Could I pass for a native English speaker?

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I have a new aim now - to acquire some colloquial English expressions so as not to have a stock of words of a high-class lady only For example "eye f*****g" or sentences like "She's some ankle"

Yes, that used to be my problem before I joined internet forums and became as foul-mouthed as everyone else, LOL

Now I can call someone a w*ker or a jerk, even. In 2 dialects

You aren't a native English speaker? I didn't know that.

Greentea,

MANY "Americans" use bad colloquialisms, etc... Just last night my mother said "I could care less". She MEANT "I couldn't care less"! Statements like "the cats pajamas" or "putting the cart before the horse" may be correct and appropriate, but misunderstood due to the times. HECK, "don we now our gay apparel" in "deck the halls" has lost pretty much all meaning now! It USED to mean "We are wearing festive and cheerful clothing". NOW, it probably shouldn't be used outside of such classics. 8-( Maybe it is the AS in me, but I have ALWAYS hated such shifts.

But when native speakers start saying something, then it's native. If a foreign language speaker says it, then it's a language mistake.

Wow, I never realised that English isn't your native language. I didn't grew up learning English in an English environment and thus I probably shouldn't have a say in this, but I don't see a reason against you taking writing classes. I'm pretty sure you'll do well.

I recently read a book, "the Language Teaching Controversy", in which the author mentions that. Interesting food for thought.

As for your English, you definitely pass for a native speaker, IMO.

All the better, hot, yet low upkeep, some occational dusting.

Gaucho, from Guanche, language and people of the Canary Islands, An Amazight people, Berber, who had a written language so old they could no longer read the carved wood tablets. The Spanish burned it all, and deported them to the new world, all over, in Louisiana they are called Islanos, and still keep to themselves. Guanche is one of 36 branches of Tamazight, the oldest language I know of.

They have a fantastic skill with animals, to which they can speak. The broad brimmed, high domed, hat of the Gauchos, and all through Mexico, can also be found in North Africa. So can the horsemen's attire, the embroidered vest like coats, split pants legs.

Plato called their islands The Fortunate Isles, home to the Atlanties, source of the Golden Apples (Oranges) of the Hesperides, another name, meaning most western, from Hesper-West. He said their empire covered all the lands around the Atlantic Ocean, and was larger than Europe and Asia combined. Atlantis had sunk beneath the waves 13,000 year before, when the last Ice Age ended, and sea level rose 440 foot.

Much later, Strabo concured, the farthest people in the west, were also known as the first in everything, growing grain, fruit trees, olives, irrigation, domesticated animals, the horse, and the first to know the gods. Artemis, Greek god of fire, temis is fire in Tamazight.

They were know for the first metals, Oracaleum, gold-copper=brass-bronze.

Herodotus also said the Egyptians told him the gods came from the west. But their records only went back 12,000 years, so they apoligised for not having the full story. They did mention that the sun rose where it now sets, and set where it rises for two periods during that time.

Such is the recent history of the Gauchos.

I think you sound like you care about using proper English. Most people don't. But then again, I you trying to sound like an English speaker from which country?

US
UK
AU
India
Canada
Other?

They all sound different. They can even speak differently in the same country. South, North, West, Mid West, Mountian regions, of the US all sound different.

Best,

Idaho Aspie,
www.AllThingsAspergers.com

Hola, Greentea!

The problem of familiar/colloquial language is
not at all unique to English. I wonder if you've
heard of books such as the Street French or
Street Spanish series. These books are all about
idioms. colloquialisms, and so on peculiar to the
appropriate language. I notice your location was
somewhere in the Middle East; I wonder if you picked
up any street Arabic or street Modern Hebrew?

BTW, I associate gauchos with South America,
particularly Argentina. I remember that the gauchos'
traditional tool was a bola, thrown at runaway cattle
to entangle their legs and bring them down safely.

Anyhoo...Happy New Year!

You can form complete sentences and express ideas at the same time. Bah! That puts you well ahead of most of the english speaking world.

So, don't worry how you come across. You're close enough now that it won't matter at all. Besides, an editor will fix any misunderstood idioms.

Douglas, you probably mean "boleadoras". Yes, they're typical in our country.

And do you know if there's any Street English book like those? That's exactly what I need, though I can say belonging to forums on the web for 6 years has helped a lot.

And thank you everyone so very much for your encouragement! I'm so very grateful for it ! !

The novel I want to write is about living with AS, so if it ever gets to print, you guys will be the first to know from me.

Greentea,

You sound perfectly fine to me. I'd never be able to distinguish you from the native speakers (I actually had no idea you weren't one until you mentioned it outright).

(but then of course I'm not a native speaker myself )