polish boyfriend has wrecked my english

Wroclaw Boy:

I have had to talk to foreign nationals a great deal more than the average person and find myslef taking on a whole new version of English when i do so. Talking loud and clear and breaking down sentences such as "what you like".

Occasionally I find myself still talking like a foreigner when i dont really need too, self moderating is required i think.

army of meezThreads: 1 Posts: 2 Joined: Nov 12, 08	Dec 14, 08, 03:50 / #
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?

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 14, 08, 03:52 / #
No, you are not alone in this. I find myself unsure of prepositions sometimes that I used naturally before. This is from being exposed to Polish people, not my fiancee. I don't think he has changed your English so drastically but little things sink in.

polishgirltx	Edited by: polishgirltx Dec 14, 08, 03:54 / #
what...? ;)

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 14, 08, 04:01 / #
It's the true (sic), LOL Seriously tho, little things slip from time to time.

Wroclaw Boy	Dec 14, 08, 04:15 / #
I have had to talk to foreign nationals a great deal more than the average person and find myslef taking on a whole new version of English when i do so. Talking loud and clear and breaking down sentences such as "what you like". Occasionally I find myself still talking like a foreigner when i dont really need too, self moderating is required i think.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 14, 08, 04:23 / #
Self moderating, that's exactly it. Thankfully, I don't teach any beginners so I can up the tempo a bit. It was like pulling teeth sometimes. Still, it taught me patience.

polishgirltx	Dec 14, 08, 04:28 / #
Seanus: Self moderating sucks... Seanus: I don't teach any beginners maybe you should... Seanus: me patience. ahem.... ;)

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 14, 08, 04:30 / #
My schools have earmarked other teachers to teach beginners. I did at Callan and NOVA but not now. Is teaching me patience then. Geez, be patient girl ;)

Wroclaw Boy	Dec 14, 08, 04:31 / #
Being married to a Polish national has definently taken a toll on my English. Not so much now but at the beginning I had to supplement many words/sentences to be understood and then I had to work exhibitions detailing complexed property issues and rediscovering words which i wasnt used to speaking. I dont think many adults even have a clue whats being said if they watched house of commons live for example.

polishgirltx	Dec 14, 08, 04:32 / #
Wroclaw Boy: Being married to a Polish national is it going to be a girl or a boy? or you don't want to know yet WB?

sapphireThreads: 28 Posts: 1,418 Joined: Dec 7, 06	Dec 17, 08, 13:28 / #
you are not alone.. I am in a similar position and my english is crap now, I find myself saying weird things at work in bad grammar and I sometimes get asked whereabouts in Eastern Europe I am from, even though Im English.. It becomes quite worrying when people dont believe you are from your native country.

Wyspianska	Dec 17, 08, 13:31 / #
Ooooh yeah I know it. I used to say 'so' before verbs which is clearly incorrect ('I so want to..', 'I so love you..') and my boy kept repeating haha. More for a laugh probably :P

sapphireThreads: 28 Posts: 1,418 Joined: Dec 7, 06	Dec 17, 08, 13:41 / #
i always find myself saying... somebody 'speaking' something instead of somebody 'said' something.. not that I dont know the difference, but ive got into a habit of it when speaking to my partner as he has got used to it. Somebody told me that you are doing people no favours when you speak to them in bad english as it becomes habit forming, which is very true and later hard to break.

Wyspianska	Dec 17, 08, 13:44 / #
Yeah there is something funny in this I must say. Good thing about it I can only addapt good habits as I'm Polish myself and if he does adapt someting from me then oh well, it's not my problem anymore, is it :P

Wroclaw Boy	Edited by: Wroclaw Boy Dec 14, 08, 05:29 / #
polishgirltx: is it going to be a girl or a boy? or you don't want to know yet WB? We dont know yet, and yes we will find out. thanks for asking

mafketisThreads: 17 Posts: 1,880 Joined: Mar 31, 08	Dec 14, 08, 06:02 / #
army of meez: 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... "I be go to the shop" is not fluent English (of any kind I can think of).

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 14, 08, 06:07 / #
On the party would be one of the first to seep in. Just keep tabs on your article use ;) Then you know there is a problem if that drops off.

army of meezThreads: 1 Posts: 2 Joined: Nov 12, 08	Dec 17, 08, 13:24 / #
okay!!

tomekcatkinsThreads: 13 Posts: 173 Joined: Oct 9, 07	Dec 17, 08, 14:17 / #
There was a thread about guys like the girls to sound a bit infantile and not well speaking, because it made them sound cute and a bit harmless. ;)

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Dec 17, 08, 15:04 / #
army of meez: am i just a freak? somethin'

benszymanskiThreads: 9 Posts: 510 Joined: Feb 29, 08	Dec 17, 08, 15:10 / #
Great thread! Glad to know it's not just me. Sometimes I really think I am losing the ability to speak English. I had thought it was just me going mad.... maybe I still am..... but at least I know I'm not alone now.

MatyjaszThreads: 2 Posts: 1,786 Joined: Jul 20, 06	Dec 17, 08, 16:38 / #
I am interesting what you all has to say. ;)

KrzysztofThreads: 2 Posts: 1,146 Joined: Jul 26, 07	Dec 17, 08, 20:07 / #
(A) day when (the) articles vanish from English would be (a) big joy for (the) Poles, at least for me.

polishgirltx	Dec 17, 08, 20:10 / #
Krzysztof: (A) Krzysztof: (the) Krzysztof: (a) Krzysztof: (the) do only I have problem with those? i usually miss them or overdo them...

PolskaDollThreads: 44 Posts: 4,134 Joined: Jun 15, 07	Dec 17, 08, 20:15 / #
Krzysztof: (A) day (The) day... :)

KrzysztofThreads: 2 Posts: 1,146 Joined: Jul 26, 07	Dec 17, 08, 21:08 / #
Krzysztof: (A) day PolskaDoll: (The) day... :) 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).

benszymanskiThreads: 9 Posts: 510 Joined: Feb 29, 08	Dec 18, 08, 01:40 / #
Krzysztof: it's a hypothetical day Yes but it's a specific day because you are making a reference to it, the fact that it's hypothetical isn't important - you are really saying something along the lines of "that specific day when something might happen will be a joy". Therefore it needs a definite article.

mafketisThreads: 17 Posts: 1,880 Joined: Mar 31, 08	Dec 18, 08, 02:37 / #
Krzysztof: (A) day when (the) articles vanish from English would be (a) big joy for (the) Poles, at least for me. English would disintegrate without articles. There is so much homophony in English that articles are needed for native speakers to parse sentences. I once had to read a five or six page article with almost no articles and it was almost impossible, real agony. I always way, when in doubt use an article, the wrong article (or an article when none is needed) is easier for native speakers to deal with in writing or speech than the lack of an article when one is needed.

ShelleySThreads: 18 Posts: 3,647 Joined: Jun 26, 07	Dec 18, 08, 03:49 / #
Matyjasz: Yesterday, 16:38 Report #22 I am interesting what you all has to say. ;) That's soooooooooo cute ;)

davidpeakeThreads: 18 Posts: 515 Joined: Nov 7, 06	Dec 18, 08, 04:06 / #
Wroclaw Boy: I have had to talk to foreign nationals a great deal more than the average person and find myslef taking on a whole new version of English when i do so. Talking loud and clear and breaking down sentences such as "what you like". Occasionally I find myself still talking like a foreigner when i dont really need too, self moderating is required i think. I agree, i talk to non English speakers everyday and find myself doing the the same thing.