skrev i meddelelsen
news:5003a66d-9c6b-42bb-8535-c6081671e422@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 7 Mar., 01:31, "Arne H. Wilstrup" <ahw> wrote:

You can be an *** yourself

The English idiom would be "it takes one to know one".

*Am I obliged to use an idiom to give an answer accordingly? Hardly.


You seem to
have translated the Danish idiom "du kan selv være et røvhul"
literally. The Danish expression is common among children but unusual
among adults. The English expression is also quite childish.

*Is it understandable? And what is the most childish expression from a
socalled 'adult': "You are an ***" or "you are an *** yourself"?
The person who starts the pejorative, I think.

because you have
interestings point of views

interesting points of view

*Not at all - compound nouns usually form the plural in the same way as
in single nouns i.e. they add -s to the final element of the compound:
grilfriends, bathrooms, bystanders. Occasionally, however, the plural
ending is addded to the first element of the compound. This is
usually -but not always - seen in compounds with noun + preposition +
noun (e.g. mothers-in-law, sisters-in-las, commanders-in-chief, but note
/my in-laws/.
disagree in the most issues,

You can, however, also look at
http://infolab.stanford.edu/~burback/watersluice/node148.html

or http://www.doitwithdrupal.com/blog/earl-miles-point-views

You must lose the "the" here. Also, I would prefer "on" to "in" here,
but that is more a personal preference, as we have seen recently.

In Danish, of course, you would need "de fleste", cognate to "the
most". Your error may simply be an unwitting Danishism.

you really contribute to the fact that I shall not think I am
perfect in English at all,

You probably meant "should" or "must".

*No I didn't.

*Shall is used with the following meanings:

*Neutral future with a first-person subject (I or we): We shall inform
you as soon as possible. I shall not be able to defend this position any
longer. We shall notify you if there is any change in the programme.

*suggestion/offer (with a first-person subject): shall we go and have a
little lunch?

*Promise (rather formal; with secon-or third-person subject): You shall
receive all the money owing to you immediately. The children shall have
their icecream.

*Obligation: in the third person in formal, particulary legal English
(e.g. in contracts): Members shall enter the names of their guests in
the book provided. Any notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the
date on which the payment is to be made. All payments shall be made in
US dollars.

the same notion in Danish would be
expressed with "skal". Normally "shall" would imply the future tense
here, and it is just possible to parse your sentence meaningfully.

*you mean "it is just impossible to... "


*Should is formally the past tense of shall, but it only has the past
tense reference in
reported speech, weak obligation (with a perfect infinitive) or
adverbial clauses of purpose introduced by /in order that, so that etc.


I suspect that your choice
of"shall" is another Danishism;
*you mean Danicism?

*Nope - it is not another Danicism, but I agree that the word "shall" is
rarely used in English and the Danish "skal" is to be translated into
several words in English depending on the meaning of the word.

I wouldn't miss you for the money in the world:

The idiom requires "for all the money".

*I missed the adverb - *** happens.

"I wouldn't miss you" is probably not what you wanted to say. "Miss"
parses as "long for you when you are gone" (Danish: "savne") or "not
hit you" (Danish "ramme ved siden af"). It does not really parse as
"want to do without" (Danish "undvære"), which it looks as if you
intended, judging by the use of "all the money in the world".

*As I said: so I happened to omit the adverb - *** happens.

I can only be better

Better: "get better" or "improve".

*In this notion I quite agree - /I can only get better/ or /improve/ is
better.

even
if I don't like to be corrected, I'd rather want you to correct me
than
a Dane or a Swede.

This time, unfortunately, you have to make do with second-best.

*second-best? How come you think you are second-best? Isn't it a
pretentious and an unreasonable request that you should be as high as a
second-best?

You obviously don't like me, so if the happy day really occurs that
you

This is complicated. Days can definitely occur, but "occur" is not
normally used with "one happy day". It would be better to write "...
if one happy day you really ...".

Reference?

will have to say, "Arne, your mistakes in English is not so bad as
before",

Chuck would probably get the number of the verb right. I am aware that
you have requested that an error where you confuse "is" and "are" not
be pointed out to you; I respect that request in general, but I am
making an exception here because of the context.


*I discovered the mistake after I had sent it - Chuck would of course
write the sentence correctly.

Incidentally, your general attitude seems to as follows: "I know that
I make errors such as confusing 'is' and 'are'. I also know all the
rules. I just can't be bothered to apply these rules and write
carefully enough to assure that mistakes like these only rarely slip
through to my readers -- at least not here in alt.usage.english." You
probably don't realize that this arrogant attitude is perceived as
much stronger that you intend.

*Well, so be it. I have been told that I will not have a chance to
change the persons' attitudes here, so I must live with the fact that
my postings meet harsh respondings. It was professor Spira who told me
so.
So instead of making any fuss about it, I shall just shrug my shoulders
and accept that it is the very person's opinion and then move on. What
is perceived arrogant and rude is a subjective matter and I cannot
satisfy all people here. I must therefore confine myself with the fact
that I sometimes am considered rude or offensive. I must likewise accept
the fact that some persons here take the liberty of degrading me because
they have been told that I am just as offensive in Danish newsgroups and
am not able to write Danish in an acceptable manner. I wonder who has
told them so? The native speakers of English who willingly believe this
notion without asking any question about the validity of the subject
matter, seem to be the same persons who are just as willingly to treat
me disrespectful themselves, so see what I care about it.

Persons who treat me with respect are treated the same way from my side,
and persons who treat me disrespectfully, mock me etc., are being
treated the same way accordingly.

A praise from you is better than a praise from a person

"Praise" does not take an indefinite article. It is an uncountable
noun.

It is uncountable, yes, but some of the words may under certain
circumstances be considered as countable as well or when used in poectic
references, cf.
http://www.poetry-archive.com/h/a_praise_of_his_lady.html


not worth licking your
shoes,

not worthy of licking'

*nope - lick sby's boots = It is not worth licking your shoes - you
have the same expression in "not worth hearing your words" -

not entitled to bind your shoe laces,

Shoelaces are tied, not bound.


*probably, but I didn't mean tie here. I meant to bind, like in "shorts
guaranteed not to bind" or as in "tighten" (stramme, forbinde, holde
sammen på)

"Who live in glass houses should not throw stones"



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