Re: Tommy is an embarassment to whatever educational system attempted to teach him English

In article <1188646592.497405.101080@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> neilist <littoralee@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
On Aug 31, 6:52 pm, "*** T. Winter" <***.Win...@xxxxxx> wrote:
In article <1188575559.945610.212...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> neilist <littora...@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
...
> Alas, the poor Dutch, having TOMMY among them (snicker).

I do think tommy is *not* Dutch.
...
> So don't embarass the Dutch by identifying with them.

He doesn't.
....
By "He doesn't", do you mean Tommy doesn't embarass the Dutch, or
Tommy doesn't identify with "them"?

Both.

Okay, "Dutch" may be ambiguous.

Not at all.

But Tommy says above he speaks Dutch and implies that he's from
Belgium (alas for Belgium).

Yup. So he is not Dutch.

I think Tommy is some sloppy person from the United States, and I can
say that since I'm from the United States.

I think not. I think Tommy really is from Belgium.

Tommy should GO BACK TO SCHOOL FOR ENGLISH!

You have no idea about the schooling system in Europe, where there is
a plethora of languages. I think Tommy's first language is Dutch (or
Flemish if you wish), and his second language French. (For me it was,
in order, Dutch, French, English/Latin and German, with final exams
both oral and in writing, in all except Latin.) You did note that I
utilise the British spelling?

So then maybe Tommy can learn English AND learn to use English (happy,
Joshua Cranmer?), and then Tommy can USE English properly.

I note that you have not been able to thank me properly in Dutch, although
you used a lot of languages (and tried, I think, Dutch, but that was
German). In general, language problems should not be a point of discussion.

But one reason I think Tommy is indeed Belgian is that he uses
Bourbaki-ist definitions. When I was a student in Amsterdam the courses
were about one half Bourbaki-ist and one half Anglo-Saxon (this made you
at least aware of the differences). I think the Bourbaki method is still
used in France, Belgium and French speaking Switzerland.
--
*** t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj amsterdam, nederland, +31205924131
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn amsterdam, nederland; http://www.cwi.nl/~***/
.