The Wife's English gets better while yours gets worse

[Ravens9273]

Seeing the advertisment for english classes made me realize I actually probably could use some lessons once again in my own native language.
I realized the years talking to my wife has actually made my speaking and writting abilities worse.
I use improper words many times. Half sentences etc....
While my wife can speak good english and we have no communication problems I have realized I talk more like her now.
It is amazing how her english gets better while mine gets worse through her learning process.

[Caddydaddy]

LOL, I too can observe some language issues with my bride. Talking with her at my place we started to use 5 languages: English, Russian, French, German, Swissgerman. Sometimes we use all these languages in one sentence, no problem for us and we understand each other очень хорошо  . I wonder how it sounds for others...

Well, for my Baby it is a bit difficult because in our three country corner here she has to learn two additional languages..

[Kuna]

Seeing the advertisment for english classes made me realize I actually probably could use some lessons once again in my own native language.
I realized the years talking to my wife has actually made my speaking and writting abilities worse.
I use improper words many times. Half sentences etc....
While my wife can speak good english and we have no communication problems I have realized I talk more like her now.
It is amazing how her english gets better while mine gets worse through her learning process.

 

OMG - This is so true...  I have a very good friend who married his UW over 10 years ago and I used to think to myself, "Dude,  where's your English gone?"

Now I know - it went straight to his wife, just like mine has gone to my wife!!!   



 

[Gator]

It could be worse - you could be speaking pidgin English.

Yes, my vocabulary now features a much higher percentage of monosyllabic words, and this subconsciously extends to conversations outside my family.

I thought Sabina was doing fine in her grasp of English.  Then I tuned the radio to NPR commentary.  I had to explain so much that I could not stay up with the speaker.  So back to music.

Is it necessary to speak with complicated sentences and a large vocabulary?  One of the best communicators I have met in my life was an Iranian with limited English.  He expressed his thoughts using a minimal number of short words.  His syntax was marvelous and the associations were unique yet expressive.  I assume that he is a poet in his own language.

[SANDRO43]

Now I know - it went straight to his wife, just like mine has gone to my wife!!!   

Y'all may be the discoverers of a hitherto unknown linguistic phenomenon - language transfusion .

[Sculpto]

I am getting a double whammy.. frankly moving to California lowered my language skills.. dealing with the various derivations of ebonics etc.. and now, not even married yet, but speaking with "A" for two years..

my Spanish is better than my English at this point.

[myrddin]

Y'all may be the discoverers of a hitherto unknown linguistic phenomenon - language transfusion .

Anyone notice RWs Russian got worse while their men's Russian got better?  (I submit that the introduction of the language transfusion hypothesis means this post is not off-topic!  )

[groovlstk]

When my wife first arrived, she referred to cookies, candy, cakes, etc. as "sweeties." I found it impossible to correct little misnomers like this - they're just too endearing - and instead adopted the new interpretations into my own usage.

[SANDRO43]

Anyone notice RWs Russian got worse while their men's Russian got better?

I'd wager so temporarily for the first part - out of lack use: in the first few days on my return to Italy after a year in London, I experienced frequent blanks in my Italian - with English words filling the void - but recovered quickly after re-immersing myself in my home-language environment.

As for the second part, I'd say it'd depend on what 'language' they use in the house - language proficiency depends a lot on frequent usage.

It could be worse - you could be speaking pidgin English. Yes, my vocabulary now features a much higher percentage of monosyllabic words, and this subconsciously extends to conversations outside my family.

Have you already reached the "Me Tarzan, you Jane" stage ?

When communication doesn't flow easily between two parties, the natural tendency is to lower its level to a mutually common denominator - e.g. baby talk. 

[JR]

When my wife first arrived, she referred to cookies, candy, cakes, etc. as "sweeties." I found it impossible to correct little misnomers like this - they're just too endearing - and instead adopted the new interpretations into my own usage.

So true! There were a few things like that in my experience too. And my English suffered a regression also for all the same reasons as above. It comes with the territory. But now that i have a toddler I can see where it was the easy way out. By lowering my level of speach to what I though she could understand I was holding her back.

It's important to speak as correctly as possible. Otherwise it will take longer for them to learn the language and assimilate, make friends, etc. For many years my ex was reluctant to participate in conversations because she didn't want to look uneducated or lower class due to her English not being where she wanted it to be.

[tfcrew]

Sometimes their English seems easier.
Instead of 'turn the light on', just say 'open light'..'close light'.

There is even a speech therapy movement to eliminate their accent.
Unlikely and really unnecessary.

[JR]

There is even a speech therapy movement to eliminate their accent.
Unlikely and really unnecessary.

Why remove something soooooo sexy?

[myrddin]

Never encountered anyone who wanted to get rid of that accent!   

[Ravens9273]

My first observation.

The little words such as

the, are, is, how, to, am, an, do, etc...

These words have just been completely sucked out of your vocabulary. They NO LONGER EXIST.
You can look everywhere for them but they are never to be found again.

Example.
The other day my wife was playing with a camcorder. She did not know how to stop the camcorder from recording.

She says
"How make stop?"

Now I perfectly know what she means.

However I find myself talking like this as well now. When before in this situation I would have said.

"How do you turn the recording function off?"

That has turned into
"How make stop?"

Gotta love our ladies.


By the way. The accent is the best part even with the short sentences.  

[tfcrew]

Oh yeah.. 


http://www.languagesuccesspress.com/our_prducts/master_the_american_accent.htm?gclid=CLO0_r6D-psCFQIfswodF3ce9g

Anything for a $

 

[tfcrew]

She says
"How make stop?"

Open camera..close camera
You'll get it.
Russians don't use articles [a, an, the]
 

[BillyB]

Why remove something soooooo sexy?

Yeah, especially ven she gives you the look and says "I vant you". It doesn't get much sexier than zat.

[Missouri-Hunter]

Open camera..close camera
You'll get it.
Russians don't use articles [a, an, the]
 

It's used a lot on the agency profiles though. I wonder if that just comes about through the translation.

[Kuna]

My wie has a favourite sentance which starts like this:

"Daaaarling, I just want ......"

It's used often, usually like this:

Daaaarling, I just want walk in the park

Daaaarling, I just want Lychee juice

Daaaarling, I just want driving lesson

Daaaarling, I just want dark choco-late

Daaaarling, I just want sleep little longer

etc


It's got to where she says those first 4 words and then looks at me and laughs...  because my answer is always....  "Daaaaarling, we all want...." 

[AnastassiaAsh]

Wow, you guys are coming from a totally different planet! :-)

I personally hate Russian accent, broken English or when somebody struggles expressing themselves. Maybe because my profession is partially fighting with it or maybe because i am too impatient some times. I don't think my husband(s) suffered any transfusion, on the contrary I picked up more things and they didn't loose anything.  You guys watched James Bond too much, didn't you?  I can't believe that this sexiness can be one of the reasons some of you are looking for a wife in Russia/Ukraine...

[BillyB]

You guys watched James Bond too much, didn't you?  I can't believe that this sexiness can be one of the reasons some of you are looking for a wife in Russia/Ukraine...

As a kid, James Bond films got me turned on to Russian women for the first time. That's the truth. Sexiness and beauty is one strength a woman can have. If she know's how to use it, she can make men do a lot for her, good things or bad. Women have also been know to bring down entire Empires. Powerful stuff you women have.

[ECOCKS]

More than James Bond, I found that Rocky and Bullwinkle provided a more insistent picture of all the repressed sexuality of Russian females.

[JR]

Wow, you guys are coming from a totally different planet! :-)

I personally hate Russian accent, broken English or when somebody struggles expressing themselves. Maybe because my profession is partially fighting with it or maybe because i am too impatient some times. I don't think my husband(s) suffered any transfusion, on the contrary I picked up more things and they didn't loose anything.  You guys watched James Bond too much, didn't you?  I can't believe that this sexiness can be one of the reasons some of you are looking for a wife in Russia/Ukraine...

You are an interpreter, of course you strive for perfection. But look at it this way: if your husband had a sexy French or Italian accent would you want it to go away?

[Ooooops]

It is amazing how her english gets better while mine gets worse through her learning process.

Sorry, I don't buy it.      I would believe you are getting worse in English if your wife were your only contact.   But I'm sure you talk to your colleagues/etc during the day, don't you?   Or all your acquaintances are also married to foreigners who speak Pidgin English?   

[Aloe]

You are an interpreter, of course you strive for perfection. But look at it this way: if your husband had a sexy French or Italian accent would you want it to go away?

Its a russian thing. Anybody who speaks russian with an accent and doesnt look white gets treated as a 2nd class citizen in Russia, so some russians who speak a different language well enough to be snobby, also borrow that trait in their 2nd language, although they dont take it to an extreme, they just dislike any kind of accents. I used to dislike it too, now im happy if a person can speak a different language