What be on yer mind?

[Lord Burgess1]

I have a question, I've been wondering about it today. A lot of the members on here are not American, I'm curious as to you guys learned English? Like is it a norm in some of your countries to know English? Just blatant curiosity.

Surprisingly, America isn't the only country that speaks English as a native language, as well as European countries generally teaching their kids to speak more than one language.

 

[Tuckles]

I started speaking English before I entered school.

It wasn't just mandatory, ~80% of my classes were taught in English at all levels. Social Studies, Filipino and Chinese were the only ones taught in other languages, and by the time maybe a third of my mandatory education had finished, even Social Studies was taught in English.

 

[Krik]

I have a question, I've been wondering about it today. A lot of the members on here are not American, I'm curious as to you guys learned English? Like is it a norm in some of your countries to know English? Just blatant curiosity.

Surprisingly, America isn't the only country that speaks English as a native language, as well as European countries generally teaching their kids to speak more than one language.

Yeah, shocking that England speaks English.

 

[havoc]

I started speaking English when I was between 1 and 2 years old. I'd go as far to say that I'm a native speaker, but then again I'm not American, so I can't be.

 

[Tuckles]

Besides. The USA doesn't use English, it uses American. Totally different, it just happens to sound the same as English.

 

[Dantе]

One major difference is the word "grey". In England it's Grey. In America it's gray. and in Australia it's GrG'DAYMATEy

 

[Tralfaz]

/stirs Earl Gray tea  "Why, yes sir, it is."

 

[Tralfaz]

He was also making a reference to the difference in the meaning of the word, "major". 

 

[El Perro Finlandese]

I did not think that I would be spending my sunday watching a program about the history of cocaine.

 

[Lord Burgess1]

/stirs Earl Gray tea  "Why, yes sir, it is."

That's because Earl Gray Grey was a person.

Oh, it is spelt Grey, so what America does is spell a man's name wrong.

 

[Tuckles]

Now I want a cup of Earl Grey.

All I have is Peppermint.

 

[Tralfaz]

Peppermint's good.  That and Sleepytime are my favorites, though I don't drink tea very often.

 

[Nahkuri]

I have a question, I've been wondering about it today. A lot of the members on here are not American, I'm curious as to you guys learned English? Like is it a norm in some of your countries to know English? Just blatant curiosity.

It's good that you're curious about stuff like this that goes on outside the States, but you really could've thought a second or two longer before forming that question 

Anyroad. Lots of time wasted with TV (in Finland foreign shows are subtitled, not dubbed) and video games gave me a nice foundation for learning the language before they started to teach it at 3rd grade.

 

[Jock]

Video games, TV shows and books mostly.

 

[lordJehovah]

Same here.

 

[Bromden]

Guess I was lucky; the nearest elementary school where I lived was language centric, and I was in the first class that was taught english instead of russian. This gave a good base to build upon with video games, TV and books.

 

[Scully]

/stirs Earl Gray tea  "Why, yes sir, it is."

That's because Earl Gray Grey was a person.

Oh, it is spelt Grey, so what America does is spell a man's name wrong.

Kinda like how the British made up their own names for other countries.

 

[lordJehovah]

 

[Lord Burgess1]

What now? A country name in another language is different to taking a name of someone and changing it.

Jens Stoltenberg isn't known as John Smallpenis.

 

[lordJehovah]