I'm a native English speaker, and I occasionally work with Hispanic clients with limited English skills. I'm a veterinarian. I speak mid-intermediate level Spanish with upper intermediate vocabulary in my field. My clients often bring a translator, but some don't. If the client asks for a Spanish speaker, I use Spanish. If their English is better than my Spanish, we use English.

The problem comes when they speak basic English to me, but their body language suggests they are not fully comprehending. Just as with my native English speaking clients, I generally ask if there are any questions and if everything is clear. For my English speakers, if I sense they aren't comprehending, I automatically adjust my explanations and vocabulary to a more basic level.

My question is, if I sense a Spanish speaking client isn't understanding, how do I ask if they would be more comfortable with Spanish without offending them or embarrassing them? I want to offer in case they just feel uncomfortable telling me they don't understand, but what if they understand well enough and just don't have questions? What if I misread body language and their eyes are just glazing over because they don't want explanations, they just want whatever their pet needs so they can go home? I'm like that when the car service people explain a car repair. I understand and comprehend the words, but I don't want to chat about it. I just want to say the bill and leave.

Any advice would be appreciated. Would it offend you if a service provider offered to speak your native language if you didn't ask them to?

Hello everyone ! I am a French speaker that has been working for the last two years in a mostly English place. I am told again and again how I have an “attitude” or that I sound like a b*tch . I have changed how I talk, searched for vocabulary and tried to mimick how other people talk to me but no matter what I say/how I say it, I am told I’m being disrespectful. I was wondering if any linguist or someone could help me sound kinder ? I just want to work with people without being told I’m rude.

I’d like to add that my workplace is mostly men, so maybe that changes how I should talk. I have never been talked to about my attitude by a woman I’ve interacted with.

Edit : please read my replies before telling me this is just a “French thing”, I am not French, I am Canadian, I speak French because I’m from Quebec

Thank you !

Hi everyone! I was having a debate about the phrase:
"I didn't do it on purpose."
Usually, this phrase is used after an accident (e.g., dropping a plate or spilling coffee):
Scenario A: Something happened by accident.
Meaning: "I did it, but it wasn't intentional."
However, consider a situation where "it" refers to an omitted task or inaction:
Scenario B: Someone asks, "Why didn't you reply to my text?" or "Why didn't you turn in the report?"
Answer: "I didn't do it on purpose."
Intended Meaning: "My choice NOT to do it was deliberate."
My questions for native speakers:
Does Scenario B sound natural to you in everyday speech, or would you almost always rephrase it (e.g., "I intentionally didn't do it" / "I chose not to" / "I left it undone on purpose")?
If someone gave you that answer in Scenario B, would your brain immediately parse it as "I intentionally refrained," or would it sound slightly confusing/clunky at first?
Curious to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

https://youtu.be/d_KEGhJ1guk

At 1:50

“Isn’t the movie great?” or “is the movie not great?”

As in: “I think the movie’s great, don’t you think so?” (seeking sympathy) or “is the movie un-great?” (how do you clearly ask this one without implying the nuance of former?)

Can you say both for both, is one limited to one, or does it depend on context and intonation? (I’d assume “is it not ~” emphasizes more on the negativity)

TLDR: what is the correct pronunciation of the phrase “close-clenched hand,” in Sara Teasdale’s poem “Refuge.”

I have a long-standing feud with several choir friends over a line in the Sara Teasdale poem “Refuge” as set for choir by composer Elaine Hagenberg. The line reads “Sifting through my close-clenched hand.” During rehearsals, I noticed that I was one of the only members of the choir pronouncing the word \[klos\]-clenched instead of \[kloz\]-clenched. I put the question to the rest of the choir and was met with scorn and derision. I was not able to make a coherent enough argument about my pronunciation to win over the choir, who kept saying things like, “you wouldn’t \[klos\] your hand, that makes no sense!” To make matters worse, the composer of the piece visited our choir and said she always thought the word was pronounced with a “z” sound as well. The choir took this as the final word on the subject. I know I am right about this, but I am not an expert. This argument has dragged on now for four years, resurfacing every time I see these friends. I will tolerate their snide comments no longer (I’m sorry, our time together has come to a \[klos\] haha). I need vindication. Help me, Reddit.

PS
My partner was the director of said choir, and she privately told me she agreed with me (of course, a ‘z’ sound makes no sense) but left me hanging in front of the ensemble. I will never forgive her for this.

Ciao a tutti!

Vorrei migliorare il mio inglese parlato. Direi di essere tra un livello B1 e B2: leggo e capisco abbastanza bene, riesco anche a scrivere, ma quando devo parlare mi blocco, faccio fatica a essere fluente e finisco per tradurre mentalmente dall'italiano.

Stavo pensando di provare italki, perché sinceramente non ho voglia di seguire il classico corso incentrato sulla grammatica. Quello che cerco è qualcuno con cui parlare tanto, che mi corregga quando serve e mi aiuti a sbloccarmi.

Per chi la usa o l'ha usata:

• Ve la sentite di consigliarla?
• Avete qualche insegnante madrelingua (o comunque davvero bravo) da suggerire?
• Se anche voi partivate da un livello simile al mio, vi ha aiutato davvero a diventare più fluenti?

Accetto volentieri qualsiasi consiglio o esperienza personale. Grazie!

As stated above.

Here is a snippet of the opening, is something missing before "Priorities"?

Because as Senator Padilla and others on both sides of the aisle will tell us shortly, there are urgent domestic needs that we should be addressing instead of sending more money for Trump to drop bombs overseas. Priorities like disaster relief for our communities that have been ravaged by the unthinkable or taking action to lower families costs. You know what's a crisis right now? the fact that there are families I hear from back home who are working full-time and still being forced to decide whether to skip meals so they finally can buy their kids a pair of shoes.

Video link

I heard this from an English learner:

"Native speakers don't reply 'Hello' when someone says 'Hello.' They tend to reply with something different, like 'Hi.'"

It's a small thing, but I found it kind of interesting.

Also, something I personally found interesting is that many people write "Thank you" at the end of their Reddit posts.

While that's a common practice in letters in my home country, not many people write it on online forums, so I wonder if it's a cultural thing in English-speaking countries?

Are there any other English native speaker customs like that that aren't written in textbooks?

Can they be both? I'm confused

You closed the original post to further comment or vote, but I think I've got your perfect word and it's a French word.... Bourgeoise (probounced like BOO-zwah) It's basically the White Collar Middle Class drawing attention to the Blue Collar Middle Class by pointing out that they, in fact, are White Collar Middle Class because "We eat Crumpets, and you BCMC eat English Muffins".... (my own metaphor for context)

I would like to know if home can be paired with the adjective big as house can or if it can't.

Student: How do children learn new things?

Teacher: They should....them to learn better.

a. protect

b. experience

c. happen

d. spend

Guys what do you think about this question in a NATIONAL EXAM( not considering the level of it)?

Don't you think the pronoun "them" is unclear?

I just feel it can't be a standard question

The dictionary defines “utility” in Economics jargon as both the ability of a commodity to satisfy one’s needs and the satisfaction of the consumer of that commodity. As not a native speaker, I don’t understand exactly how “utility” - a word clearly associated with the object being useful - can also be used to talk about the person’s utility? As in “a person makes a choice that maximizes their utility”. Surely it isn’t as simple as the word just getting a second meaning out of nowhere. Is that a second meaning at all?

P.S. The use case im talking about can be found in economics jargon and doesn’t mean anything related to the person’s being useful

This happens to me all the time:

I come across an interesting word, look up the definition, think that “I’ll remember this,” and then a few days later I’ve forgotten it completely.

I sometimes write the words in a notes app, and never open it again.

I’m curious if others have the same experience.

- Why do you think this happens?
- Have you found anything that actually helps you remember and use new words?
- Have any apps or methods worked long-term for you?
- What usually makes you stop using vocabulary apps?

I’d love to hear your experiences.

Any attempt to understand the nature of human language that ignores the social context in which it is used and the communicative functions it serves is bound to fail, just as any analysis of a tool that considers only its physical properties without reference to the tasks it performs is inherently incomplete.

These are the sentences. It's too hard for me to get the meaning!! Can native speakers understand these?

(Bio)(geo)degradable or (Geo)(bio)degradeable.

Does this order really matter?

I want to preface this by saying that I think English should have a gender neutral term for people from Latin America but why on earth was Latinx chosen. I don't know much about Spanish, I know that o and a are typically the vowels associated with masculine and feminine nouns.

After a brief Google search it looks like the other vowels do not have this association (correct me if I'm wrong) so why not use one of those instesd of x

I can't be the only person who finds Latinx do both look and sound awkward. Also if we're trying to be respectful to people shouldn't we also respect their language? As far as I know nowhere in Spanish does the letter x follow n nor is the letter pronounced "eks" like in english.

I'm not saying we don't need a gender neutral term like Latinx I just think there are better options and want to know why it was chosen.

I learned English in school and never sat an official exam or obtained a certificate, therefore I don't know what my proficiency level is.

I was curious, so I did two online tests: one provided by a publisher focusing on language magazines and one by EF Education First (language training company).

The first test put me at a B2 level. The second test put me at C1 with only two points missing to reach C2. I did zero preparation for the test, so I assume if I had studied for it I would have reached C2.

That's a noticeable difference, so I feel like I still have no idea what level I'm actually at.

Is there a free online test from a reputable provider that you would recommend, since I don't require an official certificate and therefore don't want to spend money on it. Also, should one prepare for a test like that or does preparing skew the results?

I would also appreciate it if you could point out the most blatant mistakes I made in this post. I can communicate in English just fine but I assume I make grammar mistakes and probably use unnatural sounding syntax and vocabulary.