How do people who cannot spell their own language get on with other languages?

Question

just wondering!

o.k-spell IN their own language.

Answer 1

My husband is Maltese, he finds his own language hard to write and he much prefers to write in English, he speaks 3 languages fluently.

Answer 2

There are many people who can speak clearly and eloquently but can't spell worth a damn. It does not mean they do not know the language, just that they cannot spell it. Some very intelligent people have a hard time with spelling. In English for example consider the heavy use of silent letters and how confusing they may be to youngsters learning to spell. Why is telephone not telefone? Phlegm is pronounced flem. It's enough to make you laff (laugh). Then the same sounding words that are spelled differently depending on how you mean to use them. Waist and waste, There, their or they're, Weigh and way, Martial and marshal and so on. Example are endless in things that young people can get confused over in spelling and never quite be able to get it right even as adults. Yet they know the language well so long as they are not asked to put it on paper.

Answer 3

Well, the mother tongue has been learned oraly while a later acquired language will be learned first in writing and then orally. That might explain part of it but you can rest assured that they will make mistakes in other languages as well. Grammer rules and spellings simply need to be memorized. The early in life you do it, the better. Just that some cultures and education systems do not stress mechanical memorization too much. Threfore you will have people that don't knwo how to spell because they did not learn early enough to correct themselves and in adulthood basically it's too late. Too many brain cells have died :P

Answer 4

1)Some languages are more phonetic than others. English is my native language. It is also one of the least phonetic and irregular languages. I find it very difficult to spell in that language but in the languages I'm learning, it is much easier as the spelling is more logical

2)I learnt to read and write very young in my native language.. I kinda missed out the mastering the spelling part. When learning a foreign language.. it takes much more time, and I'm learning it much older, so naturally I have concentrated on the spelling more.

3)For my native language.. I we are heavily influenced by the way we speak.. when we write.. But when learning a foreign language.. It is much more academic. I mostly learn new words by reading them. So that in a foreign language by spelling is perfect.. but my speech is not. Whilst for my native it is the other way round.

Answer 5

I am not the greatest speller in English, and I have found it a little difficult while studying Arabic. But Arabic has 2 letters for the H sound also the T sound and the S, also like three different D-DH sounds, so that is my defense for not being able to spell in Arabic! But English that's another story........

Answer 6

i can't spell that good in my own language (english) but i spell well in other languages-ish (sometimes i might get the 'i' and 'e' the wrong way around though.

Answer 7

'They' always say you can't manage another language if you can't manage your own. I'm not too sure about that. Maybe other languages are more phonetic and as such, have much easier spelling. Grammar is another thing though.

Answer 8

Well personally badly but then again i did never put much effort into learning, so I'm guessing if if effort is put into learning a language it should not be a problem

Answer 9

One thing has nothing to do with the other. We Cubans cannot spell because in our country we don't need to. We know how to write the words

Answer 10

Dude just convey your ideas the best you can. Sincerity is like math, its an universal language that requires no translation.