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How many of you are non-native English speakers? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 days ago by myszka@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Everyone seems so good at English so I wondered how many people learned it to such proficiency and how many are just natives

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[–] TheReanuKeeves@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

There are a lot of regional things as well as slang that aren't universal between native english speakers. Your confusion is kinda like how some new drivers can be better than veteran drivers because the information is still fresh and they haven't developed bad habits yet. Even as a native speaker, you'll sometimes be confused with terminology from other areas.

Examples would be stuff like "fanny" meaning something different in north America compared to Britain. "Cunt" is a lot less offensive in Australia than America. "Bless your heart" is slightly more insulting in the south than the rest of the states. Calling someone "buddy" is friendlier in Canada than the states etc.