Alla Graduates, Finally!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Why isn't "the norm" ok? it's not slang. It means "standard or model." You WANT writing to be idiomatic. You should avoid cliches and non-standard English, but "the norm" is absolutely fine in a university-level essay.

It could be OK in some types of writing or in some uses even in formal writing, like a thesis. Depending on how it is used and in what context. The way it was used was very casual (it was casual writing, granted) Had I seen it in one of Alla's essays or her thesis I probably would have recommended she change it.

Not the issue though, the issue is THAT is why you have someone proofread important papers. Not because you cannot read or write English.

There are things that can be wrong that are not captured by spellcheck (perhaps Alla should not use spellcheck because she will is an English teacher? ) or things that just do not sound right in a formal document or research paper. I would make my suggestions. I am not an English major and she knows far more, technically, about the langauge. She also tended to be very formal and I tried to loosen some of that up. It is not necessary to say "Whereas" and "aforementioned" so much! She has a lack of knowledge of idioms and slang, something she is better at now, but in terms of her technical knowledge of the language, it is far above most people's. None of that takes away her smoking hot, sexy, Russian accent. The boys, on the other hand, have much less accent (Pasha almost none) and a far better grasp of slang and idioms. Alla talks like an English teacher, the boys talk like teenage Americans.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Over the years I've noticed there are two types of RUBbers.

There are those who would wear a man purse and then there are those who wouldn't even consider it. For the ladies, there are those who want their man to carry a purse and then there are those who wouldn't even consider being with a man who carried a purse.

Check my sig line.

I feel kind of wimpy when I carry my Colt M1903 .32 But sometimes it just fits well with my outfit.

[jodee 30]

Firstly Gary, I feel bad for you. You have to keep stewing over the first words I wrote in this dang thread. You are still continuing to read way to much into it. Anyone that knows me from my nearly 8 years on this forum, knows, thats how I am, thats how I ask questions. It was not derogatory or rude, both of which you have been back to me.

If it makes you sleep better at night belittling others, and expressing the ludicrisy of their questions so be it. And I guess while you continue to insult me because you have nothing better to fight with, you are leaving some other person alone.

You have called me uneducated, and even suggested I had not finished high school. Really, is that the best you can do? And after asking some other educated people from my home country about proof reading in general, it was not the norm for them either when they got their degrees. Study sessions yes, proof reading work no. So I guess, things have changed over the years. and eucational methods and standards are different worldwide.

Then you have to "suggest" that I do not in fact speak English well myself, and also suggest that I only speak one language, or is that not about me?

And if you bothered to research my quote which has been on my signature for years, its not referencing academic education, so much as a womans role in educating her family and her children in life lessons and love.

I NEVER ONCE insulted your wife, or ridiculed her accomplishments. If you had bothered to read my replies properly, I had said that I had followed your wifes education updates over the years, and was in awe of her studiousness.

[TBoneTX 45,309]

Now, now, si man. We're all purportedly friends here, and perhaps we can violently agree about that, si man.

I edit manuscripts for a bimonthly medical journal. We get manuscripts from around the world. We proofread like absolute bastards, at every step of the production process. We're one of the very few journals where all of the editors read each other's page proofs, and everyone finds something. We proofread the raw copy of each full journal before we send it to the printer, and we still catch things. We proofread the blueline proofs that come from the printer, and we still catch things. I've even spied little stuff that got away (probably invisible to most eyes) in our printed journals. See, man.

Proofreading is valuable from a professional or academic standpoint. If someone's writing is at a certain level and it suddenly improves or changes drastically, that can be a tip that the writer has, uh, "appropriated" material from another source. Plagiarism is a major no-no, no man... er, si man.

Although "the norm" is not incorrect or particularly casual language, we'd probably say "standard" or "typical" instead.

It can bug me a little (albeit only briefly) when UK/Canadian/Aussie/NZ types insist on sticking the superfluous letter "u" into words, or on using the "s" instead of "z." (I realise that such a statement will not court the favour of some readers here, eh.) However, some British English is quite charming (the use of "whilst," for example). When I edited a paper earlier this year, I apologised... er, apologized to the author that so much of his elegant British English had to give way to our Journal style and the wishes of our reviewers. The apology was sincere, verily man.

Sidebar, si man: How did Canada get its name? C eh N eh D eh.

In everyday life, proofreading is valuable and sensible because it removes distractions that detract us from the message. Anything that causes us to "back up" mentally is deleterious to optimal communication, yes hombre.

Fun exercise: Add the word "only" exactly where it belongs in this sentence: She told me that she loved me. Does the placement change the meaning?

Sidebar #2, si man: I once had such a high fever that I became deleterious, whee man.

I proofread Mrs. T-B.'s stuff routinely, and she asks me to look over stuff for her countrywomen in the U.S. who are in college classes. Happy to help.

Sidebar #3, si man: Mrs. T-B. told me tonight, "I bought you cheap." It took some back-and-forth before we determined that she had gone to the supermarket and bought me potato cheaps... er, chips. We had a great laugh -- same as when she asked me to "put a new sh*t on the bed."

I keep a gun handy to blow my brains out if I ever sink that low.

First, can you use it on some of my extra ties? Even I realize that I have too many, sigh man.

[AmyWrites 593]

What's she contemplating a PhD in?

I love these posts, they're honestly inspiring. I'm in the opposite situation; moved to Russia and trying to become fluent in Russian, but it takes an insane amount of time/work and sometimes it's just frustrating. It's nice to see that it is indeed possible to gain fluency in a language completely different than your own.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Oh yeah, now that I read it again it sounds completely sincere.

While everyone is welcome (at least there seems to be no way to keep them out) it is curious that the threads in this forum ONLY go this direction when persons from "other countries" drop in. Just sayin'. I do not intend to insult members from other countries that regularly contribute to what is really a good forum and they know who they are.

We both put a lot into her accomplishment, Alla far more than myself. Snarky comments by uneducated people are not appreciated. Proofreading is pretty well accepted by people that went to college, or even finished high school. A person with educational experience would not ask such a thing, not seriously anyway. It is ludicrous to suggest it was a serious question.

I am proud to say I do not know any members married to FSU women that feel a need to crash the UK/Canada/Aussie forums and ridicule the accomplishments of their spouses. How unhappy would one have to be with their own life to do something like that? Just sayin'

I share our experiences for the benefit of other members going through the same thing, learning a new language, adjusting to a new culture and so that our experiences might help others. I even try to help other RUB members with their questions and concerns.

Along come people that speak only one language (and not too well at that) and criticize with snarky comments those that have accomplished a lot more in a lot shorter time. Compared to coming from a RUB country, adjusting here would be a cakewalk and nothing at all if you didn't have to adjust to driving on the right side of the road. Along come people with inspirational quotes in their signature about educating women to insult an educated woman. I mean, seriously, what is up with that?

While I may disagree with some people on politics or social issues, I can honestly say I never insulted their spouses or their spouse's accomplishments but I keep a gun handy to blow my brains out if I ever sink that low.

It is rather pitiful in retrospect.

I am finished with that and ready to get back to having fun.

Better get Alla to proof-read your obituary.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/294793-jackson-lee-blasts-demeaning-pepsi-super-bowl-ad/page__view__findpost__p__4476454

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Now, now, si man. We're all purportedly friends here, and perhaps we can violently agree about that, si man.

I edit manuscripts for a bimonthly medical journal. We get manuscripts from around the world. We proofread like absolute bastards, at every step of the production process. We're one of the very few journals where all of the editors read each other's page proofs, and everyone finds something. We proofread the raw copy of each full journal before we send it to the printer, and we still catch things. We proofread the blueline proofs that come from the printer, and we still catch things. I've even spied little stuff that got away (probably invisible to most eyes) in our printed journals. See, man.

Proofreading is valuable from a professional or academic standpoint. If someone's writing is at a certain level and it suddenly improves or changes drastically, that can be a tip that the writer has, uh, "appropriated" material from another source. Plagiarism is a major no-no, no man... er, si man.

Although "the norm" is not incorrect or particularly casual language, we'd probably say "standard" or "typical" instead.

It can bug me a little (albeit only briefly) when UK/Canadian/Aussie/NZ types insist on sticking the superfluous letter "u" into words, or on using the "s" instead of "z." (I realise that such a statement will not court the favour of some readers here, eh.) However, some British English is quite charming (the use of "whilst," for example). When I edited a paper earlier this year, I apologised... er, apologized to the author that so much of his elegant British English had to give way to our Journal style and the wishes of our reviewers. The apology was sincere, verily man.

Sidebar, si man: How did Canada get its name? C eh N eh D eh.

In everyday life, proofreading is valuable and sensible because it removes distractions that detract us from the message. Anything that causes us to "back up" mentally is deleterious to optimal communication, yes hombre.

Fun exercise: Add the word "only" exactly where it belongs in this sentence: She told me that she loved me. Does the placement change the meaning?

Sidebar #2, si man: I once had such a high fever that I became deleterious, whee man.

I proofread Mrs. T-B.'s stuff routinely, and she asks me to look over stuff for her countrywomen in the U.S. who are in college classes. Happy to help.

Sidebar #3, si man: Mrs. T-B. told me tonight, "I bought you cheap." It took some back-and-forth before we determined that she had gone to the supermarket and bought me potato cheaps... er, chips. We had a great laugh -- same as when she asked me to "put a new sh*t on the bed."First, can you use it on some of my extra ties? Even I realize that I have too many, sigh man.

How can they be doctors if they you have to proofread what they write? Just askin' Alla was the Chief Editor of a Medical Journal in Ukraine for 7 years, she did proofreading, among other things.

Alla will not buy cheeps (they pronounce it the same way in Russian/English) and hates it if I buy them and leave them where the boys find them. We still use the word "lub" which Alla came up with when we first went to the grocery store and she asked if $1.39 "per lub" was a good price for apples. She had to inform us dumb native speakers that there is no "L" or "B" in "pound" so it MUST mean "lub"

She nearly flipped when she asked the girl at the deli for "500 grams" of sandwich meat. The girl was like... Alla says "Why does she look at me like a boiled fish" (Russian equivilent of deer in the headlights) She was just amazed the girl didn't know what 500 grams was, she knew we had this stupid "English system" but she thought it was only for show or something and we wouldn't REALLY, actually, use it.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

What's she contemplating a PhD in?

I love these posts, they're honestly inspiring. I'm in the opposite situation; moved to Russia and trying to become fluent in Russian, but it takes an insane amount of time/work and sometimes it's just frustrating. It's nice to see that it is indeed possible to gain fluency in a language completely different than your own.

I find her inspiring also, in many ways. She is thinking a couple different ideas for a doctorate but one is in Education

She was actually thinking of an advanced degree in medicine or nursing, but it may take a lot of going back since she has all "arts" degrees. She has a meeting with a counselor at UVM next week to see what she would have to do to qualify for a Doctorate of Nursing. (New program at UVM) She worked for a medical journal and took some medical classes to help her with her interpretation business and she has a strong interest in the subject.

[eekee 182]

What about something like Public Health? Related field, less practical science-y stuff.

[AmyWrites 593]

I find her inspiring also, in many ways. She is thinking a couple different ideas for a doctorate but one is in Education

She was actually thinking of an advanced degree in medicine or nursing, but it may take a lot of going back since she has all "arts" degrees. She has a meeting with a counselor at UVM next week to see what she would have to do to qualify for a Doctorate of Nursing. (New program at UVM) She worked for a medical journal and took some medical classes to help her with her interpretation business and she has a strong interest in the subject.

Some med schools will take students who have non-science degrees, as long as they've completed a certain requirements (usually a year of bio, chem, etc). She can look into schools like that. I think the Mayo Clinic did this, but it was a loong time ago when I was looking into med schools so I might be wrong. Or eekee's idea is also great.

[Captain Hammer 113]

I find her inspiring also, in many ways. She is thinking a couple different ideas for a doctorate but one is in Education

She was actually thinking of an advanced degree in medicine or nursing, but it may take a lot of going back since she has all "arts" degrees. She has a meeting with a counselor at UVM next week to see what she would have to do to qualify for a Doctorate of Nursing. (New program at UVM) She worked for a medical journal and took some medical classes to help her with her interpretation business and she has a strong interest in the subject.

Make sure she spends time with an doctoral adviser. Depending on the university, and especially since she's completed so many post-grad degrees, they should have no problem with her meeting up with one or more advisers before committing. She'll probably need a recommendation from a faculty member, and of course she should meet with that person, but if she's considering different paths she should be setting up meetings with multiple advisers. She doesn't want to get up to her ears in the program before deciding that she really wanted to go another route.

[Dave-n-Oksana 49]

I thought I was the only one getting the man purse vibe...

Sadly not. I had tried (and successfully) avoided the man purse for 1 1/2 years, then my daughter returns from Ukraine with one for me. I guess the look on my face said it all, because next thing I know my daughter's eyes are starting to tear up, and I am getting "The Look" from my wife. So I caved and turned in my "Man" card.

It is hard to defend against a beautiful Ukrainian woman's tears and an beautiful, angry Ukrainian wife. I never stood a chance.

Congrats to Alla!!

Dave

Edited August 4, 2011 by Dave-n-Oksana

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

So I caved and turned in my "Man" card.

[Captain Hammer 113]

Sadly not. I had tried (and successfully) avoided the man purse for 1 1/2 years, then my daughter returns from Ukraine with one for me. I guess the look on my face said it all, because next thing I know my daughter's eyes are starting to tear up, and I am getting "The Look" from my wife. So I caved and turned in my "Man" card.

It is hard to defend against a beautiful Ukrainian woman's tears and an beautiful, angry Ukrainian wife. I never stood a chance.

Congrats to Alla!!

Dave

LOL!

[ONA 133]

I just thought of a question...

Gary, you said Alla had a couple of masters degrees from Ukraine... So are those 5-year long degrees (specialist degrees as we call them here)?

I completed a 5-year degree in Russia, so I've been wondering whether my degree is going to be transferred as bachelors or masters