James-F wrote:People who listen to how you say/write things, instead of what you try to say, are not worth your time, nerve, the message.
Generally, it's very true. Except excessively bad grammar or spelling (when applicable, i.e., in written communication) can be quite off-putting and almost involuntarily lower your opinion of the speaker, because it reeks of bad education (even if it may not always be true).
Can you imagine any public figure would get much respect, no matter what their ideas are, if they spoke with the grammar and the jargon of a street thug?
James-F wrote:It should be obvious that the non native speaker is trying his best to convey a message, and the listener should make an effort to understand him.
My impression is that in most cases, when people understand that the person in front of them is not a native speaker, they tend to be very forgiving, and indeed try to focus on the message instead of the language.
However, there is often low tolerance to native speakers, who should have a good command of the language, and yet don't. Interestingly I myself have a tendency to think quite poorly of people who express themselves in poor language, when it comes to my two native languages (none of which is English). And yet, in English, I do not have this prejudice. I wonder if it's just because it is not my native language, or because it really is special in some way, which makes it come across sort of OK, even when bad structure is used...
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