I'm reviewing a manuscript written by a whoooooole bunch of authors for whom English is not a primary language. I had dreaded this, but I'm finding it unexpectedly amusing. Witness the following actual excerpt, which I swear I have not edited or modified in any way:
As it was mentioned earlier, when one is trying to learn it is inevitable that he is going to make some mistakes. But, as one keeps trying, mistakes are diminishing and finally he masters the skill. So, what's the use of mistakes? Do they mean that someone is stupid or incpable of learning? Of course not! If the question is to asses him only for the academic season, then it's OK. But it is to asses him for the rest of his life, then the answer is obviously negative. It is obvious that everybody needs his time to learn. This means that EVERYBODY CAN LEARN IF YOU GIVE HIM TIME.It is obvious that my favorite part is the misspelling (twice) of "assess." Followed closely by the shouting at the end.
posted by Jackie at 12:01 PM
6 Comments:
Why worry about one's spelling? That's OK if it's just for the book, but for the rest of his life it's negative. HE CAN SPELL IF YOU GIVE HIM TIME.
LOL! You have inspired me to post a column from a table in the same chapter. Column title = "Avoid these phrases"...
* It's impossible to teach you anything! (not competent to learn?)
* Are you stupid? (low IQ or low effort?)
* You are always wrong! (did anyone said that I always have to do it right?)
* You are not talented! (I'm not responsible for my genes!)
* You have to do it. (obligation)
* If you don't, your grades will drop off. (threat)
* You must do it. (pressure)
I doubt that I'm alone in wanting to see the other columns from that table as well.
There's only one other column, and it's not nearly as funny. :( I'll post more gems as they appear. :D
DO NEVER TEST
steak dinner for you if that phrase shows up in the manuscript, in caps.
On the subject of this manuscript and food, one of the main dudes is Belgian. I am TOTALLY gonna work my charm in an effort to get him to ship me some Leffe Bruin. I hope that's not, like, illegal or anything.
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