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dragonsaver
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« on: November 05, 2007, 01:19:48 PM » |
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I have been correcting my students writing. I have been circling the word wanna and saying it wasn't a word. I looked in the Longman Dictionary of American English. It is there as a word.  It is supposed to be a 'short form' of the word want to. However, it does say spoken, non standard (in tiny print). I am just amazed it is in the dictionary at all. It is also in their grammar text book. There are other words too, but this one is knickering me off. More than one student is using it in their journals. I will continue to X it out but....  |
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Be kind to dragons for thou are crunchy when roasted and taste good with brie.
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gonzo
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« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2007, 06:15:25 PM » |
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They see it [with subtitles turned on] all the time in movies. Even Al Gore is saying "wanna" and "gonna" in "An Inconvenient Truth". He says "Anartica" too. Not knocking the guy; I think he's great! You're never going to win this one, but need to keep pointing out that it's a spoken form only. And keep marking it out! |
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« Last Edit: November 05, 2007, 09:55:35 PM by gonzo »
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....and the beat goes on............
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George
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« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2007, 09:53:30 PM » |
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Also creeping in are abbreviations......sth, sb, etc, for something, somebody. Messaging has a lot to answer for!!
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gonzo
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« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2007, 09:57:13 PM » |
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Actually George, I think these pre-date texting. They were in common use in trade English textbooks I was working from 10 years ago, especially in "telex" [remember that?] -speak.
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....and the beat goes on............
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Lotus Eater
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buk-buk..b'kaaaawww!
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« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2007, 10:36:33 PM » |
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I also correct 'wanna' in spoken English. I know most of my students will NEVER travel overseas or work in foreign companies, but those that do will need to speak a more formal level of English more often than they will need informal English. So I point out that it is informal, used frequently in those situations, but they need to consider where they are going to use their English. For me, it is easier to practice the correct form and then relax in the right places rather than the other way around. Apart from that - it is sloppy speech!   |
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solongtinik
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tryin to complete my life's journey
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« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2007, 01:06:53 AM » |
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my smart students before are more interested in learning slangs ang coloquial english!
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if he does not struggle against what is wrong-even if it seems beyond his strength-he will bever find the right road
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kcanuck
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Canadian Stop Sign
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« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2007, 04:05:50 AM » |
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I never taught a lot of slang because it is an ever changing form of speech and often differs from country to country. My colleague is a kiwi and some of the things he uses, I've (nor my other colleague who is American) have never heard of.
Yesterday he used the word mufti (sp?) we had no clue what it meant.
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I am still learning. Michelangelo
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adamsmith
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« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2007, 05:19:30 AM » |
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I am a firm believer that the students should learn the proper forms of the words first and then as they gain more understanding of the language, ie fluency, they can start using the abbreviations - especially in their writing. This will help them to learn the difference between soken and written language, as well it can prepare them for future situations they might encounter. I don't even like it whn they use the abreviated form of the 'to be' verb. This leads them to forget to use it when they are writing and speaking. But then again, this is just my personal idiosyncracy
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gonzo
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« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2007, 06:02:19 AM » |
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My colleague is a kiwi and some of the things he uses, I've (nor my other colleague who is American) have never heard of.
Yesterday he used the word mufti (sp?) we had no clue what it meant.
Hearing a new word doesn't mean it's an obscure colloquialism. It has two common meanings: 1.a jurist who interprets Muslim religious law 2.civilian dress worn by a person who is entitled to wear a military uniform |
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....and the beat goes on............
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kcanuck
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« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2007, 07:38:27 AM » |
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I knew it wasn't a colloquialism, just an example of how different the language can be depending on where you come from. Slangs and idioms can be just as different and that's another reason why I never taught a lot of it to my college kids last year.
A recent one used by my son (15 year old) is 'meh', had to look that one up too.
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I am still learning. Michelangelo
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Lotus Eater
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buk-buk..b'kaaaawww!
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« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2007, 08:45:08 AM » |
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I teach my students to speak 'natural' -ie not overly formal - English. So a fan is a fan not an oscillation device. But sloppy speech is not useful for them. They will be scientific translators or researchers and therefore their English needs to be at a fairly standard level for presentations, conferences etc.
I also rarely teach slang, because by the time it is written in a dictionary it is getting out of date, and so sounds equally weird to listeners. Just the change in slang over the time I've been in China makes what I knew then, old now.
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