When your English is too good

Ingrid Piller

When your English is too good

Research output: Contribution to Newspaper/Magazine/Website › Website contribution

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Abstract

Some people just can’t win it seems. Second language speakers are in that category. I can’t even begin to count how many people who have read a fraction of the English literature I have read and who have never written much in English take the liberty to comment on my English. They usually congratulate me on how good it is … That’s what you call a left-handed compliment I suppose – I doubt that anyone goes around congratulating Maths professors that they’ve mastered arithmetic and can handle two-digit figures with such ease.

Original language	English
Specialist publication	Language on the move
Publisher	Language on the move
Publication status	Published - 19 Nov 2009

Bibliographical note

© 2018 Language on the Move. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

200401 applied linguistics and educational linguistics
200405 language in culture and society (sociolinguistics)

Access to Document

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 126 KBLicence: CC BY

http://www.languageonthemove.com/when-your-english-is-too-good/Licence: CC BY

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abstract = "Some people just can’t win it seems. Second language speakers are in that category. I can’t even begin to count how many people who have read a fraction of the English literature I have read and who have never written much in English take the liberty to comment on my English. They usually congratulate me on how good it is … That’s what you call a left-handed compliment I suppose – I doubt that anyone goes around congratulating Maths professors that they’ve mastered arithmetic and can handle two-digit figures with such ease.",

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N2 - Some people just can’t win it seems. Second language speakers are in that category. I can’t even begin to count how many people who have read a fraction of the English literature I have read and who have never written much in English take the liberty to comment on my English. They usually congratulate me on how good it is … That’s what you call a left-handed compliment I suppose – I doubt that anyone goes around congratulating Maths professors that they’ve mastered arithmetic and can handle two-digit figures with such ease.

AB - Some people just can’t win it seems. Second language speakers are in that category. I can’t even begin to count how many people who have read a fraction of the English literature I have read and who have never written much in English take the liberty to comment on my English. They usually congratulate me on how good it is … That’s what you call a left-handed compliment I suppose – I doubt that anyone goes around congratulating Maths professors that they’ve mastered arithmetic and can handle two-digit figures with such ease.

KW - 200401 applied linguistics and educational linguistics

KW - 200405 language in culture and society (sociolinguistics)

M3 - Website contribution

JO - Language on the move

JF - Language on the move

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PB - Language on the move

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