In Preparation for August

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Well thanks for the insights ... I figured there was something more to your communication style.

I too was born in a non-English speaking country, but, unlike my parents, I (and my sister) lost our accents in just 6 or so weeks. Hungarian was spoken at home at all times. I am very greatful for my parents for now I will not forget my native tounge.

I can relate to your adjustments in a new land. I was the only olive skinned person at high school, so for most of my time there I was repeatedly called "wog", which was hurtful at first, but really not so bad in the end. [It was definatly more the tone of voice than the actual word that got me down.. so much hatred].

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Interesting. Where I'm from it would be strange to denigrate a nonnative speaker of English who nevertheless has achieved sufficient mastery of the language to be understood. I guess some parts of the Anglophone world are far stuffier than, say, California (where I'm from) or Pennsylvania (where I live).

Have you ever mentioned what your native language is? I'm thinking Russian or some other Slavic language. Just a guess.

For the past couple months I've gone back to studying German, which I haven't done in 20 years. And 20 years ago I didn't study the language systematically enough. Now, with all I know about mathematics, I see the language as a system with a largely logical construction. The past, the past perfect, the past perfect in the subjunctive mood, the past perfect in the subjunctive mood with a modal verb. Things are clicking together much more easily for me, so that I already have a better grasp of the language than I ever did after nearly a year living in Germany in the early 1990s.

Originally posted by Soothfast
Interesting. Where I'm from it would be strange to denigrate a nonnative speaker of English who nevertheless has achieved sufficient mastery of the language to be understood. I guess some parts of the Anglophone world are far stuffier than, say, California (where I'm from) or Pennsylvania (where I live).

Have you ever mentioned what your native langua ...[text shortened]... grasp of the language than I ever did after nearly a year living in Germany in the early 1990s.

To Soothfast only,

My issue with Duchess64 had NOTHING do with how Duchess64 communicates with
English. I asked Duchess64 a direct question on something Duchess64 said, then
Duchess64 responded to my question which was fine. I asked a follow up question then
Duchess64 got all bent out of shape I was still talking to Duchess64. I guess Duchess64
thought I was a mind reader and should just know what Duchess64 wanted.

I don't care that Duchess64 doesn't care what I think on any topic, but if Duchess64 does
not care what I think about any topic than Duchess64 should not respond to my
questions directly. Once Duchess64 gave a response, I assumed that Duchess64 was
now having a conversation with me, so when Duchess64 started mouthing off as if I
was supposed to know Duchess64 had no desire to have a conversation with me, I felt
Duchess64 was being very insulting and in my opinion unfair.

The fact that this is a public forum, anyone at any time can come and question some or
just parts of any conversation. If Duchess64 wants a private conversation than
Duchess64 should use a PM, if Duchess64 is going to get bent out of shape if more than
one person responds to Duchess64 post than Duchess64 will be bent out of shape all
the time.

I sure hope you know who I was talking too Soothfast, and who I was talking about!

Originally posted by KellyJay
To Soothfast only,

My issue with Duchess64 had NOTHING do with how Duchess64 communicates with
English. I asked Duchess64 a direct question on something Duchess64 said, then
Duchess64 responded to my question which was fine. I asked a follow up question then
Duchess64 got all bent out of shape I was still talking to Duchess64. I guess Duchess64
thou ...[text shortened]...
the time.

I sure hope you know who I was talking too Soothfast, and who I was talking about!

Uh...okay.

I'm not involving myself, really, in your quibble with Duchess.

Originally posted by Soothfast
Uh...okay.

I'm not involving myself, really, in your quibble with Duchess.

🙂 You are not involved....that was all me.

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German and Russian are the two languages that interest me most. A couple years ago I spent about three months teaching myself Russian. I got about a third of the way through "Basic Russian" by Mischa Fayer, but then ran out of time. It is perhaps a dated text, but its formal style (rather like a graduate mathematics text) appealed to me. I learned a lot, and visited Russian websites and watched Russian films. Someday I'll go back to it. In the meantime there's German.

Sometimes I entertain a fantasy of expatriating to Germany. Germans (and Swiss) were always patient with my attempts at speaking the language, and Germany has always struck me as a much more civilized and advanced society than the self-proclaimed "greatest nation on Earth." The Frankfurter Allgemeine website (http://www.faz.net/) is a great news source.

Originally posted by KellyJay
To Soothfast only,

My issue with Duchess64 had NOTHING do with how Duchess64 communicates with
English. I asked Duchess64 a direct question on something Duchess64 said, then
Duchess64 responded to my question which was fine. I asked a follow up question then
Duchess64 got all bent out of shape I was still talking to Duchess64. I guess Duchess64
thou ...[text shortened]...
the time.

I sure hope you know who I was talking too Soothfast, and who I was talking about!

I thought she was responding to me. You're confusing me.

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If this is really true and you only try hard to speak like a Duchess and take on that name to avoid sneers. Perhaps you are actually alienating the wrong people.

I hope you could give the benefit of the doubt to an arrogant, bigoted, right-wing, American, white man, who had to take special classes as a boy just to learn to speak plain enough for his teachers to understand him.

I know I come off like a very obnoxious Donald Trump to some with the use of the smug smile and the nickname ....

The Near Genius

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Originally posted by duchess64
Noticing my unusually crisp enunciation, some people have asked me if I'm an actress

What a strange thing to ask a man.