Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

El Maximo writes:

Languages, plural?

Yes. I speak more than one and can teach all the languages I speak.

JohnT writes:

Perfect English is extraordinarily rare among people whose native language
it is.

It is exceptional, but not extraordinarily rare.

I haven't fully mastered my own language and, certainly, you haven't
either.

Actually, I do very well.

NotABushSupporter writes:

Do they all use numbers like "tree" and "fife"?

Tree, fife, and niner are all recommended standards for radio communication,
and some people do indeed use them on the radio--especially niner.

Martin D. Pay writes:

It used to be called 'BBC English', 'the King's/Queen's English'
or (more correctly now) 'Received Pronunciation'...

All of these are different, and none of them is perfect.

El Maximo writes:

Not obvious to me. Every german I know speaks perfect english, although with
an accent.

I hardly know any Germans who speak perfect English.

EridanMan writes:

Of course, in the same breath that Mx is criticizing you guys, he is
committing the same fallacy- asserting that French is an international
language on a par with English... The only people in the world who
hold French in that regard are the French, in their classic
nationalistic delusion of relevance (not to mention the centuries old
****ing contest with England they refuse to admit they lost when they
surrendered during WWII).

Not true. For centuries French was an international language of diplomacy and
negotiation, and this trend persists, although it is fading in favor of
English. French is also one of the most popular second languages to be taught
in schools (after English). For this reason, the geographic distribution of
French speakers is very homogenous on the planet, making it a good language
for international use.

That said, English's standing a the world standard language of
business is far from assured, however. While the 20th century was
Exceedingly good to the British and Americans, it remains to be seen
whether or not they can retain their dominance, especially if China
turns into the economic power-house it aspires too (especially if they
succeed in undermining American Economic power in the process, as they
are actively working to do).

China is unlikely to attempt to impose its language upon anyone else, for
reasons I have already partially explained.

El Maximo writes:

Mostly, they find their instructor is incompetent long before they spend
years studying.

Many instructors are incompetent, but many students lack motivation as well.
Either may prevent a student from gaining competence in a language, even after
many years of study. And there are other factors.

Incompetant people can claim to teach it without any of their students
actually learning anything.

Yes. And students can claim to study it without actually learning anything as
well.

Fortunately, unless the teacher impersonater is
exceedingly stupid, they realize that they're not making the same amount of
money as the real teachers and find something else to do.

Many of the worst teachers have impeccable credentials and are well paid, and
vice versa.

I don't doubt it. I suspect there are no real standards one must meet in
order to claim to be an english teacher in France.

Read _Sorbonne Confidential_.

In rec.aviation.piloting Mxsmanic wrote:
El Maximo writes:

Languages, plural?

Yes. I speak more than one and can teach all the languages I speak.

And apparently understands subtleties in none.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Mxsmanic wrote:

El Maximo writes:


Languages, plural?


Yes. I speak more than one and can teach all the languages I speak.

Apparently, you speak much better than you write.

Mxsmanic wrote:

EridanMan writes:

Of course, in the same breath that Mx is criticizing you guys, he is
committing the same fallacy- asserting that French is an international
language on a par with English... The only people in the world who
hold French in that regard are the French, in their classic
nationalistic delusion of relevance (not to mention the centuries old
****ing contest with England they refuse to admit they lost when they
surrendered during WWII).

Not true. For centuries French was an international language of diplomacy and
negotiation, and this trend persists, although it is fading in favor of
English.

It faded in that respect long ago actually. Even close to France, in the
EU, most diplomats from dfferent countries will converse in English.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007