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100 sats \ 6 replies \ @Coinsreporter OP 20h \ parent \ on: What's the biggest sign that someone is truly wise? AskSN
No it doesn't. It never did. It was just that I've been away from some good English Literature. Been reading Newspapers, some odd magazine or like that. Most of the times, those have been in my native language.
If you read in the comments, I was particularly talking about English which isn't my native language.
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actually harder for me to read native than in English.
It had been the same for me. It was just that my life went through some major transformations. Some of them are marrying, discarding my job, having a kid, started living with a combined (big) family. I don't blame anything/anyone but may be these transformations just kept me away even from those books that I love the most.
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In my own journey to getting married and a few years beyond (the first time, kinda broke my own principles hard on that one) I also read less often. However, because I was madly in love with a girl whose only common language with me was English despite us both speaking 4 languages (though covering 7 between a couple is awesome), mine didn't deteriorate much besides picking up on what we could call balkanized grammar, close to Runglish, which is probably still recognizable even when I write today.
I have much more problems with languages I didn't get to use in practice a lot for many years, like French. I can reasonably read it, have real trouble writing it unassisted, and found out recently what a silly dude I am when I try to speak back, because my friends that do speak French perfectly are also painfully honest to the maximum extent. Not even sure if I need to give that up; getting old.
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though covering 7 between a couple is awesome
That's really amazing.
IMO, your English sounds good enough to compete against native speakers.
As you may know India is a land of many languages and I've tried many of them but in most of them I failed too. I think you're good in any language if you can transfer your thoughts correctly. You don't need to be extremely affluent in any of them.
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Thanks! And likewise!
Yes! Re: affluence. I understood that you doubt your vocabulary but honestly, it really can help non-native speakers if your vocabulary isn't as awesome as the average Oxford English major graduate.
Example: when I was working for an international company in Cairo my colleagues requested for me to do the talking rather than my British counterparts because they could actually understand what I was saying much more easily. It was similar when I worked in Milan and Paris but less explicit: it's often easier for non-native people to understand other non-native speakers than natives.
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it's often easier for non-native people to understand other non-native speakers than natives.
I 100% agree on this. I too have some similar experiences while working. My interactions with English natives used to be much shorter but with non-natives they were quite lengthier.