Strange things Americans have said to you

[kitthekat 1,317]

I always get: Singapore...that's in China right?

I'm also frequently asked whether I enjoy seeing tall buildings and the city as I "must not have been exposed to much city life back home". If you've ever been to Singapore, you'd understand why I find this amusing.

[Caryh 5,206]

I'm also frequently asked whether I enjoy seeing tall buildings and the city as I "must not have been exposed to much city life back home". If you've ever been to Singapore, you'd understand why I find this amusing.

OMG that is funny. The average merican is not known for their geographic knowledge. You should have replied, "Why yes I do, do you know where I have to go to see some. BTW I love this quaint little village life here in Seattle."

[MochiKamo 93]

I always get: Singapore...that's in China right?

I'm also frequently asked whether I enjoy seeing tall buildings and the city as I "must not have been exposed to much city life back home". If you've ever been to Singapore, you'd understand why I find this amusing.

To be honest, I hadn't realized how small Singapore was until recent years.

I've driven farther to try out a new restaurant than it would take to go from the west side of Singapore to the east side.

[hobbit 10]

I'll chime in here since I'm also from Singapore....The one response I get all the time from Americans, upon telling them I'm from Singapore is.. "Excellent English!" and that's not even grammatically right! It should be "excellent command of spoken English". Just the other day, we walked into a bank, and the young white lady teller attending to us did not even know what "obsolete" meant!

I know the Americans I've met don't mean to sound patronizing, but they nonetheless betray their parochial mindset by being surprised over my language skills. I'm sure some of you VJ-ers have experienced this, no?

[luckytxn 2,264]

Real old lady with poofed up white hair: "Your daughter is so beautiful."

Me: "She isn't my daughter, she is my wife."

The perceptive old lady with poofed up white hair: "Oh, you like them young then."

Me: "Why not?"

[MochiKamo 93]

I'll chime in here since I'm also from Singapore....The one response I get all the time from Americans, upon telling them I'm from Singapore is.. "Excellent English!" and that's not even grammatically right! It should be "excellent command of spoken English". Just the other day, we walked into a bank, and the young white lady teller attending to us did not even know what "obsolete" meant!

I know the Americans I've met don't mean to sound patronizing, but they nonetheless betray their parochial mindset by being surprised over my language skills. I'm sure some of you VJ-ers have experienced this, no?

To be fair "Excellent English" is shorthand for "excellent command of spoken English" and no one's going to say the latter in a normal every day conversation since it's kind of over the top. Though I'd stick to something simple like "you speak very well English." However, not knowing what obsolete means is pretty strange.

Also, I can't help but notice "parochial mindset." Maybe the word parochial has a different usage in Singapore, but it's not often used to denote narrow mindedness, at least in my experience.

[hobbit 10]

Posted Today, 02:07 PM

hobbit, on 18 Nov 2013 - 04:29 AM, said:

I'll chime in here since I'm also from Singapore....The one response I get all the time from Americans, upon telling them I'm from Singapore is.. "Excellent English!" and that's not even grammatically right! It should be "excellent command of spoken English". Just the other day, we walked into a bank, and the young white lady teller attending to us did not even know what "obsolete" meant!

I know the Americans I've met don't mean to sound patronizing, but they nonetheless betray their parochial mindset by being surprised over my language skills. I'm sure some of you VJ-ers have experienced this, no?

To be fair "Excellent English" is shorthand for "excellent command of spoken English" and no one's going to say the latter in a normal every day conversation since it's kind of over the top. Though I'd stick to something simple like "you speak very well English." However, not knowing what obsolete means is pretty strange.

Also, I can't help but notice "parochial mindset." Maybe the word parochial has a different usage in Singapore, but it's not often used to denote narrow mindedness, at least in my experience.

"You speak very well English?" 'Well' isn't used as an adjective, for your information. Look up the differences between 'well' and' good' here: http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/difficulties/goodwell.htm. And pray tell, how am I to use the word parochial? Maybe you run with a different crowd, but it's used in the media the way I've used it: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/09/business/toyota-shake-up-seen-signaling-new-tack-shedding-of-parochial-mindset/#.UooRs00Z7IU and http://books.google.com/books?id=lTJELbgyv-4C&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=%22parochial+mindset%22&source=bl&ots=87XXZ5JTon&sig=SOePuyLjalJpZomf5qKyb-9Fc_g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MRSKUpyuNe3wyAGbnYCABw&ved=0CFgQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22parochial%20mindset%22&f=false.

Edited November 18, 2013 by hobbit

[MochiKamo 93]

"You speak very well English?" 'Well' isn't used as an adjective, for your information. Look up the differences between 'well' and' good' here: http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/difficulties/goodwell.htm. And pray tell, how am I to use the word parochial? Maybe you run with a different crowd, but it's used in the media the way I've used it: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/09/business/toyota-shake-up-seen-signaling-new-tack-shedding-of-parochial-mindset/#.UooRs00Z7IU and http://books.google.com/books?id=lTJELbgyv-4C&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=%22parochial+mindset%22&source=bl&ots=87XXZ5JTon&sig=SOePuyLjalJpZomf5qKyb-9Fc_g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MRSKUpyuNe3wyAGbnYCABw&ved=0CFgQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22parochial%20mindset%22&f=false.

Language is always evolving and the way words are used now can be vastly different than how they were used in the past. This kind of change is often driven by popular usage. What I wrote is often the colloquial usage of "well."

Also, I didn't say that your usage of parochial was incorrect. The primary usage of the word relates to a church parish. It's only the secondary/tertiary definition that relates to narrow mindedness. My point was that I had never encountered it used in the latter fashion. It could very well be used often in literature, but I wouldn't cite Japan Times as an example of proper English usage.

[hobbit 10]

Language is always evolving and the way words are used now can be vastly different than how they were used in the past. This kind of change is often driven by popular usage. What I wrote is often the colloquial usage of "well."

Also, I didn't say that your usage of parochial was incorrect. The primary usage of the word relates to a church parish. It's only the secondary/tertiary definition that relates to narrow mindedness. My point was that I had never encountered it used in the latter fashion. It could very well be used often in literature, but I wouldn't cite Japan Times as an example of proper English usage.

Just because it's from a country where English is not the first language? Well, if that's the case, I can tell you of the time I laughed when I read, "Two caught in robbery try near XYZ" on the cover of a state daily which is supposedly run by native speakers of the English language (read: white Americans). Japan Times may not be up there with the likes of WSJ, but hey, perhaps its standard of English is just driven by popular usage

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

No one says "you speak very well English." That's like crazy Yoda-talk. Sounds obviously foreign.

But saying someone is speaking poorly when they say "Excellent English" is also crazy.

I think it's rather provincial of someone from Singapore to think that Americans would know much of anything about their tiny country. No offense. Many Americans are sheltered, to be sure, but the litmus test on that is not whether or not they know about S'pore. You'd get much further if you explained something about it with a smile when they complement your English.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

When I tell the Americans that I am from Singapore, they will go like this "Oh, you are from Singapore.. Singapore is part of China, right?" ..

Harpa is correct: Many American are sheltered.. Some even don't travel outside their own state.

[MochiKamo 93]

Just because it's from a country where English is not the first language? Well, if that's the case, I can tell you of the time I laughed when I read, "Two caught in robbery try near XYZ" on the cover of a state daily which is supposedly run by native speakers of the English language (read: white Americans). Japan Times may not be up there with the likes of WSJ, but hey, perhaps its standard of English is just driven by popular usage

My comment regarding Japan Times was said in the most loving way possible. Not because it's from a country where English is not the first language, but because I have much experience reading their articles. Also, its standard of English is driven by wordage designed to impress from writers who own way too many thesauruses.

[cdneh 3,112]

New Zealand. That's down underneath of Africa, right?

It's hard to tell from listening to me, Canadian, lived away for more than 40 years, in England, Scotland, NZ. Lately I hear 'but where are your people from', and you aren't from around here are you?

[hobbit 10]

No one says "you speak very well English." That's like crazy Yoda-talk. Sounds obviously foreign.

But saying someone is speaking poorly when they say "Excellent English" is also crazy.

I think it's rather provincial of someone from Singapore to think that Americans would know much of anything about their tiny country. No offense. Many Americans are sheltered, to be sure, but the litmus test on that is not whether or not they know about S'pore. You'd get much further if you explained something about it with a smile when they complement your English.

I did not mean to say Americans who use "excellent English" speak the language poorly, it's just ironic that they would comment on my command of the language when they aren't exactly 100% great at it themselves. In addition, their being surprised by my fluency, especially when they do not even know anything about my background, indicates to me that they think non-UK/US/NZ/AUS persons aren't supposed to know the language. That is what I find rather patronizing. I don't expect Americans to know anything about my country, so it's not a litmus test. And I do not think I am being provincial in any way. I don't fault them for their lack of knowledge as I understand that many Americans don't travel internationally to begin with. What I find patronizing are the assumptions made when they have absolutely no idea about where I'm from, so why assume?

[cdneh 3,112]

Sorta kinda like this: