Language barriers

Comments

• Aryanne

  January 2015

  Nalor said:

  Arbre said:

  Would you rather be (politely) corrected, or have the mistake ignored?

  But Question, Long as it's not like txt u l8r ? Do people really care for small mistakes like that??

  I think part of the problem with those little errors(homophones) being corrected so often is that native speakers screw them up while writing All. The. Time. As such, many Native English Speakers commonly think they're simply correcting "their own" (as this is something we give each other shit for regularly). Especially if your grammar/spelling is so good besides that we don't even consider that you might by ESL.
  
  The only time I would correct someone OOCly would be if their grammar made something ambiguous and I sincerely didn't understand, or if I notice them making the same mistake over and over and I want to try and be helpful so they won't be judged by others.
  
  This reminds me of related question: Descriptions. This really goes for native speakers and not alike. If I were to notice a grammar flub / general typo flub in your description, would you want me to let you know OOCly? (politely, obviously) or just leave it alone as long as I can work out what it was supposed to mean?

  
  

  

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• Areka Drifting in a sea of wenches' bosoms

  January 2015

  I'd want a tap on the shoulder OOCly if there's an issue in mine (both a spelling/grammar error or something that is just really not in line with the game). It's something I've missed or not thought about in that context, it's not a personal matter, not an attack, and not a judgement on me the person.
  
  But yeah, the homophones issue - the US has high school and college graduates who fail with the basics of your/you're, there/their/they're, either due to poor education, or are just really sloppy once not in class and can't be bothered, or didn't pay attention in school/practice it because it wasn't important to them, etc. When I was in university I did a lot of editing of other students' writing, which was a depressing experience to be having at university.
  
  Writing attention also contributes (or detracts) from the tone of writing - both the not always correct perception of quality as well as what the value of it is. It grates me a bit when folk (with gr3+) don't capitalize things on GT (I don't care as much with noobs because there's a lot of information to soak in and many more variables in play), or don't use their possessives correctly, or the homophone issue.

  

  

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• Ishin Retired Lurker Virginia

  January 2015

  I've told plenty of people about errors in their descs. I usually just send'em a tell or a msg, depending. I think that as long as the tone of what you're saying is cordial, or at least polite/professional, it's okay. I usually get well-received, and a 'thanks', so..

  Tell me and I forget, teach me and
  I remember, involve me and I
  learn.
  -Benjamin Franklin

  

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• Pypo

  March 2015

  The sandwich barrier is meant for breaking!
  
  Translators help incredibly when working with a non-native English speaker, and while you won't get everything from the start, its not too hard to adapt and get the gist to help in giving an answer. Sometimes in game, I pause my rp to translate from English to Spanish, because of the way some verbs and nouns are used in English are backwards in Spanish. Great thing is, specially about the actions I use with intent in Pypo's character is the fact he tends to blurt things out before thinking about what he says, with intent to specifically silly, and rarely witty when I find myself getting confused.
  
  Have no idea how easily this gets me into trouble, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

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• Valenae

  April 2015

  I have had communication barriers previously but they haven't been as a result of esl issues. Back when I was a sec for the Paladins this newb player in my guild was missing every other word in tells and says. He apologized and told me he had ADD/ADHD and so writing in a game like Aetolia can be, and often is, intimidating. I could relate because I have the same thing and I read things three or four times before I send them and still make mistakes. Anyway, I told him I had it too and he asked me about what I do to keep my emotes/writing straight(er), so we talked about different strategies he could use while writing.
  
  There was also a time on forums where I misspelled something and a person who had been around for a long, long time quoted me to correct my grammar in front of everyone.
  
  I think the one mistake people made frequently back then was to dismiss a player with grammatical errors in their writing as stupid and lazy. There are many players who struggle with grammar for a variety of reasons and if we want to create an environment that is welcoming, we have to identify a.) Unless we have some personal connection to the player, we don't know them and therefore shouldn't make judgements based on their writing b.) Pointing out mistakes is intimidating for everyone, but especially for the person making them so, like people were saying be cordial but also be aware of when/how you're pointing them out. If you're addressing them at a guild meeting, you're an asshole. c.) Its our responsibility as a community to hold other Aetolians accountable. If you see someone shaming another player for their grammar, you should probably call them on it.

  
  
  "To be awkward or unkempt, to talk or move wrongly is to be a dangerous giant, a destroyer of worlds...any accurately improper move can poke through the thin sleeve of immediate reality." - Erving Goffman
  
  
  
  

  

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• Silena Immortal

  April 2015

  So much can get lost when speaking through text, and we don't always realize the effects culture has on the way we perceive what other people say, and the way they speak to us in turn. I'm just reminded of a particular player I knew on a different IRE game who was from another country. His English was so good that it wasn't clear what the problem was, but I still had trouble understanding him because of the way he phrased certain things.
  
  For a while I just didn't talk to him much to avoid the confusion, until he asked me oocly if I'd edit his writing and explained about the language issue. Knowing his background and reading over his writing made it easier to understand the communication issue, and made roleplaying with him easier and more enjoyable. He ended up becoming one of my biggest supporters within that organization... so, my thought is, as @Valanae said, avoid the tendency to judge someone's style of writing as an indication of their intelligence or maturity or whatever else... and also, if you think you are being misunderstood over language issues, it may help to bring it up with people directly. It could be that everyone understands just fine, but it may also clear up misunderstandings and change someone's perception. From the other side, talk to/rp with people you wouldn't normally, and don't base your entire view of someone on a first impression.
  
  (I'm offering this suggestion based on my own experience as a player- not speaking as an admin or anything. Be nice to each other, that's all.)

  

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