Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

#9764 11-Oct-2006 16:41
Send private message

I love Engrish. It makes me laugh, and I accept it for what it is - unfortunately funny attempts at using a second language. Im sure I would be much worse trying to master a foreign language...

So heres an example, from a New Zealand web site: any takers as to which one - Id say most people here have read this on the site in question several times. Extra points for giving me the names of both the people who use it.

"if you need one that good one"







View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
grant_k
3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #48318 11-Oct-2006 16:46
Send private message

Yeah, Engrish is sometimes very amusing...

Try http://www.engrish.com/

I've seen that line several times, but can't think where...  Anybody else know?



freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

#48321 11-Oct-2006 16:58
Send private message

Hmmm... Can't find it through Google narrowing on New Zealand domains. I guess this thread will be the first occurrence in the index.





Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


3g

3g
341 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #48323 11-Oct-2006 17:13
Send private message

Hmm, that was a difficult one initially.

But " if you need one that good one " does appear all over TradeMe 8-).

Two traders, both with "1" at the end of their names seem to use it.



freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #48325 11-Oct-2006 17:16
Send private message

I found it on Trademe, but discounted that. I thought it wasn't the case. Anyway...





Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #48326 11-Oct-2006 17:17
Send private message

Sure does. I wonder if anyone has told them. There feedback seems to indicate they are just 'box droppers' with very little customer service skills, so I guess no ones gotten into that conversation with them.

Any other examples from New Zealand sites? (looking for original/previously unpublished examples here...)








bcourtney
652 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #48327 11-Oct-2006 17:17
Send private message

3g: Hmm, that was a difficult one initially.

But " if you need one that good one " does appear all over TradeMe 8-).

Two traders, both with "1" at the end of their names seem to use it.


and another called computerszone

grant_k
3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #48329 11-Oct-2006 17:19
Send private message

Yeah, for example:

^^If you need one that good one^^

On the following auction:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Car-stereos/CD-players/auction-73018339.htm

Knew I'd seen it somewhere...

Thanks 3G for sussing it out.

 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
pebbles
741 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #48374 11-Oct-2006 22:43
Send private message

It can really be annoying trading with ones who aren't the greatest at english though, I know I had a lot of trouble once just understanding one persons payment instructions! how can they get english so mixed up?







tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #48376 11-Oct-2006 22:55
Send private message

pebbles: It can really be annoying trading with ones who aren't the greatest at english though, I know I had a lot of trouble once just understanding one persons payment instructions! how can they get english so mixed up?

English is a terrible language with terrible structure and rules. Most kiwis I know fail to speak English correctly.

"Me fail English? Thats unpossible!"







alasta
6701 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Subscriber

  #48387 12-Oct-2006 06:46
Send private message

tonyhughes: English is a terrible language with terrible structure and rules. Most kiwis I know fail to speak English correctly.

"Me fail English? Thats unpossible!"


What amazes me is that in my workplace of about 16 people, only around half of them are confident with the use of spelling and grammar, and the worst ones are often New Zealanders who supposedly speak the language natively.

freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

#48397 12-Oct-2006 09:04
Send private message

My pet peeves:

there != their

should of != should have

it's != its

your != you're

PDAs != PDA's

People should not use ' in plural!







Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #48398 12-Oct-2006 09:04
Send private message

One thing that amazed me when I travelled around Scandinavia was how well the people over there spoke English, particularly the Finnish & Norwegians. Maybe Juha can tell us why they speak better English that most NZers despite it being their 2nd or 3rd language!


chiefie
I iz your trusted friend
5877 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #48402 12-Oct-2006 09:15
Send private message

hehe "eat, shoot and leave". That is a great book, though I have not read it yet. But it shows how bad some people can get in terms of wrong placement of punctuations, or incorrect formation of grammar in the sentences.

I know the first thing I want to learn with new language is how to use grammar to form a right sentence, then later learn vocabs and nouns. But my night-Spanish class that I was attending, some students were just completely lost when learning Spanish grammar, they cannot comprehend what is subject, object, conjunction, nouns etc... they just can't get their head around it!

I am glad to see that primary school now is focusing on grammar, and hope they carry that on to at least intermediates. I also have seen my work colleagues and most people in 20s and 30s having difficulty to use right words, and forming grammatically correct sentences or making sense with whatever they are trying to convey. In my job, I get requests from a lot of different people trying to get their work done, but the instructions they gave were largely vague and hard to decipher, and most cases, they are of no context in the message. HOW CAN I HELP IF YOU DON'T HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND YOUR REQUEST! *argh!*




Internet is my backyard...

 

«Geekzone blog: Tech 'n Chips Takeaway» «Personal blog: And then...»

 

Please read the Geekzone's FUG

 


grant_k
3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #48411 12-Oct-2006 09:43
Send private message

freitasm: People should not use ' in plural!

Absolutely!

Misuse of the humble apostrophe has reached epidemic proportions in NZ.  In other primarily English-speaking countries I've travelled to it doesn't seem anywhere near so bad.

Many people don't bother using apostrophes now, or if they do, seem to think that a plural requires one.  Aaarrggghh...

One of the worst offenders that I come across on a daily basis is the writer of a Foreign Exchange commentary.  You would think that such skilled professionals would have learnt to write sentences properly.

It may well be that the best solution is to ditch the apostrophe altogether in the same way that hyphenated words quickly lose their hyphen when they move into common usage e.g. e-mail ==> email, co-operative ==> cooperative, etc.

freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

#48412 12-Oct-2006 09:48
Send private message

Or Whitcoulls. They have "DVD's on sale" A bookstore!







Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.