English ONLY

[sally123]

Guys, for a long time I have been looking for some nice place to chat i
English or just to exchange information (just like here). When I saw the
heading ENGLISH ONLY, I was really happy that it was the place I needed. And
what happens? Most of the posts placed here are in POlish. And don't tell me,
please, that it is a free country. If your eye caught glimpse of this topic,
be as nice to try and go according to the rule - ENGLISH ONLY. I understand
that some topics are difficult to talk about in English, but why do we meet
here? How can you learn English (providing you want to learn) but using it???

change your nick to silly123

[Gość: VIP-1]

sorry, I couldn't help it, hehehe

[sally123]

I see you've got the sixth sense. At least I hope it was a sense of humour and
not irony.

you're stupid bitch

[Gość: olewajacy]

live well enough alone
co ci cipo przszkadza ze ktos pisze po polsku
jak ci sie nie podoba to stad spierdalaj
ZROZUMIALAS? FUCK OFF

[Gość: WS_US]

Olsniwajacy, if anyone that you are stupid...perhaps bitch. How dare you talk
to people like that. Dresiarz.
Zycze powodzenia....w czymkolwiek.

[Gość: veneer]

...and you to piv!!!
Sorry, could help it but didn't want to...

[Gość: VIP-1]

I don't have to
just read it backwords

p.s. Olsztyn is the ugliest city I've ever seen
forget the lakes and forests, just the city

[kociamama]

Some people feel offended when you respond in English, when you write in
English, and react abruptly, castigating you severely.You come heavily down on
those who use POlish. perhaps it's better not to voice criticism concerning
this matter?
You wanna discuss in English, there are some threads in this language. Some
poeple don't understand English that well, still they expect some tips
regarding learning techniques or info concerning language schools.

I guess there's room for everybody and both languages, if some insist on
speaking our mother tongue.

Later,
Kociamama.

[Gość: agresciara]

Dear Kociamama, if you are so concerned about English, please remember taht
saying "wanna" after having used words like abruptly or pharases
like 'castigating you severely', you are just funny.

buhahahaha

[kociamama]

Gość portalu: agresciara napisał(a):

> Dear Kociamama, if you are so concerned about English,


What do you mean I'm so concerned about English?


please remember taht
> saying "wanna" after having used words like abruptly or pharases
> like 'castigating you severely', you are just funny.
>
> buhahahaha

Why is it funny for you?

Anyway, I'm glad you're amused. Still, I didn't ask you for help in the choice
of my vocabulary and register. But I'll remeber. If I have any problems I'd
immediately report these to you if only you had the guts to log in.

Later,
Kociamama.

[Gość: student]

You are right kociamama you are beyond any help and agresciara's right too, your English is very amusing indeed. I enjoy reading your posts so much. Thank you.

You're welcome

[kociamama]

Dear student,

keep studying, and maybe one day the problem of your illiteracy will be
eradicated. Thanks to some good teacher, perhaps, even you will aquire
sufficient skills to communicate your message effectively, and writing two
sentences will be of less trouble to you.

Regards,
Kociamama.

[cebulka.dymka]

Please do not forget that a language is not only about vocabulary (by which I
mean your knowledge of various words) but also about style (understood as the
ability to use appropriate words in ceratin situations). In this case I would
confirm what agresciara says: using words that are stylictically so distant is
too some extent acceptable but I, myself, would rather omit it. However, I
realyy wouldn't go as far as to say you are funny but I would strongly suggest
taking this remark into account.

Regards

[amused.to.death]

I disagree with you.
Though it's true you should stick to one kind of register while writing your essay for school, it doesn't mean mixing is always wrong.

Intelligent educated people (I do mean 'educated', not 'those_who_graduated_from_university') use more sophisticated vocabulary which may sound strange some using it one everyday basis. But still, they use 'wanna' 'gonna' 'ain't, f-words - and that's natural too. Would be kind of weird, if they were to reduce their vocabulary range to the level of a hooligan, just because they because they feel like saying f*** or 'wanna'.

[kociamama]

Hey,

I agree with you up to a point;))
Certainly, a successful speaker of a given language has the in-depth knowledge,
or intuition which help them select an appropriate "mode". Therefore, the
importance of focusing on the suitable style should be stressed when writng an
academic essay or a formal letter, for instance. So I'd definitely take your
advice into consideration when trying to do any of these.

Nevertheless, debates in the net resemble speech rather than formal pieces of
writing. And while making speeches, even those formal ones "wanna" is a
commonly used form.

BTW there are far more factors determining a formal register (such as proper
spelling, no contractions, etc.) So why do you guys pounce only on this "wanna"
thing?

Later,
KOciamama.

Wanna

[Gość: NEMO]

It all depends on time and place. Here in South Africa you will not use it at
all. So , as far as I am concerned, it looks silly. But nothing in life is
simple.

Regards

P.S. However,we have our share of strange words: braai for example

[Gość: As]

...Poles do not know ( or don't want to) follow the rules, that's why the
country is in shambles.

to kociamama

[sally123]

Hi again. Responding to kociamama: if they want to discuss matters like
language schools we can create another topic: WHERE TO LEARN ENGLISH, or
LANGUAGE SCHOOLS or sth like that. The title here is obvious. ONLY is a very
strong word and it implies that nothing else is welcome. Why the heck, if I
want to speak English with somebody, they answer in Polish. If they understand
what I have written, they may as well try and respond in English. Or maybe you
know a place where I can discuss POlish matters in English. I would be grateful
of you sent an address to me. And the last thing - my post was not written in
order to cause a storm in a teacup. Just a post. Don't get too excited.

[amused.to.death]

> Why the heck, if I want to speak English with somebody, they answer in
> Polish. If they understand
> what I have written, they may as well try and respond in English.

Some try, and then they're criticized by some frustrates who sit in front of the computer and have nothing better to do. That's probably one of the reasons.

[kociamama]

The person who seems to react in an overly excited way is you. If you wanna
speak English only, you can avail yourself of google.pl to search for some
forums being a part of magazines which are entirely in English.

Another option is to introduce a topic in English which will attract attetion.
And a lot of people will probably use the same language as the author of the
thread.

So take some action instead of complaining passively.

later,
kociamama.

[erwas]

> The person who seems to react in an overly excited way is you. If you wanna
> speak English only, you can avail yourself of google.pl to search for some
> forums being a part of magazines which are entirely in English.

now, now, Mother of All Cats. are you telling the one person who has actually
noticed that the forum is called "English Only" to piss off?

> Another option is to introduce a topic in English which will attract
attetion.
> And a lot of people will probably use the same language as the author of the
> thread.

too late kociamama. sally already did that. got my attention. yours too.

[erwas]

yes sally! you tell 'em!
this did used to a forum once. briefly.
then a lot of petty, trifling bastards, making up in venom what they lacked in
breadth raised their ugly heads, and drove all us decent proppa English
speakin' kind away.
they were followed by the great unwashed mass of Polish people who cannot
afford dictionaries with shrieks of please help! bardzo prosze o szybki help,
blagam o pomoc! how do you spell HELP!?

well, we're back.
and this time we're angry.

[Gość: NEMO]

erwas,

Charity starts at home.


Regards

[Gość: anti-sally]

hehe a good one!!!!!!!!

[Gość: H.]

English uses periods and capitalizations. If this is ENGLISH ONLY lets make it
proper English.

[Gość: a humble reader]

Dear all,
Don't you think that a lot of readers treat this forum as a tool for learning English? Well, there's
many a teacher among the participants here, and I'm afraid you're not being careful enough.
Sure, I'm sure you mean well, but how come you write an answer, going to great lengths in an
attempt to not make any mistakes, and you mix up formal and informal language? Well, this
CAN actually mislead students, as they do - often unconscioulsy - pick up a lot more structures
that we can imagine they could.
Best wishes,
Mia
PS Looks like there's at least four people from the Miami area who write on the forum! Hey guys,
let's meet up or something!

Fml/infml

[sally123]

Isn't life is a mixture of formal and informal situations? Even if students are
taught formal language at schools, they often face informal language.... and
they get lost. They usually say: Well, OK, I've been learning English for so
long and I don't understand a word. And then we get posts like: what
does "ain't" mean? It is impossible to know a language well without knowing the
cultural context. And informal language is a crucial part of it.
Good night.

[Gość: Tamtejszy]

I'd rather have good Polish than bad English.

[Gość: kreol]

couldn't agree more....

[Gość: ws_us]

What kind of response is this? Your IP is showing that you are outside of
Poland. Learning is a good think, embrace it.

[Gość: agresciara]

you should have been born 80 years ago, you would be a distinguished SS officer

[Gość: kreol]

oh no no no, it's just that the English you see in these threads is written by Polish speakers
educated in Poland. I do respect your hard work and effort, but it happens to be plain unnatural.
Really, no need to argue.

[amused.to.death]

but practice makes perfect...
how can they be perfect if they don't practise?

[sally123]

Amused... - that's exactly what I intended to say.

[gizmoj]

amused.to.death napisała:

> but practice makes perfect...
> how can they be perfect if they don't practise?

Exactly!!! And when they're made fun of bec. they don't sound "natural".

[Gość: Helper]

Many of inquiries here start with a plead: how to traslate this into Polish?
Jakże to zrobić posługując się ANGIELSKIM WYŁĄCZNIE?

[Gość: renata]

Hello :-)
I have been looking for someone to talk with in English.Could you write me
please.I'd like to practise my English and that is my gg number1429941 or e-
mail: [e-mail]
And where are you from ?? Maybe from Krakow that would be great! I'm waiting
for your ring

[Gość: Tamtejszy]

Renata: whom are you asking?

[Gość: renata]

i'm askig some a kind person who just want to talk with me and help me to
improve my English :-)

Best regards

[Gość: ilquad]

Maybe because this is the most frequent way of teaching us in school?

[sally123]

If something is really urgent I agree that we can help smb translate sth into
Polish, but I object to topics which definitely CAN be discussed in English. If
somebody came here to learn and wanted a translation - I'd answer in a
descriptive way. Wouldn't it be a better tool for learning than: ball - piłka?

Translating - method???

[sally123]

I was taught with this "method". And I have to admit that it helped me start to
hate learning English. Then I moved to some more communicative area and really
started learning English.

[chickenshorts]

Right then, in the true spirit of proper learning!...

sally123 napisała:

> I was taught with this "method".

I think that the preposition "with" in that sentence would give the wrong
impression to any serious English speaker.

> And I have to admit that it helped me start to
> hate learning English. Then I moved to some more communicative area and
really
> started learning English.

"...helped me start to hate..."

I'm also pretty sure the verb "help" is followed by the full infinitive so,
that would mean 'to start' and not "start". And 'to begin' is better still!

Oh,the problem with those infinitives in English!!! Their 'to', so often
treated like some bloody preposition.

[chickenshorts]

Before anyone jumps on me, my apologies to Sally and everyone here...

"help" is one of those that can be followed by either, full or bare infitive.

[sally123]

You've just read my mind, Chicken. Thanks for your criticism. Nice way of
expressing it (or "to express it"?).

[kociamama]

I must disagree that translating is totally ineffective. Frequently it enables
faster understanding in case of more abstract concepts.
When it comes to concrete objects paraphrasing helps elicit the meaning from
the student, yet they usually say the word in the mother tongue to check
whether they concluded correctly.
And for most learners it's easier to write down new vocabulary accompanied by
their verbatim translation, rather than write a wordy definition in English, as
it's time-consuming. And while chatting in english communication would be
disturbed if the learner wrote down a long explanation in enlgish to illustrate
the meaning each time they were lost for words, namely they'd forget what their
point is...

Later,
Kociamama.

[Gość: Gaylord Fokker]

Since when do people write down explanations of words in conversations?

[Gość: ines]

They do - during a lesson ;) But otherwise they don't.

[Gość: basia]

I would also like to talk to sb in english only i am learning english for some
time so it is very good way to improve vocabulary

[Gość: H.T.]

Start with learning how to WRITE in English!

[Gość: ines]

H.T., tell me, why are you picking on everybody??? In almost each and every
discussion there're some mean remarks from you! What's wrong with you? Why are
you sticking to this forum?? If you don't feel like helping, just shut up, will
you?

[sally123]

I completely agree. Being anonymous does not justify being rude, but some
people think it does. In almost every forum there is a person who needs to show
his worth by pointing out others' mistakes. Work on your politeness, HT.