h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Isn't it a bit odd that a researcher (I) to whom English is a foreign language comments on spelling as well as grammar in Edited Entries?

Isn't it odd that this researcher (I) seems to be the first person to notice these errors despite both the author as well as the Sub-Ed being British?

How come?

Some people just have this talent.

But I'm just as pernickety when it comes to Swed- oh! I see what you mean...

persnickety

I am, too. Well, not in Swedish But that aside, I don't think you're strange. At least not more strange that my daughter says that I am...

(I have mentioned "that look" she gives me when saying so before. Here it is, captured for posterity: http://www.lindevej.dk/blog/2005/08/dad-youre-strange.html)

Whether the editors, main or sub, are strange? I think it's kind of them to offer such possibilities for the likes of you and me...

While we're at it, I have found this to be a very useful site for persnickitists in UKian: http://www.plainenglish.co.uk

She looks quite concerned Santra - as if she's wondering 'will it pass, or should I call those nice young men in their clean white coats?'...

That's probably a very adequate desription, yes

Natural aptitude aside, I think people become more aware of grammar, syntax and spelling whenever they learn a foreign language. The more languages you know, and the better you know them, the more you have to keep all the differences and details sorted in your head. So you notice more when they are wrong.

Traveller in Time spelling words character by character
"Wich is something I do not in my mother tongue (though I will notice most errors). Reading is a process of recognising words, native speakers do not read the entire word, they just 'recognise' what it says.

Watching my daughter (7) reading her first books, I see she attempts to skim the words, though she does not know enough of them to 'guess' them right all the time.

This reading is a magnificant process in our brains. "

After just having contributed with some more editorial feedback, I realized that I don't strive to check the grammar or word order - I go by what, to my ears, *sounds* right. If something doesn't 'sound' right, it interrupts my reading flow.

If I'm not sure whether it's right or not, I read it out loud.

I tend to do the same thing when writing something myself in English - I don't consider grammar or word order as taught in school (not conciously, anyway) but I write what 'sounds' right.

Ti, I think you are amazing. You write English better than lots of native English speakers.

Well, it's a bit like the 'writing poetry' thing - I can sense a 'flow' or a 'rhythm' in the English language that I can't detect in the Swedish language.

Whatever you do is working. I have always heard that the Romance languages (French, Italian, etc.) are beautiful and flow, but that English is ugly and harsh. Because of the Germanic influence. I have a lot of trouble learning languages. I speak a little French and a little Spanish. But certainly not enough to know if they 'flow' or not.

Interesting - Swedish probably has more Germanic influences than English (several common words are so obviously German in origin) so maybe I find English 'flowing' in comparison with Swedish?

I've tried learning Italian as well as Spanish (at different times, at beginner's level) and I must say that I found Italian easier to learn. Or as a little Swiss old man used to tell me:

Italiano è la lingua dell'amore (Italian is the language of love)

Perhaps when I retire - if I ever manage that - I shall learn Italian and buy an olive grove in Sicily or some other lovely place. Actually, have heard the the Azores have a nearly perfect climate. I need to learn Portuguese instead of Italian. All those years with F and I still don't speak Portuguese.

F spoke Portuguese? How come? Oh, hang on... considering your last name...

Portuguese was F's first language. He was wonderful with languages. And had such a marvellous ear that his accent was nearly undetectible. Besides Portuguese and English, he spoke French, Spanish and German, and some Polish and Russian. I don't know why he never learned Italian. Because he never went to Italy, I suppose. He was used by the Army as an interpreter during WW2.