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tkb417 (m)
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@Purist sorry my brotherduty call my email is we can chat when next i see you online. @Poster i think you have learnt enough. . . go forth and speak well  |
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seabiotics (m)
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@nazzyon
Since you said you are graduate, you should simply pay attention to conversations.
Get some tutorial pronouciation Disc & CD player (mobile): People from non English speaking countries learn using this device.
Listing to news broadcast always; but some of the newscasters make mistakes sometimes.
Note: It depends on your line duty. If you are into sciences & Engineering, I am damn sure you will know how to use the terms in those areas perfectly. Little English is requried in that area.
Note: Check yourself may be you are fluent but you have difficulty of talking in the midst of people. I also have the same problem. You feel people might crucify you if you make mistake.
Secret: Talk more in the presence of your friends, people who will take their time to correct you.
Lastly, reveal your secret to a younger person. If you associate with kids of may be primaries trust me before you know it you are going to change and feel different about yourself.
The only disadvantage of the line that comes before this; your way of conversion might turn childish. You can mend it before it gets out of hand. I disagree on your point about English language not being important in the field of Science and Technology. Indeed, the ability to express oneself effectively in English (oral and written)is considered an important transferable skill in every field. |
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Ezenwenyi (m)
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Very simple.
RULES
1.BUY A GOOD ENGLISH TEXT BOOK LIKE COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH
2.TRY TO ALWAYS SPEAK ENGLISH EVEN WHEN You ARE MAKING MISTAKES
3.STOP SPEAKING PIDGIN ENGLISH
4. MISS UP WITH PEOPLE THAT ALWAYS SPEAK GOOD ENGLISH
5. MAKE SURE YOU CORRECT EVERY MISTAKE You MAKE BY ASKING SOMEONE THAT KNOWS.
If u follow this rules for 1month you will achieve your aim.
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romeo (m)
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I disagree on your point about English language not being important in the field of Science and Technology. Indeed, the ability to express oneself effectively in English (oral and written)is considered an important transferable skill in every field.
How about the Asian wiz kids? Russians, Germans, French, Italians, Spanish? did they learn their science and technology with English language? It is nothing but another important language to know!! English language can not put food on your table or pay your rent, Nigeria has a lot of un-employed graduates roaming the streets without work or hope of getting one very soon. REASON: They spent their time in the university learning to be very good in English language and thus neglecting their chosen careers. We could've been benefitting from "out sourcing" if our youths had dedicated more time to learn their chosen careers instead of English language to show off their "ghost education" |
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The Sly
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REASON:
They spent their time in the university learning to be very good in English language and thus neglecting their chosen careers. We could've been benefitting from "out sourcing" if our youths had dedicated more time to learn their chosen careers instead of English language to show off their "ghost education"
true talk! |
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Dorcasde (f)
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Dear Poster,
As a graduate, I believe you must have done more than enough of English reading and writing. What you should concentrate on now is speaking and listening. Watch and listen to any program in English, pay attention to what you hear and relate it to how what you learnt in school. Try to get a book on English grammar to learn English Grammar Structure. Be very conscious of the use of PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE TENSES, a lot of mistakes come from the wrong of tenses. Try mingling with people who always speak English, pay attention to how they speak. Don’t bug yourself about making mistakes, if you fall, rise and move on and you get stronger. Always THINK in English. Most importantly, BE CONFIDENT in yourself and don’t be shy to speak. Start walking the path to correcting your English and don’t see it as your English is bad because that might weigh you down and get you discourages. But see is it as you want to improve on your English, that is, concentrate on the solution which is the way forward.
Goodluck!
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seabiotics (m)
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Quote from Romeo: How about the Asian wiz kids? Russians, Germans, French, Italians, Spanish? did they learn their science and technology with English language? It is nothing but another important language to know!! English language can not put food on your table or pay your rent, Nigeria has a lot of un-employed graduates roaming the streets without work or hope of getting one very soon.
REASON:
They spent their time in the university learning to be very good in English language and thus neglecting their chosen careers. We could've been benefitting from "out sourcing" if our youths had dedicated more time to learn their chosen careers instead of English language to show off their "ghost education" Please endeavour to fully analyse and comprehend the context of an argument before making a contribution. It will serve you well in all you do. The context of this discourse centers on the poster's inability to converse in perfect English amongst his friends. True the Japanese, Russsians and Asians may have been adequately skilled in Science and Technology without learning English. But that was not the point I was maintaining. In fact, these scientists are more likely to gain a wider exposure and respect in their field if they are able to present their research papers to an audience in English language. Aside from this, they will also be able to field questions from the audience that may include science reporters and other knowledgeable experts in their field and other related fields. Similarly, the ability to demonstrate your expertise in your chosen field by expressing your self in perfect English at dinner parties, business meetings and networking events, gives you a presence money itself cannot buy. And since English remains our lingua franca in Nigeria, the emphasis on expressing oneself in English at formal occasions is important. Even some folks converse in perfect english at informal occasions as well. It just depends on whom you hang out with. With regards to the "ghost education" you alluded to, you will inadvertently be opening a can of worms that you probably aren't aware of. Except those students who studied English at the University, I do not know of anyone else who studiously focused on learning to be very good with the usage of English language whilst neglecting their chosen careers. If there is a dearth of professionals in the Nigerian market today, this has absolutely nothing to do with your point. If a student neglected their chosen career, did it occur to you that they may not have a passion for that career? Or they did, but didn't face their studies squarely. In this regards, how has learning English affected their chosen career? Instead of affecting it, it should boost it. Let me say this, and trust me on this, because I know it works. There is power in the usage of words (I am referring to the English language), both orally and in writing. It can get you anywhere you want to go or want to be. You said spoken English doesn't put food on the table, well it won't if you can't express yourself perfectly when you are about to submit a business proposal or asked to justify its rationale. It won't get anyone a good job as well, if you can't express yourself better on an application form or at an interview. Do you want to know why some people have “ghost education”? It has nothing to do with their supposed ability to converse in English language. Perhaps, it may be due to a number of reasons. You may lay the blame the govt. door for not investing heavily in education. You may blame some of the lecturers for not teaching students “properly”? You may blame the students for swapping quality educating for sex for grades, cultism, and rioting. But to suggest that the learning and expression of good English in Universities contributed to students neglecting their chosen careers has to be the biggest joke of the century. |
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romeo (m)
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Please endeavour to fully analyse and comprehend the context of an argument before making a contribution. It will serve you well in all you do. The context of this discourse centers on the poster's inability to converse in perfect English amongst his friends.
You are the one that should do so next time and don't jump into conclusions, did you read my first post on this issue? then go and read it before giving quack advice True the Japanese, Russsians and Asians may have been adequately skilled in Science and Technology without learning English. But that was not the point I was maintaining.
In fact, these scientists are more likely to gain a wider exposure and respect in their field if they are able to present their research papers to an audience in English language. Aside from this, they will also be able to field questions from the audience that may include science reporters and other knowledgeable experts in their field and other related fields.
that line of argument is baseless because English language can not give them wider exposure but their knowledge of their profession will give them, all they need English language for is just to communicate and the poster sincerely speaking can communicate in English language because his post suggests so Similarly, the ability to demonstrate your expertise in your chosen field by expressing your self in perfect English at dinner parties, business meetings and networking events, gives you a presence money itself cannot buy. And since English remains our lingua franca in Nigeria, the emphasis on expressing oneself in English at formal occasions is important. Even some folks converse in perfect English at informal occasions as well. It just depends on whom you hang out with.
Only in Nigeria!! With regards to the "ghost education" you alluded to, you will inadvertently be opening a can of worms that you probably aren't aware of.
Except those students who studied English at the University, I do not know of anyone else who studiously focused on learning to be very good with the usage of English language whilst neglecting their chosen careers. If there is a dearth of professionals in the Nigerian market today, this has absolutely nothing to do with your point.
If a student neglected their chosen career, did it occur to you that they may not have a passion for that career? Or they did, but didn't face their studies squarely. In this regards, how has learning English affected their chosen career? Instead of affecting it, it should boost it.
Let me say this, and trust me on this, because I know it works. There is power in the usage of words (I am referring to the English language), both orally and in writing. It can get you anywhere you want to go or want to be.
You said spoken English doesn't put food on the table, well it won't if you can't express yourself perfectly when you are about to submit a business proposal or asked to justify its rationale. It won't get anyone a good job as well, if you can't express yourself better on an application form or at an interview.
Do you want to know why some people have “ghost education”? It has nothing to do with their supposed ability to converse in English language. Perhaps, it may be due to a number of reasons. You may lay the blame the govt. door for not investing heavily in education. You may blame some of the lecturers for not teaching students “properly”? You may blame the students for swapping quality educating for sex for grades, cultism, and rioting. But to suggest that the learning and expression of good English in Universities contributed to students neglecting their chosen careers has to be the biggest joke of the century.
We attribute so much importance on the usage of English language and we value the language more than qualifications Take your Nigerian university certificate anywhere in the world to look for work and come back to tell me what happened I wanted to take it one after the other but duty is calling me |
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romeo (m)
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I am going to qoute you here my friend!!
Rubbermaid,
Let me bring up a case in point. In his time, some people questioned Henry Ford's intelligence positing that whilst he may possess considerable specialised knowledge, he was in the main, ignorant. He responded by saying he could summon to his aid, with a push of the button, people who can answer any question he desires to ask concerning his business. Therefore, why should he clutter up his mind with general knowledge when he has people who can supply all the knowledge he requires.
The point being made here should not be lost on you. Yes, it is good to express oneself better when communicating in English. But do you know why the French and Chinese especially, favour their own mother tongue than English language when communicating at some formal occasions? Perhaps, it may also interest you to note that there are some white English forums where some of the written English will make you cringe with embarrassment. Mind you, the fact that they are sons of the soil is flagrantly inexcusable.
In passing, I would like you to prove openly why you think this statement, "Have you ever sit"[b][/b]is grammatically incorrect. We all know it is wrongly worded. What I need you to point out, and justify, is what makes the grammatical syntax in the sentence to be out of place. Besides, with all our "grammar" and intellectuals, has it made our nation any better? I refer to those on ground and not in the Diaspora. At what expense have we even added value to our national heritage when some Nigerians can speak English fluently, but are shockingly deficient in their own mother tongue?
the post speaks for itself i need not add more |
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Gettolove (m)
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Go and read good text books to learn more about fundamentals and also speak the language regularly with your immediate family.
You will appreciate the language only when you understand how to use it correctly
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tonyskill
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all said and done with the reading, another key thing you'll need is the confidence to speak, last thing you want after all that studyin and listeningo the news on TVs to
wind up sounding like a rehearsed stage play, so careful my ffriend)
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seabiotics (m)
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@Romeo, If you thought you had scored some brownie points, I leave you to your whim. Let me delve quickly into the issues you brought up again. You see, you will learn to recognise that when someone is having a discourse, in formal meetings, giving a presentation, making a speech, etc, what distinguishes a good communicator of the English language and an ordinary speaker is the delivery. Which is the reason why a PR firm don't employ just anybody if you haven't got the gift of the gab - even if you have a PHD. Secondly, how you communicate in informal meetings cannot be equated with the way you are able to communicate when making a business presentation. You asserted sarcastically that if one took their Nigerian certificate to anywhere in the world, you wanted the person (certainly not me)to see what would happen. I'll tell you. A good employer (even in the West)is always on the look out for a sound and capable employee. Any employee who is prepared to overlook race and other variables (i.e. thinking all Nigerians are corrupt or 419ers)will employ a Nigerian with good qualifications based on their knowledge, qualifications, likeability factor, where and how they fit into the organisation, transferable skills, presentation (in appearance and ability to communicate fluently). Or don't tell me you haven't heard of reputable Nigerians with their Nigerian certificate working for big multinational banks (yes, banks), Corporations, Defence Organisations, Law firms, as Doctors, in the police force, etc. So what is the premise of your argument?  The fact that you brought up one of my old posts to support your argument really shows the disappointing manner in which this discourse is going. Henry Ford was questioned on his lack of general knowledge, not his inability to express himself in English. Now you know. Although it was stated in black and white for all an sundry to see in the write up. I also stated that the Chinese et all, favour ([b]the operative word being FAVOUR[/b. ]I've placed this in bold lettering so that you don't miss it this time) their native language at formal occasions, it does not necessarily imply that they can't speak English. It just might be they can't speak it fluently. Now if a Japanese can speak English fluently, even in his own country, he will be offered more roles and an incomparable degree of respect and gratuity than his other skilled Japanese who can't strings two sentences together in English. You can argue this until you are blue in the face. But that is the reality. The Oriental countries don't invest heavily in sending their students to study a degree in the West alone. They also study their work methods, business operation and ethics. It is also to learn and be able to speak English properly. Why then are so many foreigners attending the School of English in the West? And why do those foreign countries recruit British teachers to teach their children English? In passing, when I mentioned in my write that "some people can speak English, but are shockingly deficient in their native language", it means even though English language is a necessary skill to have, one must also be able to converse in one's own native language. Why? Or our native langauge will be extinct if no one speaks it anymore. That is another subject matter on its own. On this last line, I leave you to ponder this: Why do you think foreigners who give birth to their children in the West instill the importance of speaking their own language to their children? |
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blackwood
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its very bold of u to come openly to say this and i commend u for it, honestly if u wrote poster yourself i think u are well above average.
Well my only advice is to avoid our local movies(home video) and watch more foreign film and read good novel, the skys your limit
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romeo (m)
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@ seabiotics
My dear friend!! my point is that Nigerians value English speaking ability more than qualifications, a lot of people will prefer a sweet English speaking doctor to a "cut and join" English speaking Doctor because the general consensus is that if you can speak good English then you are learned but that notion is deceptive because a lot of good Engineers, Doctors, Technicians etc. are without work all because of the way we glorify English and if we don't put a stop to this then we are doomed
I was like that until i left the shores of Nigeria and came to a place where my English language doesn't matter, You can be so good in English language but if you don't know what you went to school for you are a dead man in Europe because nobody will give a hoot about your fluency in spoken or written English. It might be a plus in your CV but not a guarantee at all
We should be encouraging our people to dedicate more time to learn their careers instead of learning English to impress
Yes there are many Nigerian professionals out there making impacts in the world with the education they acquired from our country but they are not of our generation and that's a shame
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FactorChic (f)
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Very simple.
RULES
1.BUY A GOOD ENGLISH TEXT BOOK LIKE COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH
2.TRY TO ALWAYS SPEAK ENGLISH EVEN WHEN You ARE MAKING MISTAKES
3.STOP SPEAKING PIDGIN ENGLISH
4. MISS UP WITH PEOPLE THAT ALWAYS SPEAK GOOD ENGLISH
5. MAKE SURE YOU CORRECT EVERY MISTAKE You MAKE BY ASKING SOMEONE THAT KNOWS.
If u follow this rules for 1month you will achieve your aim.
You are so right, Pidgin english is kind of fun but it messes up your english, the only time I use pidgin english is when I type, I can't even speak it. The only way to get better is if you talk more, if u're so scared of making mistakes and you keep quiet in public, u won't get better |
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adec234
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ladykay is a nice person to follow her ideas but i would like to add more contribution to her instructions that you should check this link www.easyschooloflanguages.org |
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Kobojunkie
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Listen to the BBC and any international radio stations that are transmitted in English. Spend hours of your day, infact all day listening to the BBC while you work. It helps. You do not have to use the Big words but once you get around organizing your words right, you will sound even as good as people who have a huge vocab.
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Prince22
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Prepare your mind and make sure you are seriously ready to improve your spoken English
Don't listing to your own mistake, you will only learn from it and improve
Wish you success
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Sisikill
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Purist and Mrpataki
Bravo to you two!!! It was a pleasure reading your posts. It’s always nice to see people debate their points without resorting to under the bridge name callings. I just have one question for mrpataki…and please forgive me, if it seems like I’m bringing up issue many would love laid to rest, but I must ask:
How is the sentence “If my arrogance (which every human being has) annoys your inanity, accept my apologies an oxymoron? You see, from what I recall in my English courses, albeit the last was 5 years ago … the oxymoron had to do with the use of contradictory words, for instance saying someone is intelligently stupid or being agreeably argumentative but from your sentence above, I just don’t get it.
A) Is the arrogance contradicting the inanity?
B) Is the inanity contradicting the apology?
C) Is the arrogance contradicting the apology?
At first, I thought it could be C but then I thought nah that sounds more like sarcasm because you are apologizing for something you claim everyone has (That’s like saying…I apologize for being human. Why apologize for that? If it’s not to be sarcastic). So now I’ve found myself back at square one. Please feel free to explain this me like you would a 5, no a 3yrs years old, I don’t mind. Hey, I’ve never claimed to have the English language down pat. Thanks in advance.
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NEHEMS
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MY BROTHER FOR YOU TO IMPROVE ON YOUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE, IT'S JUST SIMPLY. I BELIEVED THAT AS FAR AS YOU CAN READ AND WRITE THEN YOU NEED NOT TO GO TO ANY SCHOOL LONGER. JUST TRY AND ADOPT THE HABIT OF READING AND UNDERSTANDING, ALWAYS GO FOR GOOD ENGLISH TEXT BOOKS, PEOMS AND NEWS PAPERS. AFTER READING THEM, THEN TRY AND WRITE SOMETING DOWN ON YOUR OWN. DO THAT CONSTANLY BEFORE YOU KNOW IT THEN YOU WILL BE THERE.
THANK GOD, YOU ARE A GRADUATE. DON'T BE AFREAT WHILE SPEAKING IN PUBLIC SOMEBODY WHO CARES WILL CARRECT YOU WHEN YOU MAKE A MISTAKE. I ALSO RECOMENT THAT YOU SHOULD TRY AND GET THIS TEXT BOOK "ENGLISH WITHOUT TEARS AND A1 ENGLISH" THOUGH I HAVE FORGOTTEN THE NAME OF THE AUTHORS BUT THEY ARE VERY POPULAR ENGLISH TEXT BOOKS. MOVE TO ANY BOOKSHOP IN YOUR AREA AND ASK FOR IT. IN THAT A1 ENGLISH TEXT BOOK YOU WILL GET TEN COMMANMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE, OF WHICH IT WILL GUARD YOUR IN YOUR PUBLIC CAMMUNICATION.
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Etin (f)
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@seabiotics
I have really enjoyed your logical presentation of your case and use of English. I guess its a case of if you don't have, you do not know how useful it is. I had my first degree in English Language - Uniben. My greatest transferable skill is my written and verbal communication and yes speaking good English does put food on the table. It has for me. In UK lots of people with good degrees will not get jobs because they can not express themselves properly. I rest my case. It would appear that people who can not express themselves usually resort to aggression and sarcasm ? I wonder why ,
@ Poster
Its all been said. I will reecho BBC radio. Please go for the news and documentaries. Please leave out the BBC regional programs so you pick up the right Received Pronunciation (RP) the standard for proper English speaking. I would recommend that you leave out VOA, primarily because Americans pronounce lots of words differently and nothing is more annoying than someone speaking and fluctuates between different accents. Good luck.
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candy (f)
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@poster, This may be belated, but I hope you find it useful. I'm an EFL teacher and I suggest you enroll in a language school or engage the service of a private conversation teacher. If you don't have access to any of these, you can join online courses, where you'll be tutored by native speakers. Most of these programs are free and you can listen to conversations and download free of charge. If you choose to download, you can listen at your convenience and repeat the words in order to improve on your pronunciation. You can try this site: http://www.world-english.org/onlineschool_free.htm, it's a good place to start. Try to strike up conversation with people, practice online. You can also try listening to international news, watch documentaries, movies (not the best place to learn but equally useful) Read novels and answer comprehension questions (good way to improve on your reading skill) The good news is; writing doesn't seem to be much of a problem for you. Best of luck. |
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Pepeye (f)
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Practice makes perfect….mix up wit literates ….and stop speaking vernacular or broken english, i actually know people who aint graduates and their english is perfect…. Depends on the folks you flock wit
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pahtahkee
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Purist and Mrpataki
Bravo to you two!!! It was a pleasure reading your posts. It’s always nice to see people debate their points without resorting to under the bridge name callings. I just have one question for mrpataki…and please forgive me, if it seems like I’m bringing up issue many would love laid to rest, but I must ask:
How is the sentence “If my arrogance (which every human being has) annoys your inanity, accept my apologies an oxymoron? You see, from what I recall in my English courses, albeit the last was 5 years ago … the oxymoron had to do with the use of contradictory words, for instance saying someone is intelligently stupid or being agreeably argumentative but from your sentence above, I just don’t get it.
A) Is the arrogance contradicting the inanity?
B) Is the inanity contradicting the apology?
C) Is the arrogance contradicting the apology?
At first, I thought it could be C but then I thought nah that sounds more like sarcasm because you are apologizing for something you claim everyone has (That’s like saying…I apologize for being human. Why apologize for that? If it’s not to be sarcastic). So now I’ve found myself back at square one. Please feel free to explain this me like you would a 5, no a 3yrs years old, I don’t mind. Hey, I’ve never claimed to have the English language down pat. Thanks in advance.
My apologies for the late antiphon to your rejoinder on the discourse between me and Piriton. An oxymoron is a synonym of sarcasm. I hope that settles it. |
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Rlst84sale (m)
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@Poster,
I hope you are not more confused now than you initially were before all these loads of suggestion and advice. What I did in my secondary education days was studying dictionary. Each word in there after it's meaning, has different standard expressions that are commonly used in every day life. I'm not saying that I speak better english language now, I'm still learning as you can tell by the way I write but it helped me a great deal. Another thing I did was that I read a lot of foreign novels, like Chase Hardley Chase, Nick Carter as I can remember. Of course I had friends that were well versed in english as well. I haven't earned a degree yet I hope to accomplish that in the very near future by God's grace.
On the other hand what I think you should be concentrating on is not how perfectly u can speak english, but how well you can be productive in your area of study now that you out of college. I wish you well.
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palmwine
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@Poster
Read As many English literature as you can lay your hands on. Then just open your mouth and speak, you'll be suprise by how much you have improved. Good luck.
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Gbemyte (f)
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romeo
that is not what u been asked.
just advice the poster thats all
to poster
use the procedure u ve been given,don't allow inferiority complex to affect u.
just a twinkling of an eye your spoken english will be superb when u use it(advice)
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naijabelle
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watch soap operas, that is american soap operas
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goshen360 (m)
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@ the poster:
Faith is the source of EVERYTHING in life, digest my words and get wisdom
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angelchyke (m)
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It's alright dear. I'll give two pieces of advice because I used to boe like you until I decided to do something about it and now, you'll think I'm a born and bred British! One, ask God in prayer to increase your proficiency in spoken English. And two, try repeating after any good English you hear which you may like. Watch " the James Bond Series ". They are real British. Believe me, you may look or sound stupid but also trust me, you'll be amazed at your testimony. Bye.
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larryA
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Take the counsel of tuwinstaiye and keep listing to BCC news and programmes.
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