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Latteegirl1974
Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 75
Location: Webkinz World
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 Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 7:37 pm Post subject: ....And the answer is can you speak English? |
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I think I found a job! 
I could give English lessons to Miss Teen South Carolina. Just in case you haven't heard or seen her recently, this is what she said during the Miss Teen USA on stage interview: (I am not making this up, go watch it on you tube)
Question: Recent polls have shown that a fifth of Americans can't find the US on a world map. Why do you think that is?
*This is word for word *
Answer: I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps, and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq and everywhere and such as I believe that they should, our education over here in the US should help the US or should help South Africa, or should help the Iraq, and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for the children. 
Ok, so what should I expect for a salary? 
I couldn't even punctuate the answer...... She just went on and on.....
Last edited by Latteegirl1974 on Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:12 pm Post subject: |
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There is a discussion on this on Language Log.
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004861.html#more
And as Professor Pullum says, it is doubtful if most of us would do any better under the circumstances when given a wholly unexpected question facing a press conference of hundreds with the flash bulbs popping. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:55 am Post subject: |
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| You mean she was uh you know like this ? |
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globalnomad2
Joined: 23 Jul 2005
Posts: 562
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 11:08 am Post subject: |
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Well I wouldn't have done a whole lot better when I was 17 if I had been put on national TV, especially if I had not been around much.
And Lattee, your English is worse than hers, and your content in previous posts has been only slightly better.
BTW, there is no credible study--I don't know about "poles"--showing 1/5 of Americans can't find their own country on a map. The interviewer had probably been told that by some high school teacher. |
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Van Norden
Joined: 23 Oct 2004
Posts: 409
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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| globalnomad2 wrote: |
| The interviewer had probably been told that by some high school teacher. |
Meaning what? |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Well I wouldn't have done a whole lot better when I was 17 if I had been put on national TV, especially if I had not been around much. |
You don't need to have been around much to speak your own language by the age of 17. Are you saying that at the age of 17, if you were infront of an audience, you couldn't form correct sentences? It doesn't matter what the content is, but could you not have formed syntactically and semantically correct sentences? She bloody spoke like a 5 year old native speaker, or like an adult Chinese person who has just been learning English for under a year (and has never been exposed to it before).
| Quote: |
| And as Professor Pullum says, it is doubtful if most of us would do any better under the circumstances when given a wholly unexpected question facing a press conference of hundreds with the flash bulbs popping. |
Let everybody speak for himself or herself. I was speaking perfect [my native language] (and English as well) at that age (and well below that age) infront of all sorts of audiences, both public and private. Again, as I said, the content is secondary. It is the structure that is important. To do "any better", all you have to do is speak correct English, even if your answer is wrong. After all, everybody else in the competition spoke magnitudes of order better, didn't they? So, what is this professor saying? The competition itself negates his amazing hypothesis. She is obviously a bimbo, plain and simple.
Last edited by trapezius on Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:12 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| it is doubtful if most of us would do any better under the circumstances when given a wholly unexpected question facing a press conference of hundreds with the flash bulbs popping. |
Speak for yourself!!!
The young lady, such as, was 'answering' a silly question in an event for which she had presumably prepared for months. If her attempt at a response was in any way typical, there would have been no reason to post in on You Tube - any 'beauty' contest would have produced countless hilarious episodes.
Giving a silly or banal answer is one thing: spouting a stream of utterly incoherent agrammatical nonsense is quite another. But, if some of our colleagues believe they would have done no better, far be it from me to say otherwise. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah I mean like well she was like well yeah.
Why are so many totally alingual ? It is NOT the same in other environments. I suspect it occurs amongst those who have grown up with TV, video and dvd as babysitter and mother subsitute.
Like you know well I mean innit ?
Bet your bottom dollar that those who go to Eton and Harrow - or their US equivalents do not speak like this. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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At 17, I could have stood up there and lectured them for a half hour on a question like this, but then I was "English teacher" material, not beauty pageant material. We all complain about stereotypes... blond bimbos... but she is why. My father would have said, 'another pretty girl who was behind the door when the brains were passed out.' In the past, I always watched these silly pageants torn between being offended and fascinated. (Now I have completely moved over to offended and won't watch them.) There is no denying that she is a pretty young thing, and no denying that she got to the top 5 with her looks, not her brains. Most people like her - and we've all met a few over the years - would never be in a position to completely embarrass themselves live on TV.
This wasn't her first pageant... or her first time to answer stupid questions in front of a large audience... poor thing. But, she did get her 15 minutes of fame without winning. 
VS |
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globalnomad2
Joined: 23 Jul 2005
Posts: 562
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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All right, ladies, all right, I wouldn't have been that bad...not only was I a writer, I was also a verbose disco DJ at 18. Excuse me for not being more arrogant and intolerant today.
Still, this babe-in-the-woods is the most inarticulate I've ever seen. She would have done much better, since she obviously didn't know anything, by simply filling in the blanks with the standard beauty-pageant platitudes: "..Music is the universal language!" and "I want to bring peace to the children of the world." |
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Latteegirl1974
Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 75
Location: Webkinz World
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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Globalnomad2- Me thinks you needs a map to get home!
I wonder if this woman took English lessons from President Bush?  |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| She would have done much better, since she obviously didn't know anything, by simply filling in the blanks with the standard beauty-pageant platitudes: "..Music is the universal language!" and "I want to bring peace to the children of the world." |
Well, she did kind of try that. But she is so incredibly thick that she didn't even mange to articulate the standard 'beauty' contest schlock.
BTW why is it that such travesties keep up the pretence that the contestents should have any sort of intellectual ability whatsoever? I suppose it is to attempt to pretend that such 'contests' are not bizarre affairs with middle aged men judging the physical attributes of young women. But not even Miss South Carolina would be fooled by that. Would she?
I, of course, do not hold to the s**ist belief that a woman cannot be both beautiful and intelligent. Not that anyone who submits to the indignity of parading in a swimsuit with a bunch of silliconed, plastic faced 'babes' with alll the charm and individuality of a slice of processed cheese could ever be called intelligent, much less beautiful. |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Latteegirl1974 wrote: |
| Globalnomad2- Me thinks you needs a map to get home! |
He not only needs a map, he also needs a guide to help him how to use the map to get home!
| Quote: |
| I wonder if this woman took English lessons from President Bush? |
I think she took English lessons from Uncle Sam, as did Globalnomad2.
| Quote: |
| I, of course, do not hold to the s**ist belief that a woman cannot be both beautiful and intelligent. |
As a general rule, an intelligent woman is not necessarily beautiful.
And a beautiful woman is not necessarily intelligent.
I have found that intelligent women are 'ugly' from outside, but 'beautiful' from inside!
BUT, I must admit that there is exception for the above rule!
There exist some intelligent and beautiful women in the world, like Mira Aroyo she is a model and has a PhD in Genetics from Oxford University, and Queen Rania of Jordan has a degree in Business Administration, and also is beautiful. |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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For a start the question is based on a false premise; the figure for Americans who can't find America on a map according to National Geographic is 6% not 20%.
(MOD edit for sexually offensive language) |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:31 pm Post subject: |
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| MOD edit |
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