Mouse wrote: ↑Sun Aug 25, 2024 2:52 pmI have conversed with a member who told me how hard he found it communicating in English. He occasionally gets words wrong and odd punctuation, but I commend him for communicating with me in my own language when I would be hopeless at trying to use his.
This is a fairly common failing in the English-speaking world and especially in the USA. I occasionally fall into it as well, and try not to be too much of a stickler. English is but one of hundreds of different languages, written and spoken, across the globe, and it's useful to have at least smatterings of others -- and even better to be multi-lingual.
In this regard, I tend to use the old dictum of "Be liberal in what one accepts and be conservative in what one transmits." -- and this is
NOT to be perceived using the "new" definitions of those words! (One of the reasons I detest the corrosive corruption of the language to suit the goals of pressure groups) Accept that those whom one communicates with are human, and humans commit gaffes from time to time (heck, I do!), so get over that fact and get what you can out of the writing.
I just wanted to publicly note that some members are working hard just to post some words to the forum and to give them space and encouragement.
And, if English is not their primary language, kudos to them! They usually do better with English than I would in non-English.