Could've been talking about the band.
post
English is my second language so I may be way off, but I disagree with almost all of this:
- That's not what a tautology is, and the issue with the "Personally... to me" is probably more that "personally" is typically followed by a verb such as "(I) think" to express that what follows is subjective. The "to me" makes it sound bumpy, because it replaces the verb.
- Using "English" for "English language proficiencies" is completely valid, IMHO, and replacing it with "grammar" changes the meaning of the phrase. There's more to language than grammar. I would say "poor" instead of "bad" though.
- Fair.
"Personally, I think poor English is a huge turn-off."
Or, if point 2 is really important to you:
"Personally, I think poor English skills are a huge turn-off."
That's not what a tautology is
It's a pleonasm!
As a native speaker, I would say "Personally, I think" is pretty redundant, though I wouldn't really bat an eye if someone said it, either. "Personally...to me" is indeed very redundant and is something that would stick out to a lot of people.
As for "bad English", I agree. The commenter is really reaching with that one.
i mean the responder never said THEY had a problem with improper grammar. and neither do i for that matter. my house is made of the brittlest of glass.
English language not have many rules. Mostly about convey meaning.
'What winds me up the most about our national life in general is the fashion for imprecise and redundant speech. I inherit this deep-seated misosaskopeslexis* from my father, who was disdainful of the transatlantic accent we all affected in the 1960s and 1970s, and the now forgotten vocabulary that went with it (hey, wow man, cool, far out, heavy, groovy etc).
Like him, I had a classical humanist education in which I was carefully taught how to construct sentences, and how to link them into a coherent train of thought. Nowadays, of course, everyone is affecting a generic Thames corridor accent that is pure Essex. Glottal stops are thriving like Himalayan balsam on the banks of a beck. It is part of the continuing tragedy of our loss of regional dialect. Oiβm a proper vexed bout thaht, bor. Oiβd a rather be a hearin good ol Mardle, speakin pussnally*.
The imperialism of Essex doesnβt quite drive me bonkers, however. What gets my goat is the fashion for larding oneβs speech with delays and interpolations that are designed to make one think that the speaker is cool, relaxed, on trend and modest.
I once went to speak to a sixth-form group where one perfectly intelligent young woman said βlikeβ so much that it took her five minutes to say something that should have taken five seconds. The effect was embarrassing and bewildering. Afterwards, in private, I begged her to stop doing it.'
Louis de Bernières
Such also implies another clause, the elision of which could be a poetic choice, but without ellipses, I would think itβs more likely an error.
I'm just in this thread to watch for the lecture about how as long as the message is conveyed, the language is functional and appropriate.
I also hope to receive a lecture about how language evolves.
It feels like you have already heard of, and maybe understand, lexicon.
Iβm moderately firm on grammar but I realize that being judgy about it is classist and unnecessary. A quick correction, especially for a non-native speaker, might help someone learn.
Were we collectively concerned with this woman's opinion?
She said she doesn't like bad English, so technically he was hitting on her with all those corrections.

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