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A question for you indians and asians?

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bball
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Re: A question for you indians and asians? [#permalink] New post   14 Oct 2008, 09:55
I'm asian, but asian american so I can't speak well about whether or not asian languages leave out articles.

However, I'm sure all you americans know this already, but for the benefit of the internationals on this board, its actually "an MBA" not "a MBA". It has to do with the fact that MBA is pronounced "em-bee-ay" and therefore needs an "an" not an "a". You still need to use "a" when referring to "a Harvard MBA" etc.
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89nk
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Re: A question for you indians and asians? [#permalink] New post   14 Oct 2008, 18:11
I am Korean-American. I am looking forward to how my essays will turn out. :lol:
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andromeda
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Re: A question for you indians and asians? [#permalink] New post   27 Dec 2009, 21:14
I am not Asian, I am Eastern European and my native language is Slavic, although after 16 years is the USA I consider my English to be my stronger language. I don't know of any Slavic language that has "the" and "a" concepts. I don't know how to use them. So, I asked my PhD educated, published author, American born and raised husband for some help. Guess what? He couldn't give me clear, bulletproof rules for "the" & "a", he said he just knows when one goes and where one does not by ear.
So, next time you read a text that is not writen by native English speaker, don't get irritated by imperfect "the" "a" placements. Or, you can try to be fluentin French then go to Paris and see what feedback you will get.
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Turnpike
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Re: A question for you indians and asians? [#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2009, 05:19
As an Indian I tell you that we have pretty much re-organised the English language to blend it with our own native tongue. Most of what I hear these days is Hinglish! That's a mixed breed of English and Hindi. If you hear it long enough, you'll know why the articles are missing. As someone pointed out earlier in the thread, there are several school systems in India, and the level of attention they give to English varies. So, the quality of English is not the same everywhere. And there's a growing lament on the declining quality of English education in this country. So the Mystery of the Missing Articles is a direct result of poor English education in school more than anything else.
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Re: A question for you indians and asians? [#permalink]
28 Dec 2009, 05:19
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