Job Discussion Forums

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Question to me at Immigration at Kuwait Airport
"You was born in British ?"
4 mistakes in a 5-word utterance !

bedwiya · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 66 Location: Kuwait

Ha ha! I am surprised he didn't make it 5 for 5! The level of education here is a joke. Anyone who comes out of a Kuwaiti public school can barely converse in English or their mother tongue. Such a waste of a whole generation...

usa_in_gulf · Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 133 Location: Gulf

Can you ask the same question in Arabic?

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I can but I imagine I am one of the very few in the current generation of EFLers in the Middle East.

sheikh radlinrol · Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 1222 Location: Spain

johnslat · Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:12 pm Post subject:

Well, it's not really in the usually question structure, but since it's an utterance, that's not really a mistake (as long as the speaker's pitch went upwards on the "ish" of British.)

Regards,
John

sheikh radlinrol · Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 1222 Location: Spain

johnslat · Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:16 pm Post subject:

Dear sheikh radlinrol,

Embarassed

But then - "Humanum est errare" (St. Augustine of Hippo) and "Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus (Horace, Ars Poetica.)

Regards,
John

sheikh radlinrol · Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 1222 Location: Spain

johnslat · Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:00 pm Post subject:

Dear sheikh radlinrol,

" . . . how many airport officials in London, Washington, Paris or Madrid could even attempt to ask (in Arabic) a Gulf Arab where he was born."

All too true - my guess would be zero. But then, we expect, even require, speakers of other languages to be able to understand and communicate in English (and grammatically correct English, at that) while so many of us are strictly monolingual.

Perhaps the Romans had much the same attitude.

Regards,
John

Dedicated · Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 972 Location: UK

You obviously haven't been recently to London, Heathrow airport. Virtually all the immigration officials are at least bilingual if not trilingual, and can switch from English into Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Japanese...whatever is needed. You cannot become an immigration officer unless you can offer an " unusual" language.

sheikh radlinrol · Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 1222 Location: Spain

Thank you for that Dedicated. Sometimes, it�s nice to be proved wrong!
I�m still waiting, however, for Mr. Slat to translate his second chunk of Latin for me. Also, for the venerable OP to explain the four mistakes made by the unfortunate Kuwaiti border guard.
Regards
SR

johnslat · Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:52 pm Post subject:

Dear sheikh radlinrol,

Sorry - I didn't realize that you were waiting:

"Sometimes even good Homer nods off."

Homer (assuming that one poet wrote the Iliad and Odyssey - which is highly doubtful) made a good number of mistakes in his epics.

Regards,
John

sheikh radlinrol · Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 1222 Location: Spain

Thank you, John.
Still no such courtesy from our OP.
I wait.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 8:32 pm Post subject:

Yet he is still read, well into his third millennium, while we will be forgotten very soon...