Americans with Disability Act

When we talk about the good things and bad things about the United States, one thing that I am really proud of is how this country works with disabilities.  In particular, I’m referring to the Americans with Disability Act (or ADA).

The ADA was national legislation signed into law in 1990 by Pres. George H.W. Bush, and it outlaws discrimination based on a number of physical and mental disabilities, including ones you see on the screen here.  [They include deafness, blindness, intellectual disability, missing limbs, mobility impairments, autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV infection, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia.] The idea is to empower all citizens to participate in work and civic life as fully as possible.

This issue is particularly dear to me because my mom had multiple sclerosis when I was growing up.  Back in those days, we didn’t have curb cuts in the sidewalks, which made it difficult to push her wheelchair across the street.  Many buildings didn’t have public elevators, so we’d have to take her wheelchair into freight elevators in the back of the building.  Think about the message that sends to people with disabilities: that you’re not welcome here, or you can come in but you have to enter through the back where we load equipment and boxes.  Part of this inclusion, for me, centers on the notion of the dignity of all citizens.

[In the video we show] a number of adaptations of our environment that we make today in this country.  How many of them do you or your family members take advantage of so you have access to work places, public meetings, or recreation? Imagine the feeling of participation and belonging that these tools have added, not to mention the productivity that we achieve when so many more citizens are included.

Now, the United States isn’t perfect when it comes to dealing with disabilities, but we’re moving in a positive direction.  Sometimes we are uncomfortable talking or working with people who have disabilities, but that is something we can overcome.  If you have questions about disability in the workplace or community, we’ll provide a list of resources for you on our website.  Because around here, we believe everybody belongs.

Resources

For my local friends: Disability Advocates of Kent County http://dakc.us                               

Drop the R-Word: http://www.r-word.org

U.S. federal government: https://www.disability.gov

Autism Center: http://hopenetwork.org/services/behavioral-health/autism/

Immigrant Senior Centers

How do aging immigrants fill their days when they don't speak English well and their kids and grandkids are busy with work and school? We take a look at the growing number of senior centers for immigrants across the United States.

What do you do if you’re a working immigrant and a member of the sandwich generation?  That is, you have children in school who need tutoring and shuttling about to music lessons or sports practice, but you also have aging parents who may not speak English well.

Luckily, there is a growing movement of senior centers who cater to the elderly immigrant population.  Take, for example, the Multicultural Senior Center of Snohomish, WA.  It holds regular meetings and activities for many of the area’s senior newcomers.  Korean seniors meet twice a week to enjoy karaoke in their native language, to play a familiar board game called janggi, or to savor a hearty bowl of a national beef dish called bulgogi.

Experience has shown that immigrants who uproot later in life, especially those who follow working children to a new land, have a hard time adapting to the new culture and new language.  These centers give them a chance to interact in their native language and support each other while their busy children and grandchildren engage in their daily routines.

The Center currently sponsors events for five language communities: Filipino, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese.

While the seniors can come to play games or socialize, they can also access professional services from social workers or talk to counselors regarding health or housing issues.

And it turns out the Snohomish center is inspiring more than the immigrant community it serves.  Center coordinator Connie Hallgarth remarked on how much respect immigrants show for their elderly.  That is something, she says, we can all aspire to.

Choosing the Right Words

In the hustle-bustle of sending your emails, are you sure you're communicating the right message? Alan takes a look at one case where a nonnative-speaking manager scared his subordinate unnecessarily.  Learn how the right word choice in English makes a huge difference in how we communicate in the workplace.

A while ago, I was reminded about the importance of choosing the right words in our communication.  I was working with a South American client—let’s call him Antonio—on his emailing skills, and I read a note he had sent to an American subordinate.

Antonio started out the email like this:  “Tim, I wanted to give you some feedback.”

In the 3 short paragraphs that followed, Antonio (again, the boss) gave Tim a compliment, shared some information, and then expressed his thanks.

When I got to the bottom of the email, I was puzzled.  It didn’t contain what I expected, so I read it again.  And again.

It finally occurred to me, Antonio had set Tim up for bad news but then only shared positive things.  When a native speaker writes “I have some feedback for you,” the reader is expecting criticism.  If the message is from your boss, like in Tim’s case, you have that heart-sink feeling.  The thought is, “Uh-oh, I did something wrong, and now I’m going to hear about it.”

The situation here was that Tim had only done good things.  However, because the email had started with the word “feedback,” Tim was going to be reading the rest of the note looking for the bad news...which never came.

In this case, the right word choice would have been “update.”  When Americans hear “feedback,” they understand that as a warning.  In short, an update is for news (or something neutral), while feedback concerns quality or accuracy (and usually something bad). 

Below we are posting a transcript of the email, so you can read it for yourself.  In the meantime, pay attention to the words you choose in your communication.  You could be saving someone a small heart attack.

--------------------

From: Antonio Barrios [Antonio_Barrios@bidness.com]

Sent: Friday, May 24, 2014

To: Tim Robertson

Subject: Re: Project team

Tim,

I wanted to give you some feedback.

First, it was great seeing you earlier in the month. Carlos and I enjoyed the conversation and we appreciated the plant tour.

Gary both called and emailed Melanie, who has not gotten back with him yet, but he is really excited about the possibility of joining the project team.

I just wanted to thank you for making yourself available to Gary.  Independent of his joining the project or not, I thank you for your guidance in his career.

Best,

Antonio

NOTE: The names and identifying features in the client email above have been changed, but the format remains the same. 

When You Need Some Elbow Room

In the city, I frequently drive by a tavern called the Elbow Room.  It always makes me smile, thinking about the meaning.  In English, elbow room is a place to spread out and be comfortable—maybe even a place to put your elbows up on the bar. 

It becomes even funnier when I remember the expression, “to bend a few elbows” – which means to have a few drinks.

In addition to these two expressions, there are a half-dozen others that include the word “elbow.” How many of these do you already know?

• elbow grease

• to elbow in

• elbow macaroni

• tennis elbow

• to rub elbows with

• sharp elbows

To check yourself, check the list below to see the definitions of these expressions and read example sentences of each.

In checking the internet for this story, I discovered there are dozens of Elbow Room bars, taverns, and lounges across the United States. Clearly, this clever name has inspired more than just the owners of our local watering hole. The welcoming message for patrons across the country: “There’s room for you here!”

Cheers! 

Did you know the meanings of the seven "elbow" expressions listed above? Check yourself here!

• elbow room = space to spread out and be comfortable
  If we’re going to work comfortably, let’s find a conference table with enough elbow room.

• to bend elbows = to have some (alcoholic) drinks
  Honey, I’m going out with the boys to bend a few elbows.

• elbow grease = extra work or physical effort
  To get this old jalopy ready for the antique car show, we’re going to need a lot of elbow grease.

• to elbow in = to assertively enter, to force one’s way into a space
  They elbowed their way into the crowd to get a better view of the accident.

• elbow macaroni = slender noodles with a bend in them
  Mac & cheese is usually made with elbow macaroni.

• tennis elbow = inflammation, pain, or tearing of the tendon inserting into the elbow from the upper arm
  I had to quit playing racquetball for six months because of a bad case of tennis elbow.

• to rub elbows with = to associate with (possibly sitting next to and drinking with)
  She has been known to rub elbows with some pretty influential people in this town.

• sharp elbows = physical toughness or aggressiveness
  Retired Red Wings hockey player, Gordie Howe, used to be called Mr. Elbows.
  In a 2010 pickup basketball game at the White House, President Obama caught a sharp elbow on the lip and needed 12 stitches.

Historical Note: Did you know that the “ell” is an old-fashioned unit of measurement? It corresponded to the length of a man’s forearm from fingertips to elbow. Elsewhere, it extended up to the shoulder and was used primarily in tailoring to measure fabric.

Girl, Lady, or Woman?

Many of my students ask, “What is the difference between the expressions, girl, lady, and woman?”

This is not a simple question, but I have checked with dictionaries as well as many native speakers.  Let me give you a summary of my research.

As a rule of thumb, use “girl” for any female up to college age, use “young woman” until about age 30, and use “woman” after 30. The word “young” can be added depending on the age of the speaker. The word “old” is not really appropriate; instead, give the female person’s age if it is relevant to the story you are telling. Sometimes the distinction between “girl” and “young woman” depends more on perceived maturity and less on actual age.

For feminists—especially many native English speakers who lived through the 1960s and 1970s women’s movement, the term “woman” is preferred in everyday speech over “lady” to designate an adult female for two reasons. 

First, “woman” is the linguistic counterpart to “man.” Second is the perception that the word “lady” has classist and sexist connotations; to them, a “lady” represents an inconsequential female of no personal accomplishment (other than perhaps connection to British nobility, think: Lords and Ladies). The modern assumption is that any female who can compete head to head with a man should have the parallel expression of “woman.” 

Older Americans of both genders who do not identify with the women’s movement or notions of legal/financial/political equity tend to use the term “lady.” This includes expressions which “mark” (and therefore diminish) the position of female professionals: lady doctor, lady mechanic, lady pilot, lady engineer. This group may also include speakers of lower education or more rural status who identify female office workers as the “office girls” (even though they would never say “office boys” to identify the males who work in the office).

One exception: In a public place, if a female is unknown to you, it may feel more polite to refer to a stranger as “lady.” For example: the lady who dropped her purse or: This lady was ahead of me in line (so please wait on her next).

Here is a quiz you can take to test yourself...and don’t forget to share it with the other females in your life.

Choose girls, ladies, or women for the sentences below.

1.     We encouraged as many ______________ and boys as possible to audition for the play.

2.     Good afternoon, ______________ and gentlemen.  Thank you for inviting me to speak here today.

3.     Two ______________ just joined us on the senior advisory board this past week.

4.     I met three young ______________ in their 20s with a really interesting new product.

5.     In 2015, there were 20 ______________ serving in the U.S. Senate.

6.     Kids, if you can’t act like ______________ and gentlemen, I’m going to cancel Friday’s special trip.

7.     Over 50% of the medical students at the university today are ______________.

8.     Do you know those two ______________ talking to the President?

9.     Penny told Amy they were having a ______________ night out.

10.  How many members of the President's Cabinet members are ______________?

For a longer list of examples, including many nuances, go here.

Noun Compounds: Pronouncing 2 Words Together

What do a light bulb, door knob, and coffee mug have in common?  Yes, they’re all things that you would find at your workplace.  But I wasn’t referring to the items themselves.  Instead, I wanted you to think about their pronunciation.

Each of these words is called a noun compound, and they have a special pronunciation in American English.

Whenever you put two nouns together, like light + bulb, you make a compound, and the first word is pronounced stronger than the second: LIGHT bulb, DOOR knob, COFFEE mug.

You can tell the difference in the stress because if you change the first word to an adjective, then the second word gets stressed.  Listen to these examples: a broken BULB, a shiny KNOB, an empty POT.  Did you hear the difference in stress?

The rule is pretty simple, but students of English don’t always say these combinations right, which can confuse their American friends.  For example, can you distinguish a PIG barn from a big BARN?

Noun compounds are all around us: ink pen, book case, table leg, camera operator, a haircut...  Once you get going, you’ll notice them everywhere.

If you’d like to see more examples of everyday noun compounds, check out the list below.  In the meantime, keep up with your homework!

More noun compounds (Remember to stress the first word of these compounds!)

• parking lot, washing machine, driving school, thinking cap, rocking chair, moving company

• conference room, coffee break, school bus, grocery store, ice cream, case study, taxi cab

• chairperson, airport, wastebasket, cowboy, fieldgoal, firefly, deadline, teamwork, driveway

When Something's Wrong in Public

What do you say when you notice something is wrong with someone's appearance? Do you ignore it and say nothing? Do you tell the person that something is wrong? If you want to say something, do you know the right words in English?  Alan gives examples of several embarrassing things that can go wrong in public.

We’ve all been in this public situation. Some person—a co-worker, a client, or a stranger—has “something wrong” with his/her appearance. You notice he has food in his beard. The tag on the back of her blouse is sticking up. What do you do? What do you say?

There are two ways of thinking about this problem. One way is, “It’s not my problem. I won’t say anything.” The second way asks, “Would I want someone to tell me if I were in this situation?

My niece told me a (now) funny story about an embarrassment that happened to her. A while ago, she was working in an office building and went to use the restroom. Upon leaving the women’s room, she failed to notice that she had tucked part of her dress into the top of her panty hose. She spent the next hour working without noticing something was wrong. Finally, a customer pointed out her wardrobe malfunction—something she was both horrified and grateful to hear. 

If, like my niece, your answer to the above question is yes, I would want to be told, there are specific ways to express “what’s wrong” in English.

Here are a five awkward situations that sometimes happen. Some of them have happened to you. Do you know the proper English words to alert someone to this situation?

How about this situation?

What about this one?

Or this one?

And this last one: what do you say in English for this?

I suggest you share these situations with your American friends and ask whether they would point out any of them to someone in public. Maybe it depends on who is involved: a close friend vs. a stranger vs. your boss. This can be an interesting conversation.

If you’re the kind of person to speak up, remember to practice these new warning sentences (see list below).  And before you head out the door today, check yourself in the mirror!

1. Your zipper is unzipped.  (or: Your fly is open.)

2. There's toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

3. You missed a belt loop (in back).

4. Your shoe(lace) is untied.

5. Your shirt is untucked.

6. You have spinach in your teeth.

Tooting One's Own Horn: Individual vs. Group Thinking

Do you toot your own horn?  This is an expression that Americans use to talk about self-promotion.  That is, talking about the good things you have done.

In some cultures, promoting one’s skills or achievements is seen as distasteful and inappropriate.  Individuals there are supposed to talk about the accomplishments of the team, not the self. 

U.S. American culture, however, believes that if a person doesn’t tout individual successes, he/she won’t get noticed in a competitive work environment.  In short, American workers have become practiced at taking credit (sometimes when it wasn’t totally deserved) so they can get promoted or noticed by another company.

Here is a list of this year’s top ten economies (according to GDP).

1.     USA

2.     China

3.     Japan

4.     Germany

5.     France

6.     UK

7.     Brazil

8.     Italy

9.     India

10. Russia

Now let’s look at these countries on a scale of individualism vs. group thinking according to TMA World’s cultural assessment tool, Country Navigator.  If 1 represents strongest level of individual orientation and 10 the strongest level of group orientation, then you can begin to see where clashes of belief systems might occur. 

1            2            3            4            5            6            7            8            9            10

               US                                                    G                                 In              It                  C               J

               UK                                                    B                                 F

                                                                         R

For example, if a group of Japanese businesspeople is working with an American firm, they may perceive their US counterparts as shameless braggarts hogging the credit.  On the other hand, the Americans may think that the Japanese don’t have any confidence in their ability, perhaps because they’re indecisive and stuck in a herd mentality. 

Note that “bragging,” “hogging,” “unconfident,” and “herd mentality” are negative words that judge others according to our own cultural standards.  If we know we’re working with groups who have a different way of viewing accomplishment, we might better use a system that compares people in a non-judgmental way.  Using a scale with numbers is a good start.  Then we can talk about “more individualistic” or “less individualistic” behavior and make adjustments in our thinking according to the context of the business deal.

If you’d like to see suggestions on working more objectively across cultures, visit our What’s Up? blog at this address.  We wish you good luck as you continue this navigation!

Hyphenation How-To's

Native speakers and non-natives alike puzzle over English punctuation. Is it "walk in" or "walk-in"? Today, Alan gives tips on how to use the hyphen, evil cousin to the apostrophe.

A few weeks ago, we talked about the problem people have with apostrophes—both native speakers and English learners.  Today, I’d like to talk about the evil cousin to apostrophes: the hyphen.

If you are a non-native speaker of English, don’t worry.  Native speakers often get hyphens wrong in their everyday lives.

So here’s a quick quiz.  Which of these two sentences needs a hyphen?

1) You’ll need to follow up with Melissa on the status of the project.

2) Melissa will appreciate your follow up on the status of the project.

So, should both sentences get a hyphen?  Just one?  Neither?

The answer is: just one.

Sentence 2) gets a hyphen because follow-up in that sentence is a noun.  Hint: you know it's a noun if it has words like “your” or “my” or “the” in front of it.

Sentence 1) doesn’t get a hyphen because follow up there is a verb.  Hint: you know it’s a verb because it has “to” in front of it.  Verbs can also change form, like following up, follows up, followed up, etc. 

The other clue is to listen to the word stress.  When these hyphenated nouns are spoken, you hear stress on the first word: I appreciate your FOLLOW-up.

If it’s a verb, you will hear stress on the second word: I’m glad you followed UP.

There are lots of other examples in English, for example:

            the SET-up vs. to set UP

            the BREAK-through vs. to break THROUGH

If you’re still not sure you get the difference, that’s okay.  We’ll give you lots more to practice on our What’s Up? blog.  Give them a RUN-through.  You’ll feel smarter after you’ve run THROUGH a few of them.

EXTRA PRACTICE.  Instructions: Add a hyphen where you think one belongs.  The answers are below.

1a. The engineering staff is in a time crunch to scale__up the new product.

1b. They are worried they'll run out of time for the scale__up.

2a. The hair salon welcomes walk__ins.

2b. Even if you don't have an appointment, you are welcome to walk__in and get a haircut.

3a. These prices are a huge rip__off!  [= cheating or overcharging people]

3b. I can't believe these guys ripped__off my grandmother!

4a. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a run__off election will be held for the top two vote-getters.

4b. The top two candidates will run__off in a special election next month.

5a. I think Bob will eventually get fired for goofing__off so much at work. [= wasting time, doing things other than work]

5b. Bob is such a goof__off.  I'm surprised he gets any work done at all.

ANSWERS

Hyphens: 1b, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5b

U.S. Highways

Navigating U.S. highways can seem a confusing proposition. I-94? US-131? M-45? Alan explains the system behind the roadways that take Americans from here to there.

Dropping the R-Word

We know we shouldn't be calling people "retards." Even though we don’t want to offend and say the wrong thing, we often don't know the proper language to use. The expression recommended by the people at r-word.org is “intellectual disability” (they sometimes abbreviate it as I.D.). Find out about this national campaign to change the U.S. conversation so everyone can feel like they belong.

Choosing the Right Words

It's important for us to use the right words when we communicate with others in the workplace. Do you know the difference between some "feedback" and an "update"? Alan gives a real-life example of an email from a boss to a subordinate that has unintended results.

A while ago, I was reminded about the importance of choosing the right words in our communication.  I was working with a South American client—let’s call him Antonio—on his emailing skills, and I read a note he had sent to an American subordinate.

Antonio started out the email like this:  “Tim, I wanted to give you some feedback.”

In the 3 short paragraphs that followed, Antonio (again, the boss) gave Tim a compliment, shared some information, and then expressed his thanks.

When I got to the bottom of the email, I was puzzled.  It didn’t contain what I expected, so I read it again.  And again.

It finally occurred to me, Antonio had set Tim up for bad news but then only shared positive things.  When a native speaker writes “I have some feedback for you,” the reader is expecting criticism.  If the message is from your boss, like in Tim’s case, you have that heart-sink feeling.  The thought is, “Uh-oh, I did something wrong, and now I’m going to hear about it.”

The situation here was that Tim had only done good things.  However, because the email had started with the word “feedback,” Tim was going to be reading the rest of the note looking for the bad news...which never came.

In this case, the right word choice would have been “update.”  When Americans hear “feedback,” they understand that as a warning.  In short, an update is for news (or something neutral), while feedback concerns quality or accuracy (and usually something bad). 

I’ll post a transcript of the email in our What’s Up? blog, so you can read it for yourself.  In the meantime, pay attention to the words you choose in your communication.  You could be saving someone a small heart attack.

Hero or Bystander?

Are you a hero or a bystander? Do you have what it takes to be decisive and act in an emergency? According to psychologists, there are seven questions to ask yourself to judge whether you're the type of person who steps in when the chips are down. Alan gives examples of real-life emergencies and the tools to judge whether you're hero material.

Hero or Bystander?

How would you react in an emergency? Would you risk your life to help somebody in danger?

An article in the Wall Street Journal gave several examples.

A gardener in New York State looked up and noticed a confused 81-year-old driver stuck on a railroad crossing near her house.  She ran barefoot to the car, pulled the woman out, rolled together down the railroad bank, covering the old woman with her body, just moments before a train smashed the automobile. The hero was slightly injured; the old woman was unhurt.

Until we encounter that crisis, we won’t know if we will step up to the challenge or freeze up and do nothing. Recently, scientists have identified the qualities and attitudes that separate heroes from the rest of us.

There was the case of the Brooklyn, NY, man who caught a 7-year-old child falling from her apartment window. The force of the child’s weight did severe damage to his arm muscles and nerves, requiring months of physical therapy. But in the moment of crisis, his only prayer was to not miss the falling child, who was saved without a scratch.

Could we have done that, we wonder?

The article told of a military officer who refused to leave the side of a soldier who had a grenade embedded in his leg. He stayed with the injured man until the evacuation team could get the soldier to a bomb squad, who safely extracted and carried away the explosive.  The officer didn’t have to accompany the injured man, but he had promised he would stay with him until the explosive was removed.

Are we as brave as these heroes?  According to psychologists there are seven questions to gauge yourself, by answering on a scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.  The higher your score, the more likely it is that you are brave, empathetic, hopeful, and coping—all the traits that are required to be heroic in an emergency.

1. I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me.

2. Fear does not keep me from pursuing my goals.

3. I try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective.

4. Despite numerous setbacks, I usually succeed at getting what I want.

5. Fear does not stop me from doing the right thing.

6. I want to be competent, and I believe I can be.

7. Being truthful is extremely important to me.

So, what do you do if you get a low score? Don’t beat yourself up.  Most of us aren’t heroes.  We’ll just have to be content being good at something else.

Dealing With Workplace Whiners

They are inevitable in any workplace: the whiners who prefer complaining over finding solutions. Changing jobs won't help you because these grumpy people are guaranteed to turn up in your next company. Join Alan as he offers tips on dealing with these unpleasant co-workers. Along the way, you'll learn great synonyms for "complaining" that you can practice at work--in a friendly, non-complaining way, of course!

Suggestions for Learning English? I'm All Ears!

How do learners improve their English skills? By listening to authentic speech by native English speakers. Today, Alan talks about his personal language learning experiences and mentions a podcast for free subscription, All Ears English.

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What’s one of the best ways to learn another language? For me, it’s by listening to native speakers engage in real conversation.  I’ve traveled to over 3 dozen countries in my life, studied a dozen languages, and the most rewarding part has always been authentic dialogue.

When I lived in Germany as a college student, I liked my classes at the University.  But I got far more engaging “lessons” by hanging around real Germans.  Living with a family, I got to listen to their daily banter around the dinner table and around the house.  I can still imitate many of those conversations today. 

Decades after that, I moved to Brazil.  I took classes at a language school and with a tutor, but spending time with my Brazilian friends at the beach gave me a chance to listen to authentic talk—and ask them questions!

Today I’d like to share with you a great service for intermediate and advanced students of English.  It’s a daily podcast called All Ears English.

It’s the product of teacher, traveler, and language guru, Lindsay McMahon and her team of expert English teachers.  Subscribing to the free podcast is done easily via iTunes, and listeners can tune in daily on their commutes to work or school.

What I like most about All Ears English is that it offers natural conversation between fun-loving native speakers of American English.  Their tagline is Learn English, Love Your Life.  And their philosophy is gentle and realistic: Connection, NOT Perfection!  After all, everyone makes mistakes.  And if we’re going to make progress, we can’t get hung up by putting details ahead of fluency.

I know there are times when you can’t be watching our TV show to improve your English: when you’re jogging or bike-riding or driving a car, for example!  For times like those, you need a good podcast to occupy your time but keep your eyes where you’re going to stay safe!  A perfect time, then, for All Ears English!

If you try out their podcast, let me know how you like it.  Your new skills might be just what you needed to help you go out and make some new English-speaking friends!

Public Signs: Taking Time to Get It Right

Alan takes a look at various signs that business owners put up in public view...without taking the time to proofread.  Can you spot the mistakes?  Test your English spelling and grammar skills here.  Good news: you can’t do worse than the shop owners featured in this story!

Have you ever been out in public and noticed mistakes on signs? They can be fancy ones that cost a lot of money.  They can also be simple ones that were handwritten.

In both cases, no one checked to see if they were correct.  In the case of handwritten signs, it’s not such a big deal.  Those are mostly temporary and will be taken down soon.  In the case of more permanent signs, they can make the person or company look careless or maybe even uneducated.

A common mistake is punctuation.  In fairness, most English speakers weren’t paying attention when their teachers were explaining punctuation.  They were busy talking with their friends or rolling their eyes and thinking how boring punctuation is.

The most common error is with apostrophes.  People just insert them when they’re not sure, usually before an S.  This is called the greengrocer’s apostrophe because grocers who sell produce often have to hand-letter small signs telling which kinds of vegetables are for sale. 

Here are some cases of signs I’ve photographed with an extra apostrophe.

[Bra’s and Brief’s; note: women’s is correct]   [Daddy say’s]   [Sunday’s]

Sometimes they’re really expensive ones, like this restaurant sign:  [Cheer’s]

I got into trouble about this one.  (I’ll tell you the story if you ask me.)  [Pita Wrap’s]

My colleague, Becky Ticotsky has a blog called Apostrophe Catastrophes where she shows photos of lots and lots of signs with mistakes on them.  You can check it out here if you want to see them—or maybe to check your own ability to spot mistakes!

Here are five more signs I’ve seen in public. 

[CNN: it’s]

[Mancino’s: your wanted]

[Unnamed restaurant: excepting reservations]

[Sunnyslope Florist: everyday]

[Gift Shop sign for sale: lay down]

Can you recognize what’s wrong with them?  Send us your answers, and we’ll tell you if you’re correct.

In the meantime, if you're going to the effort of communicating with public signage, be sure to spell-check your work.  Or hire a language consultant to get it right for you!  ;-)

More Strategies for Small Talk

Do you freeze up when needing to have a conversation with Americans? What topics are safe to bring up?  What is inappropriate?  Some of the answers will surprise you.  Don’t create awkward moments among your new American acquaintances.  Check out Alan’s tips here.

Global Talent Retention Initiative

Thousands of bright international students graduate from Michigan’s colleges and universities every year. Once they've fallen in love with the Mitten State, what are employers doing to make sure they keep that knowledge and passion right where it belongs? Learn about retaining the superstars of tomorrow from Michigan’s Global Talent Retention Initiative.

Who's on board with Michigan's Global Talent Retention Initiative?  www.migtri.org

Michigan Governor's office

Office for New Americans

Global Detroit

30+ Michigan Universities

University Research Corridor (URC)

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)

Michigan economic development agencies

Ethnic chambers of commerce

Professional organizations

Contractions in English

I’m sure you’re going to like today’s story.  It’s simple, it’s useful, and it’s something that most English learners need more of.

What’s that, you say?  Well, we’re talking about contractions.  They’re the combination of two words into one, to make speech smoother and more efficient.

If you’re an English learner, perhaps you’ve been told NOT to use contractions in your speech.  Maybe the teachers in your home country told you that they’re a lazy or sloppy way of speaking.

The opposite is actually true.  Native speakers use contractions all the time.  It combines shorter, less important English words (can’t, you’ll, she’s, they’ve, isn’t, I’m, he’d, wouldn’t) so that your speech will flow more easily.

When native speakers hear contractions, they don’t analyze them directly, but they FEEL them in the conversation and perceive it as friendly and normal.

On the other hand, if you over-pronounce English phrases

I WILL GO WITH YOU.  (Instead of “I’ll go with you.)

If you pronounce every syllable

WE WERE NOT READY.  (Instead of “We weren’t ready.”)

You will sound like a computer or a robot instead of a real person.  Even worse, you will sound like you are angry AND CHOOSING TO EMPHASIZE EVERY WORD.

So, let’s all practice using contractions.  It’s the right thing to do, don’t you agree?

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Footnote: Don’t use contractions in formal writing like business letters or research papers.  On the other hand, if you use them in email, your readers will “feel” your friendliness when they read your message.  Don’t be afraid to practice this.  It’ll make your readers (and listeners) like you.

Sticky Fingers

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In a recent report, the Wall Street Journal cited some shocking statistics about Americans who steal merchandise from stores. People in the U.S. shoplift 1.6 billion—that’s billion with a B—dollars worth of goods every year.

The interesting name that the reporter gave this theft was “sticky fingers.” Now, this is an idiom which means “theft” or “the tendency to steal.”

I like using colorful idioms because they often paint a picture of what the meaning is. In this case, the item to be stolen will automatically stick to a person’s hand (and then he or she will hide it in his/her coat or pocket or purse). So, what are sticky-fingered Americans stealing?

The top five are, in order,

1. wine or spirits

2. make-up

3. jewelry

4. swimwear

5. sunglasses

This makes sense because these items are all small and easily hidden on a person. Just remember, the next time you hear someone talking about sticky fingers, it may not because they need a napkin. They could be doing something unlawful!