Don't blog in English, if you can't speak English.

I agree with you with one caveat: blogging casually can be an outstanding way to learn how to write well in English: it gets you a lot of practice writing regularly.

That said, I am totally with you when it comes to a business or professional blog: it looks highly unprofessional. I occasionally read articles (using google translator) in languages I don't speak or read. I would rather do that than read broken English that I know was written by a human...especially when it's so bad that it's hard to read. Nowadays, google translator is getting better than a number of non-native speakers.

 

I do have to agree that most people's broken English is far better than my attempt at any other language since I only speak English fluently. But I also wouldn't attempt to write in another language and expect to be taken seriously unless I was fluent.

 

Even using tools like Google Translator can be a bit tricky. I would agree it is best to stick to your own language, or languages you speak fluently.

 

There's plenty of English as a second language bloggers out there who write perfectly acceptable English. One that comes to mind is Florian Müller who's patent blog is on my regular list. I assume you are another & would have no problems with the occasional, amusing, turn of phrase.

There are other writers whose English is execrable, but who present ideas that are worth the time they take to decode.

Unfortunately the are many more writers with bad English that really have nothing unique or memorable they choose to impart. When I have the misfortune to encounter one of these, I move on very fast.

Only if they get appropriate feedback and use that to learn to write better English, otherwise they will just repeat the same mistakes until the end of their time on-line.

 

English is not my first language also but I'm learning every now and then. Although there are some instances where my English grammar is not correctly applied on blog but I believed that experience is the best lesson I could get.

 

Foreign blogs are needed too. Why not write in your native tongue?

 

as you said, English is important for blogging in English, but I don't think that people will stop blogging just because they can't speak or write English very well... Everyone wants to be a good blogger, they try to gain it by learning everyday. Blog is like a diary, so reader can choose whether to read it or not.

 

Perfect! I like this reply!

I've seen even a lot of native (English) speakers also write very bad English!

 

The title looks offensive but the contents are 100% true. I would not read a single line from a blog whose Author has made grammatical mistake more than once.

 

So true. If you'll tend to write in english with less knowledge on the language, you will just confuse your readers. I think its better if you provide a translation, if needed.

 

It is funny just the way you look at English. I think a person who speaks good English in England would look at an American writer the way an American writer would look at an Indian writer (all averages). You would be surprised to know how bad a native English speaker can write. That's just sad because he usually "knows" only one language

 

I can watch movies or TV shows made in England, and can't understand half the words coming out of their mouth. I say to myself, that is English? Crikeee mate! But it does look different in the script, so I usually turn on closed captioning ... and the English is all good.

But it is true. Even if you do know English fluently, that does not mean you can write it with good grammar. I would say if your grammar is bad, even if you know English, then do not try to make a living off of it by blogging. Blogging is journalism in some respects, and try to get a job at a newspaper with lousy grammar.

 

I don't think so a lot of people will read your blog. Perhaps a translation is needed. Somehow the blog must consider the geographical location of the target audience.

 

thats right,thats why i just using my country language only

 

Well, I have to say the same thing - they say "English humor" is really different than American comedy, but half the times I can't figure out whether I am laughing at some joke or the accent or just the feeling of *what the hell just happened here*

I guess it brings us back to the (philosophical?) question of what you mean by saying someone "knows" English. Do you mean he can read and/or write and/or speak or does it include rules like grammar. I certainly wouldn't say I know JAVA if I don't know the syntax of the language but ah well ...

 

I agree with everything you said. but not with this "that makes you ( the owner) look uneducated."

if someone can't speak/ write english that doesn't mean he/she is uneducated. if that is so, as you are saying, all chinese, russian, french, japanese are uneducated . lol

sensible reply.
there is a big prb behind all this blogging thing. I noticed all the english speaking people are busy in making fake ebooks to loot newbies. so new blogger are filling the space with their broken, whatever, english. but I hope they learn by the time..

so what If you can't swim. just dive and one day you will be the best swimmer.

 

Well, I guess I am expanding the topic to include grammar. So don't blog in English, if you can't speak English or your grammar is that of a 2nd Grade idiot. It makes no difference to me. Both are hard to read or make sense of, IMO.

 

everyone have their right to do what they want as long as they are not against any rules
I dont mind to read blog with broken english if the content is good enough.

 

Ok that makes sense. If I had to make a choice, I would prefer grammar - speaking is secondary when you are writing in English. There are few who learn English as a second language and can write well - quite well actually, but find it hard to speak. I guess it is because they don't get to 'practice' speaking (I don't mean the accents btw). We have all seen the opposite too - if you are learning a new language for the purpose of day to day communication, chances are you speak better than you can write but if you learn it in an academic setting, chances are you might not be able to speak well but can perhaps proofread a document. I think saying you ought to have better grammar than a 2nd Grade idiot does make sense

 

I know how I feel when I notice a grammatical or spelling errors on something I just posted. I'm actually horrified when I see that I have left a mistake up for a long period of time without noticing and can't imagine what people must think of me.

I have plenty of patience when speaking to someone personally that isn't fluent. That's totally different. But when it's written somewhere that is striving to be reputable, it's just unprofessional.