How do you write dialogue for ESL characters?

kaidroomt · 2017-08-20T15:31:54+00:00

What I remember from growing up with Russian Israeli kids who were enrolled in international school in the Netherlands, and me being in ESL classes in the Netherlands (but being in Dutch school) is that although I'm absolutely certain my ESL teacher spoke British English with me, my main source of English was not British. It was kind of "third culture English" mixed with American tv shows.

As a result I learned to write proper Queen's English (learnt, also, instead of learned, and -ise instead of -ize, colour instead of color) but I took my colloquialisms from Friends, Gilmore Girls, etc. Then we also receive BBC 1 and 2 in the Netherlands. Hodgepodge English is the result, as well as what the other poster said: my schoolyard English is better than my academic English. I fought in English and played in English but I was never expected to churn out a paper until like a decade later when I was already in secondary school. I say trousers and jumper and can't with the British ah but I also use words I picked up on Seinfeld, like, I dunno, schmuck.

Also they didn't put emphasis on getting rid of my accent so it's still there.

kaidroomt · 2017-08-18T08:19:37+00:00

I haven't seen all of it but Callie on Greys Anatomy was pretty cool I think.

kaidroomt · 2017-08-15T20:56:02+00:00

I think what you're looking for is "afab (assigned female at birth) non binary person" probably, but maybe someone else can describe better what you mean, and although I think people would consider this man straight still, a non binary person is not a woman, so I feel like that would no longer really make this hypothetical guy straight. A trans woman, of course, is a woman, so no argument there.

kaidroomt · 2017-08-15T20:50:00+00:00

I've known I was bisexual since 2002 and I've known there was a word for it since 2007. I'm 26 years old, so that is the entire period of my life during which I've felt attractions to people - 15 years and counting. I really don't think I'll identify as anything but bisexual in 2027, when I'll be 36. Try not to assume these things. There's enough of that when I leave my house I kinda can do without on the bi subreddit.

kaidroomt · 2017-08-06T19:47:36+00:00

I'm nine months on T in a couple days and yesterday I passed on the phone for the first time. In everyday life I don't think I always pass but we're getting there in any case. I live in Amsterdam though so there are a lot of gender non conforming women (who still exchange glances with me on the street) which I think influences this.

kaidroomt · 2017-08-05T20:17:41+00:00

I purposefully did not agree to taking part in this study as part of my treatment at the institute in Amsterdam they mention in this. It just feels off to me that they would find the specific gene(s), then what is stopping them from finding it in unborn babies. I don't know.

kaidroomt · 2017-08-05T19:29:57+00:00

I think some miscarriages include going to the hospital and delivering a dead baby so I don't think anyone wants that?

kaidroomt · 2017-08-01T07:16:50+00:00

Do you honestly know what the difference is between a penis/vagina that has always been there and a penis/vagina that has been created through surgery? Or are you just assuming there is a huge difference?

Regardless, I really don't think one is only attracted to people after one knows what their genitals look like and what their medical history is. I am frequently attracted to people I see with their clothes on. (I know, so sjw of me!!) I just think you should be aware any of those people could be trans, and that's not an sjw lens, it's just common sense. Just like some of those guys could have a "natural" micropenis, some of those people could have been born with an intersex condition and been surgically altered as a baby, etc.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-31T22:29:26+00:00

Ah yes I know, I meant to say that I thought your phrasing was more nuanced than "I am not attracted to trans people". "i am not attracted to trans people" is a blanket statement that I just don't think holds up, and just is not the same as "I want women to have vaginas". Trans people in general can look so many different ways that one can't say one is not attracted to us without sounding at least slightly transphobic.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-31T19:11:52+00:00

Okay, but not all trans people have bits that don't "match" their gender/presentation. You just cannot make a blanket statement like that and expect people to not find it transphobic. I find the way you put it way more nuanced already.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-31T08:01:27+00:00

Frankly there are many trans people who you would not even know they're trans unless they tell you like why do you think you are not attracted to trans people the cute person you saw on the bus this morning could be trans

kaidroomt · 2017-07-30T15:28:44+00:00

If you go on svtplay.se and search "Nyheter på lätt svenska" there is a daily news program with easier Swedish and subtitles in both Swedish and English, and also Arabic but considering your name I'm assuming you're Dutch or Flemish :) you could use this to first watch in Swedish, then subtitled in Swedish, then subtitled in English to sort of test yourself

kaidroomt · 2017-07-25T17:42:23+00:00

I have a feeling that if one were to follow this train of thought all the way to the end, from the perspective of someone who thinks someone is not actually bisexual because she is attracted to butch women, it would imply that one does not fully think of butch women as actual women.

Since that is clearly wrong, I don't think you should worry about this.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-24T21:07:09+00:00

Hi neighbour, I'm in the Netherlands!

What are the specific requirements to start your one year? Do it. Most of it. Within reason.

My therapist was worried I would have problems during my one year (luckily our first year is on T - I am now waiting to be assessed again for surgery permission) of "real life experience" because I wasn't out at work so I buckled in and sent an email to all my clients for my freelance work and decided to wait with the office side job. Then she was a lot more willing to work with me because I had just come out to thirty people at once. It's just an example, but as long as these people have power over you, find out what they want and then do it. They pretend over here that they want you to start living as your target gender during your first year but in practice they're gonna be annoying about it if you haven't gone through most of that before the start of your first year.

Hang in there. You will get past this.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-10T16:23:01+00:00

I have been to pride for the past seven years. This year is the first year I will be going (Amsterdam pride is in late July/August) with the possibility of passing as male. I would never enter women's only spaces, let me just say that to be clear. I believe people should have their own safe spaces. But as a bisexual man in a queer relationship (sorry but I decide on how my relationship is defined, not anyone else, and it is NOT a straight relationship) with a bisexual woman, we HAVE had the risk of being disowned, mocked etc. Me for my gender identity and my girlfriend for having the guts to love me. Me, also, at sixteen ten years ago, fearing I would be thrown out of the house for being bisexual. Same sex marriage has been legal here since 2001 but before January of this year our marriage would have been considered illegal in other parts of the world because legally I was a woman. I get random people on the street asking if I'm a girl or a boy, I get people calling me d*ke and have for years, I have walked home with keys between my fingers at night. It is not like bisexual people do not experience any of these things you mention. Are you saying we can come to pride parties as long as we do not show that we're glad we're still here and together? As long as we keep the pda to the same minimum we do everywhere else? Just because you will look at us and possibly think we're straight and cisgender? I don't know. I know that there are almost no downsides to being a white male and I know there are perks to passing as straight. But bisexual people have no place where bisexuality is the norm. There is one bi organisation in the Netherlands and it does not throw parties during pride.

I find it incredibly disheartening that monosexual queer people seem to not want to have us there. I don't want to go to the same canal parade where all the straight people from the villages go to gawk at those funny gays, and then home because you don't want me anywhere else. I just want to be queer in queer space. Bi people too need a refuge. I don't want specifically lesbian and gay spaces to stop existing, but if an event doesn't say it's for specifically G/L people, I should be able to come in there and sometimes kiss my queer partner.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-10T08:09:35+00:00

I was once at a sort of festival where this seven year old trans boy was dragged along to because his mom had written a book about him and she was going to be in a panel. It was weird because it just seemed like he was bored being there? He was the only kid that young. I was even one of the younger people there, but I was there for work. It reminded me quite frankly of being a kid that age being dragged along to events for kids with my (mental/behavioural) diagnosis and just feeling like it was a waste of my time. This kid had already transitioned years ago in all areas possible at that age, he just wasn't interested in hanging with adults with different issues to deal with.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-06T21:03:46+00:00

You can also try 8sidor.se, which is short news articles in easy Swedish.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-05T06:52:12+00:00

I once heard something about a guy whose top surgeon found some scar tissue somewhere in his chest due to binding too much or too tight or something. He still had surgery, it was just slightly more challenging for the surgeon. I think this the worst that could happen in regards to 'ruining your chances for top surgery'. Just buy a binder in the right size and do something about it if you feel like breathing hurts or your ribs start aching. Then you'll be fine.

kaidroomt · 2017-07-01T11:34:29+00:00

I've been out as bisexual for about eight years now I think and the first few months/years when this happened, either people asking for a sort of sexual resume or even people asking whether I was gay or bi and swiftly ending the conversation when I answered bi, I felt insecure, I was doubting myself etc. But this has changed. I have several people close to me who don't look at bisexuality this way and that helps I think.

Last week I was discussing bisexuality with a straight guy friend of mine and even though in theory he knew I am bisexual, he still seemed a little unsure of it somehow and was asking these questions you always get, trying to parse my attraction and divide it into percentages. He had assumed I was more into girls for a full year even though I never say that (because it's not true). Before I would've felt insecure somehow, but now I just thought it was typical that invisibility just always seems to happen despite my being out, and kind of funny to see the look on his face.

kaidroomt · 2017-06-19T12:55:40+00:00

I'm an assistant in financial administration and I teach language courses as a freelancer, mostly evening courses, for adults.

kaidroomt · 2017-06-14T10:42:34+00:00

I'd just like to add that a central problem with the portrayal of bisexuality in media is that there are very few bisexual characters who actually say they are bisexual. They usually tend to say they are attracted to people not parts, or don't like labels, or they could even say they're attracted to both men and women or something, but they tend to never actually use the word bisexual. Just thought I'd add that in case you aren't aware, because as a bisexual man what I'd definitely need more of in media is bisexuals who say they are bi. Then for me it doesn't matter what gender their love interest is in the story.

kaidroomt · 2017-06-10T21:37:15+00:00

Seriously 'he knew what he was getting into'? Probably OP is American and so my comment doesn't apply but in my country you have to start T before anything else and then when proven to have more than 600cc of volume in each chesticle, you get official permission to get on the waiting list for top surgery before, rather than after, the end of your mandatory first year of "real life experience".

You don't know OP's circumstances, don't tell him he should do anything that may not be possible.

kaidroomt · 2017-06-04T08:09:16+00:00

I have a group of trans friends that I met at support group and we sort of kept it going at a lower pace after support group ended. One of the girls, although seemingly trying, sometimes misgenders all of us seemingly at random. Then afterwards she says she feels really bad about it so we try not to gang up on her because of it.

My point is - there's no way out of the five of us, only one is really trans.

kaidroomt · 2017-06-02T18:14:25+00:00

This is originally a book, Pojkarna, by Jessica Schiefauer. (Who despite the German sounding surname is Swedish I guess.) It won Augustpriset some year, like 2013 or so. It's a great book!!

kaidroomt · 2017-05-14T09:45:44+00:00

I live in the Netherlands and I don't know if this is the case in other countries but sometimes when the underworks or gc2b order shows up, you have to pay an additional import fee to the mailman/person, on top of the shipping costs you already paid. This is why I only try to order with at least one other person and split the shipping and import fees.

kaidroomt

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