Do you feel offended when Americans tell you "you have such good english" that they cannot believe that anyone else can speak in english with good choice of words and expressions.....This happend in my class yesterday whn a blondie told me aww how can you speak such good english comin from a different country....i told her we grew up watchin english channels and shows.....english school.....she just sighed ,,,,huhhhhh ...she just couldnt digest it....has also happened in so many job interviews that it just ticked me off......

On the other hand when i was in school .....ppl ridiculed ppl like me for using too much English....replying in english when asked questions in nepali....

how do u strike a balance???

 

Overreaction on "your" part more than anything else. Say whatever you like but if you think that just because you watched all those Cartoons, Programs and Movies on Star Plus ( remember it before it went all Hindi ? ), Star Movies, HBO, Cinemax, Star World and other channels, you have as good of a grasp as a native speaker then you're wrong. Sure, you'd be able to understand what's being said to you and understood properly too but there are several different levels. Your accent in the first place poses a major flaw. Further, the way you talk and your body language certainly pose obstacles too. Hence, Americans are certainly right in their belief on non-native English speakers failing to choose proper words and expressions. Of course, exceptions exist. You could be an exception and certainly, few other Nepalese could indeed have a strong grasp of "American" knowledge but just because you grew up watching English movies and programs or even went to an English medium school don't mean a whole lot. 

my english is better than my nepali.. why i wonder...lemme think..

oh i just thought lemme think in english..i wonder wonder...

wait a sec..m in us ;) no nepali signboards anywhere.. darn it!

oh..and im writing all my papers in english..hooo..

and my friends...hmmm.. most of them are nepali... maybe i should feel uneasy to talk to them in english...

initially i did.. k ghanta jasto nepali bhayera english chadchas.. but that was three years ago.. now it doesnt really matter because language is just a boat for communication... didnt realize that earlier..

mayybe..just mayybe..if there was an ultraconservative with a big stick who would whack me over the head for any word thought in english, id be better at my nepali. but dont get me wrong..i aint no english professor, nor am i a grammar nazi..

bottom line.. if you understand english, nepali, newari, hindi, urdu, sanskrit, latin, spanish, spanglish, french, russian, cantonese or even any of them pseudo cryptic languages like hieroglyphics, dont be scared to practise it. There aint no harm in trying to express yourself. A lot of people are actually scared to because of the scathing criticism invoked, and boy is our dear fellow brethren quick to comment.

and i may be among the minority (dunno, lets find out?) but i actually enjoy learning new words in strange languages.. nah im not gonna stop doing that just cuz u think its stupid :D

kapeesh? el comprende senor?

sayonara :D

PS - @pixie.. i think its just the intial awkwardness that hampers conversation. ive been in situation (when i just came frm nepal) where i didnt know how to respond to an acknowldegment. Like some guy/girl would walk past nodding their heads towards me saying "Hey! Hows it going?". And my brain couldnt process this weird way of greeting. So in an awkward posture of the head and slurred speech I would reply, "Hey...how is it going?". :D everybody learns :D

Quagmire-AKA English professor.  Your comment is always 10 pages or more. It should be  Choto, Metho, and to the point. Lekhey ko cha..Mahabhart Bhane jasto. LOL

Sexy in Sari, you didn't make any sense, yet again. Try harder. 

Quagmire failed to address Pixie's question.

Pixie's question is simple. Let me paraphrase it: "Do you feel offended when stereotyped?"

My answer: You bet I do.

Pixie is correct to be offended.

If I were in Pixie's place, I'd have replied to the blonde girl: "So do you."

But then again, it was a blonde girl.

Nothing irks me more than the people who think fluency of a language is the substitute of knowledge. Generally it's not about how you speak but it's about what you speak, unless you are newsreader and the freaking teleprompter is in front of you.

A_P's comment is Choto, Metho, and to the point. Thats what I am talking about Mr. Professor. Quagmire.   Thank you so much A_P.  

I don't think there is a need to be offended. A lot of Americans don't have a grasp of their own language, let alone another and it is very surprising for them to see someone from a third world country speak it so well.

Now, regarding speaking in English, I guess it really depends on you. Language is a means of communication. If you feel it's way easier communicating something in English then go for it, especially in writing. Because my written Nepali is terrible, I almost always write in English. But there is one huge exception. I have seen a lot of Nepalis who will try to use English just to show off in verbal communication. If a Nepali speaks to me in Nepali, I will talk in Nepali.

IMHO, I think it is very very very rude to converse in English when your countrymen is repeatedly talking in Nepali. I've had encounters with some of these too-cool-to-speak-Nepali folks who would constantly talk to me in English. I feel if someone speaks to me in Nepali, I develop a different bond altogether. English lacks certain words and expressions that are often used in colloquial Nepali.

FF

The essence of the issue is not the language. It is stereotyping.

The blonde girl might as well have said, "Oh, Pixie, I can't believe you're such brilliant."

It is stereotyping in any way, shape or form.

A_P,

Can someone please translate my writing to SIS ( who claims to be a Georgetown Graduate )? I'd really appreciate the effort. 

Thanks A_P for getting to the core of my concern ...the issue is steryotyping.......She didnt ask me that question to know more about my background but in a tone which indicated that she believed ppl who look like me are just not capable of....she made things clear when she jumpen into next topic about hispanic guys at her workplace not being able to speak the language!!!

Just because I see lots of white truck drivers with smelly skin, greasy pony tails, scruffy beard, reddened neck at truck stops along I-90, I don't go see Elinor Ostrom of Duke or Paul Krugman of Princeton and exclaim, "Geez, Professors, I can't believe Americans with white skin can win Nobel Prizes."

Pixie said, "This happend in my class yesterday whn a blondie told me aww how can you speak such good english comin from a different country"

A_P: "But then again, it was a blonde girl."

Pixie & A_P looks like you two are also guilty of stereotyping. Let others assume whatever they want. Some people wouldn't believe a black man could ever be in the White House. Did that stop Obama?

Fortunefaded,

Mr. F.F. Well, Nobody stop Mr. Obama because his mother is white. Instead of Mr. Obama, if  50 cent wants to be in White House, would you vote for him?

A_P,

You're making a meal outta nothing. Pixie asked a simple question : Do you feel offended when Americans tell "you have such a good English" to which, I said s/he was overrating ( always thought Pixie were a he, how'd you know Pixie's a girl? ). Why? Because, it is natural for Americans to feel surprised when non native speakers brag about their grasp on English Language. Would you not feel the same if you met an American who's got a very solid grasp on Nepali language? So, If I were to say, "gee Ryan, your Nepali is very good", he's supposed to feel offended? I don't get it.

And fyi, not all stereotypes are bad. Whites are kind-hearted, whites are rich, whites tip good. These are some of the stereotypes about Whites. Similarly, Eastern Europeans love to crank Trance up, Indians are good with numbers, Nepalese are very friendly and kind hearted ( maybe not to each other ), these are some other stereotypes. It depends solely on you, someone else or I to prove whether the stereotypes are right or wrong.

Hence, it is absolutely ridiculous to feel offended when an American tells you "you have a very good English." Its unnecessary reaction.

I think I'm on the same boat as the thread-started.

I had been ridiculed in my secondary school in Nepal because of my English accent by my schoolmates. Oh how I desperately wanted the non-Nepali subjects like Maths, physics, and other courses to be taught in English and how I would ask in English to the teacher lol. Apparently there weren't many students who'd ask in English in the class, even though the school was a descent one. This continued in the High-school and a couple years of college there. Those are indeed nice memories.
Now when I have conversation in here, and in between the conversations people usually ask me if I grew up in here.

About your question, I think I'd take it as a compliment.

Just because a stereotype may sound good doesn't mean it represents the truth. It may at times, but not always. It is hackneyed, oversimplified, and formulaic.