Q-Eng

yuuta のコメント：
アースさんの意志の強さは感心します。

何らかの形でアウトプットして、フィードバックもらうのは重要だと思います。



私はあまりアウトプットできないたちなので尊敬します

Yes! I completely agree with your opinion!! It is essential for us to use English if we want to learn English.

I CANNOT speak or write PERFECT English, but I don't care about it because I CAN COMMUNICATE with many people in English!



Don't say "My English is poor" earthさん, because you can communicate in English and your English is not poor! Why don't you think it in an optimistic way, such as "I can communicate in my own English".

いい？aikoさん、英語は変換よ。ボキャブラリーなんてなくても通じるのよ。
そう言ったあーす様の御言葉は、ガーンとカルチャーショックでした。
この言葉は一生私の中に残ることでしょう。
いつかネイティブ相手に言葉に詰まった時に、きっと勇気をくれるでしょう。

O.K? Aiko! English is conversion. It is safe also in few vocabularies.
Your word was culture shock for me.
This word will remain in my mind.
Someday, When I speaking with the native, and the word is not found, the word to give me courage will be recalled.

あぁ、疲れた(笑)

Makitys のコメント：
あーすさん、

この I know でも自分を「おばちゃん」とおっしゃる方はそんなにいらっしゃらないです。先輩として尊敬します。m(__)m



私も、特に会話をしている時は、変な文章でもなりふりかまわずです。通じることが先決ですからね。　よく言いたい事がスラスラ口から出ない時や、変な英語を口走った時は毎回落ち込みますが、「ドンマイドンマイ！」という感じです。

ただ、「ブロークンでも通じるから」と開き直りすぎると、いつまでもブロークンのままになってしまう恐れがあるので　（直されないと、間違った言い方を永遠使い続ける事はよくあります。）　　「それは間違いよ」　とか、「こういう言い方もあるよ」と教えられるのも大好きですね。その際の注意点としては、間違いを指摘されても萎縮してしまわないことだと思います。

あと、日々 improvement のための努力はかかせないですね。

Makitys のコメント：
ちなみにここにじゃなくて、Lang-8に英語日記書いてる人はたくさんいるんですよ。

多くの人は、ネイティブがいろいろ指摘してくれるサイトの方がBetter だと思って、

移ってしまっただけです。（添削サイトとしてやっぱりあっちの方が優れてますから．．．）

StPaul のコメント：
earth-rise　さん、



英語力また必要性は人さまざま、

日本人同士またnon natinve English speaker 同士でも、

書いたり話したりすると英語力は付きます。



St. Paul


My name is Earth. I’m a Japanese middle-aged woman.
Last December I started learning English again after 30 years. My English is very poor.
One day a young girl sent me an e-mail which said ,”Please help me with my English.”
Oh, my! What’s that? It’s me who wants to say, “Help me with my awful English!”.
Why did she sent me the e-mail? The reason is simple, because I wrote some journals in English here.

Nearly perfect! It's okay to say "I'm a Japanese middle-aged woman."
It might be slightly more natural to say "I'm middle-aged, Japanese woman." But there's hardly any difference between these two sentences.

You could say "Oh, my! What's this? It's I who wants to say,". Strictly speaking, "It's I who" is more correct than "It's me who", but probably 9/10 Americans would say "It's me who.." so don't worry about it.


But my friends! Don’t misunderstand!
It’s not that I write my journals in English, because I am an expert in English.
I write them in English, because I want to be it some day!
My English is terrible. You find so many mistakes in my journals when you read them.

I would not use commas in those two middle sentences. They are short sentences and the relationship between the two clauses (before and after "because") is very direct, too direct for a comma to interrupt the thought.

"because I want to be one some day".

"You will find so many mistakes".

Otherwise, perfect. Nice construction!


I always spend a few days to write one journal of mine in English, with using Japanese-English dictionary, English-Japanese one, some grammar books, and all other books which help my English, without doing my housework.

I always spend a few days to write one of my journals in English, using a Japanese-English dictionary, an English-Japanese one, some grammar books, and any other books which will help me with my English, all the while neglecting my housework.


When I finish writing it up, I’m completely exhausted, I have no power to prepare for supper any longer, so I go to buy something to eat to a supermarket near my house.

When I finish writing it up, I’m completely exhausted. I no longer have any energy left to prepare supper, so I go buy something to eat at a supermarket near my house.


I'll continue with this shortly. It sounds like you are describing my life! :D
By the way, I'm not reading your Japanese here, because your English is very clear, so I feel no need to consult the Japanese.



I can’t understand how to use articles, prepositions. Especially when I use “if”, tense is the biggest trouble, I don’t know how to use which form of verb.



I can’t understand how to use articles and prepositions. Especially when I use “if”, tense becomes a big problem, and I don’t know which form of the verb to use.





I can’t write what I want at all. But I try and try….rewrite and rewrite…..then, something is written up. I ignore if it is a good job or not. The most important issue(or point?) for me now is finishing it up.



I can’t write what I want to at all. But I try and try….rewrite and rewrite…..and then, something is written up. I ignore whether it is a good job or not. The most important issue (or point?) for me now is finishing it up.



You can use "issue" or "point" there. "point" may be better. Instead of "I ignore" you can also write "I pay no attention to".





Only having rich knowledge of English without using, it’s no use. Only using knowledge of English even if it is very poor, it’s great usuful. The great worth of language is not having much knowledge but comunicating with people.



There's no point in having a rich knowledge of English if you don't use it. Being able to use English, even poorly, is tremendously useful. The great worth of language is not having a lot of knowledge but communicating with people.







And so, my Japanese friends here who hesitate to use your English! Have courage! Write your journals in English! We are not native English speakers, so it’s natural we make many, many mistakes! If you have what you want to tell, try to write the first line of your feeling and thought.

Now throw away to write our ideal perfect English! And be keen to communicate in our poor English! To learn foreign languages,don’t be afraid of making mistakes. To be an expert, don’t care about making errors. It’s the way for me who has gotten old and become fearless (or shameless). Remember my professor, an expert in Japanese, who made a mistake to say “mibo-jin” instead of “maho-bin”.





Excellent use of "And so,"!



If you have something you want to say, try to write the first line of your feeling and thoughts.



Forget about writing perfect English!



To become an expert, don’t worry about making errors.



Take it from me, someone who has gotten old and become fearless (or shameless!).



Remember my professor, an expert in Japanese, who made the mistake of saying “mibo-jin” instead of “maho-bin”.





Well done! Thank you for your encouragement.

皆さん、コメント本当にありがとうございます。




yuutaさん

>何らかの形でアウトプットして、フィードバックもらうのは重要だと思います。

本当にそう思います。自分が書くから、皆さんからコメントが頂ける。独りで思っているだけでは、人と繋がれません。言葉もそうです。人と話して初めて言葉は広がっていきます。

日本語でも英語でも、ここで皆さんとやり取りしていて、それをとても実感しています。







CCさん

＞Don’t say “My English is poor” earthさん, because you can communicate in English and your English is not poor!




Thank you that you say my English is not poor. But I don't know how bad or good my English is.

When I read some journals in Japanese by foreigners, I can't understand some of them at all, I can catch some of them despite their strange expressions, and sometimes some of them are amazing like anya's. Reading them, I wonder if readers of my journals can understand them or not.

But this time you, anya, and other my friends said my work is good, so I declare, "I'm a good writer!" (......really????).

Thank you for your words of encouragement!




aikoさま

ありがとうございます。こんな私でもお役に立っているのですね。嬉しいです。

aikoさんも、最初は日本語しか書かなかったけれど、今は、内輪で（？）英語を随分書いてますよね（笑）。

これからも一緒に頑張りましょう。




Makitysさん

いつもコメントありがとうございます。

確かに適度な図々しさがないと、語学の勉強はできないですね。でも開き直りすぎないよう気をつけます。




St.Paulさん

いつもありがとうございます。

100歳でSt.Paulさんと世界平和について英語で語るために頑張っています（笑）。




＞英語（言葉）は人とのコミュニュケーションを図る手段です、

本当に言葉って素晴らしいですよね。英語が分からなければ知り合えなかった人とも、通じあう事が出来るのですから。

＞人間性がでます、語学以外の人間臭さ、魅力が読む人に伝わります。

最近、思うんです。英語でも私のお笑いムードが出てしまうのかなって。




Anyaさん

Thank you so much for your many pieces of advice as ever.

Without your much help, I could have written my journals.




>Remember my professor, an expert in Japanese, who made the mistake of saying “mibo-jin” instead of “maho-bin”.

I have a question about "mistake". After "mistake", do you say only "of ~ing"? Don't you say "a mistake to say"?

My dictionary says, "It's a mistake to suppose that all lawyers are rich."

Would you teach me it?

あーすさん、うさピースさんの拍手から来ました！

わたしも、おばちゃん＆おかあちゃんやってます！

そして、英語は五年位前からです、、

でも、最近、日記も、書き始めました。外国の方たちは、間違いを恐れずに、日本語を使いまくっておられます、、沢山のフレンドさんに励ましてもらいながら、わたしも、恥ずかしさを隠して、トライしています。

一緒に、頑張りましょう！！！

minaminumaebiさん

いらっしゃいませ。コメントありがとうございます。

makitysさんが、iKnowではおばちゃんと自分を呼ぶ人はあまりいないとおっしゃっていましたが、私が堂々とおばちゃん宣言しているので、皆さん安心して集まっていらっしゃるのでしょうか（笑）。

みんなで、おばちゃん同盟でも作りますか。　おばさんよりおばちゃんの方がなにかしたシミがあっていいと思うのですが。←なんでしょうこの変換。おばちゃん用ですかね。えー、おばちゃんの方が、親しみがあっていいと思うのですが。

しかし、うさピースさんが拍手を下さったことは、マイニュースにありませんでしたね。不思議です。拍手を下さった方全てが、マイニュースに載らないんですよね。いつも拍手の数とマイニュースに来る数が合いませんから。

うさピースさんにお礼を言わなくては。




Makitysさん

Makitysさんはやっぱりお若いから、若い方が集まるんですよ。（笑）

My dear Earthさん、



>Remember my professor, an expert in Japanese, who made the mistake of saying “mibo-jin” instead of “maho-bin”.



＞I have a question about “mistake”. After “mistake”, do you say only “of ~ing”? Don’t you say “a mistake to say”?



＞My dictionary says, “It’s a mistake to suppose that all lawyers are rich.”



＞Would you teach me it?





For example:



It was a mistake to marry you.

I made the mistake of marrying you. (酷い例文、すみません!）



It's a mistake to lend money to a friend.

Have you ever made the mistake of lending money to a friend?



So, we say "It's a mistake to....." and "X made the mistake of ...~ing..."

These both usually have some feeling of "poor judgment" in making a decision.



You can also use the phrase "by mistake" or the adverb "mistakenly". "I mistakenly dialed my mother's number when I meant to call the doctor." "I dialed my mother's number by mistake when I meant to call the doctor." This has more a feeling of "accidentally".



Remember my professor, an expert in Japanese, who mistakenly said “mibo-jin” instead of “maho-bin”.



I hope this helps...

keikeimm のコメント：
はい！！私も。

間違いだらけの英文１行からマイペースで頑張り始めたおばちゃんの一人よ。　あーすの文章のセンスは抜群！！私は、日本語ですら、旨く書けません・・（。、）

kasumi1234 のコメント：
This journal is interesting for me because my situation is almost the same as yours. Though my English is poorer than you I was a little bit relieved. I also try to write my journal in English from now on.

anyaさん
Thank you for your explanation.
>So, we say “It’s a mistake to…..” and “X made the mistake of …~ing…”
I understand well the difference between these tow expressions.
And one more question, sorry,
>“poor judgment”
これは、「ちょっとした間違い」（ちょっとした間違いだから大したことない）ですか？
それとも「稚拙な間違い」（馬鹿な間違いだから気を付けないといけない）ですか？
すみません。この文の訳はは、日本語で説明していただけますか？
説明は英語でも構いませんので、よろしくお願いします。

KKmmさん

kasumiさん

一緒におばちゃんの英語道、突き進みましょう。

私の日記を読むと、安心するでしょう？こんなひどい人もいるんだって 。