The importance of using plain English in business, commerce and industry

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The importance of using plain English in business, commerce and industry http://ow.ly/4SHOD

Notes to the link above:

Before finding time to read this, you may want first to click on the link above to read the article that’s lodged in my Helium.com account, where you can also find many other articles I’ve written on numerous topics. On this article, I’ll point out right away that language is a powerful tool, such that most people would even use it to dominate others, which has been happening since mankind started writing down history. The English language, per se, is not the main culprit but those interesting characters we meet all the time in our lives and who think of themselves as superior, one way or another, just because they happen to be speaking in a language that’s used in business, commerce and industry. Well, it could have been Chinese Mandarin, Tagalog, Nihongo, Espanol, or some other languages you may fancy about. In our case, we try to keep using plain (or some would say ‘basic’ or ‘simple’) English whenever we make transactions.

1) Keep in mind that many people (so many, actually!) outside of the USA, Canada, some Caribbean countries, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand who know and understand English. But the kind of English they know may sound different from what you may be using now. This does not give you license to make fun of people who speak your English differently from you – mainly because these people most probably will be speaking other languages than English. That in itself means they’re more superior to you intellectually if you’re just speaking one language, which in this case is English. So, try to keep your English plain whenever you deal with people outside of the countries you believe have these ridiculous claims about being able to speak in the language as a ‘native speaker.’ You’ll find it more tactical whenever you deal with others who probably use other languages.

2) Plain English allows for space to negotiate, which is a very important tool in conducting daily affairs in business. Be deliberately simple whenever you use English whenever you talk with others who speak languages other than English. You’ll certainly be more appreciated, and they will consider you more respectful (and will probably give you the business if you impress them as reasonable).

3) English is constantly being mixed with other languages in other countries. Keep in mind that there are other versions of English that are spoken freely with other languages, like Taglish, Singlish, Indian English, etc. These languages continue to evolve to-date. Avoid confusing yourself more; use plain, unaffected English with others who speak languages other than English.

4) Also, try to always remember that others actually read and hear better in English than when they speak it. These skills involve different faculties, as your teachers may have taught you in grade school. These skills accounts for notable differences why vocabularies being used by those you conduct business with sound so far from the usual idiomatic expressions you use daily in life. There will always be a gap among the usages of English in written, spoken and sound formats (and now in digital format, too!).

I remember that when I wrote this article on Helium.com, I received a note from some un-named editor who thought the article was ‘badly written.’ I can only guess that this article must have been just using English most of his / her writing life. But fortunately, the article remain in my inventory of articles on Helium.com. I can also that editors of articles written English need to posses that international outlook, and must be at least able to speak competently in 2 or more other languages. They will have a better sense of doing their work, especially when reading works done by writers who speak, read, and write in languages other than English. There you go!

 

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blog:Chito Atienza, 2008 ESOL Teacher of the Year Awardee

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I personally know Chito Atienza and proud of having known and met him. We happened to go the same prayer meeting group every Friday at St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Lefrak, Queens, NY.  I’m happy that he’s been among the awardees of the New York Times for 2008.  This is a no mean feat as you face a lot of challenges from all directions as a teacher for long years. He’s remain as accessible as he’s been all these years. He’s among the many ESOL teachers I’ve met in New York City; there are quite a number of them in the city and who’ve started their teaching careers back in the Philippines. Chito, just like all other Filipino teachers like him based in NYC, has trail-blazed the pathway in overcoming ethnic stereotypes on jobs people have in mind when they meet someone of different color or looks on the street.  You don’t normally expect ESOL teachers from the Philippines here in NYC, do you? And it’s really amusing listening to him tell stories how his white-skinned colleagues would look down on him and make remarks that he looks like a ‘monkey.’ Some people can be just so petty and immature about what’s seen on the surface – you can just wish something ill will happen to them soon. LOL. On a more personal note, I was just wondering why no one from the Philippine Consulate in New York was able to make it when he was given the award — perhaps, it was deemed ordinary by the Consulate staff. But that’s all water under the bridge now, so to speak.

I’ve been to his place in Woodside, Queens many times, where a lot of Filipino families live and work. It’s always been an amazing experience visiting his private nook of a space where he has placed his collections of icons, religious statues, pictures and other items that mostly the Catholics among us can understand. He has lovingly spent time maintaining this space and the collection inside has grown more and more these years. If ever you get the chance to find yourself in that nook, you will be surprised at Chito’s efforts. He’s turned it into a small chapel where you’ll get a sense of what’s religious, holy and awesome. If you’ll ever get to know him, ask him about this space, as he may probably decide to invite you in.

Here’s my write-up on him that gives highlight to his collection: blog:Chito Atienza, 2008 ESOL Teacher of the Year Awardee - http://dyer-movingon.blogspot.com/2010/04/chitos-sanctuary-somewhere-in-woodside.html

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How to improve conversational skills

How to improve conversational skills http://ow.ly/2uVhl

Improving the level of your conversational skills until they become your abilities like you are wearing a second-skin takes a lot of time and hard but subtle work. Take it from me who started communicating with people around me in a different language (Bicol, the mother tongue of my Mom who hails from the southern provinces located in Luzon, Philippines). Then after some time, which was for a brief few years as I was growing up, I had to learn to talk in Tagalog and English practically at the same time – I would not know which one I started first.

I had a Father (bless his soul!) who spoke really good English with an Ilocano accent and I heard a lot of relatives speaking in English among themselves. Then I happened to enjoy watching ‘Sesame Street‘ on TV in the early 70s at home, where I also learned my arithmetic before I started formal schooling.  I also watched a lot of shows on TV that used English, including locally produced shows. I remember listening intently to this certain American guy named ‘Uncle Bob’ who had his show on a TV channel that is now GMA 7 in the Philippine television.

When I was growing up, we were actually learning and unlearning languages. This meant that everyone in my household was trying to speak in Bicol among themselves while they were gradually shifting to speaking in Tagalog and in English, the languages being used in Metro Manila. I had a grandfather who was a priest and who communicated very well in English (I remember reading his letters to me in English). Don’t be amazed by this as the period when I was growing up in Metro Manila was highlighted with a lot of interesting changes. We would be always watching the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos speak in English with an Ilocano accent (just like my Father).  Note, however that these guys used English like it’s their first language, although, of course, you couldn’t help but notice the regional accent.

Then I happened to be gregarious enough and enjoyed being friendly with others around me. I just kept on talking whenever I had the chance until I reached adulthood lately where I rather be writing than talking. I was known to being very talkative in grade school. I’ve just kept on communicating. The point is: keep on getting engaged in conversations with people whose talks mean a lot to you.

1) Don’t spend listening to others who don’t have anything substantial to say.

2) Don’t even bother to listen to people who just sound good with their cute accents unless, of course, if they talk sensibly. You could easily know the difference among these types of people.  From engaging in ongoing conversations with people whom you think are important enough, you will end up improving your conversational skills.

3) Most importantly, learn to listen very, very well.  It is from listening, which starts from good hearing abilities, that you will learn far more in improving your conversational skills. You also learn a lot from the mistakes committed by people you converse with.

4) Take your time, as it does indeed take some time to make sense with all the noise you will hear from having conversations. You’ll notice everybody’s talking in most conversations. You can, in the meantime, assume the role of a listener in these types of noisy and loud conversations.

5) Make a lot of terrible mistakes as you engage in your conversations with others. Learn to be selective eventually, i.e. by refusing to converse with people whose idea of conversation is by dominating the whole thread. Steer away from them.

6) And of course, complement your efforts by reading good books, the great ideas of which you can always refer to when you converse with others who converse really well.

You will soon get great results in your efforts. It basically entails being comfortable with your own conversational skills in any language that you prefer to use. Keep at it!

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