milky  +  321520 Mon, 29 Jan 07 05:28 PM Who would you prefer to edit your writing: a non-native speaker of English who is a Professor of English at an Indian (or a Belgian) university, or a monolingual Brit or American who left school with no qualifications at the age of 15? milky Joined on Thu, Jan 15 2004 Senior Member 3,149 Hume said that if we had perfect or complete descriptive knowledge of reality, we could not, by reasoning, derive a single valid "ought". Universities

	Philip  +  321545 Mon, 29 Jan 07 06:06 PM  Milky wrote: Who would you prefer to edit your writing: a non-native speaker of English who is a Professor of English at an Indian (or a Belgian) university, or a monolingual Brit or American who left school with no qualifications at the age of 15? The former.  The study of the language (native or foreign) is a necessity that a high-school drop-out just doesn't have. Philip Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005 Veteran Member 8,737 At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen Universities

	nona the brit  +  321562 Mon, 29 Jan 07 06:29 PM A Professor of English is a more appropriate person to edit my writing than someone who left school at 15 with no qualifications,taking them both at face value. However some people who drop out of school go on to make a great success of themselves and may actually have excellent English. Hmmm...now I think about it, I think the current status and abilities of the native speaker should be compared to the current status and abilities of the Professor, rather than the achievement of a 15 year old with the achievement of an adult. That drop-out might now also be a Professor of English. We don't know. ...but assuming that the native still has the English of an unqualified 15 year old then, of course, the non-native Professor would be the better choice. The fact that the native speaker is monolingual is not relevant though. nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all.

	MrPedantic  +  321744 Tue, 30 Jan 07 01:21 AM  Milky wrote: Who would you prefer to edit your writing: a non-native speaker of English who is a Professor of English at an Indian (or a Belgian) university, or a monolingual Brit or American who left school with no qualifications at the age of 15? I'm not sure we need to be quite as deferential towards professors of English as the question suggests. (Or quite as dismissive of monolingual 15-year-olds, for that matter.) MrP PS: Is the 15-year-old male or female, Milky? MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris... Universities

	Philip  +  321760 Tue, 30 Jan 07 02:22 AM  MrPedantic wrote:  Milky wrote: Who would you prefer to edit your writing: a non-native speaker of English who is a Professor of English at an Indian (or a Belgian) university, or a monolingual Brit or American who left school with no qualifications at the age of 15? I'm not sure we need to be quite as deferential towards professors of English as the question suggests. (Or quite as dismissive of monolingual 15-year-olds, for that matter.) MrP PS: Is the 15-year-old male or female, Milky? Now, that would make a difference!! Philip Universities

	Marvin A.  +  321790 Tue, 30 Jan 07 04:05 AM You seem to be fascinated with the skills of non-native speakers vs. native speakers of English, Milky. Well, because this is formal written English with fairly standardized rules of grammar, I would probably choose the Professor. But remember, schooling isn't everything...that 15 year old could have studied English grammar by himself out of books. And it depends on how proficient the professor of English was. <img src="/emoticons/emotion-1.gif" alt="Smile [:)]" /> I've had a French teacher who was only one semester ahead of his students, but of course more would be expected of a professor. Also, many foreigners are good at grammar, but have loads of trouble with idioms. So, I think I would prefer to have a formal interview with each, to assess their grammatical skills before choosing one over the other, and then choose the lesser of the two "evils". Marvin A. Joined on Fri, Dec 8 2006 Regular Member 638 Grammar, Idioms, Interviews, English Grammar

	Grammar Geek  +  321797 Tue, 30 Jan 07 04:30 AM Let's not forget that the professor may teach Shakespearean English, or Chaucer, or the poetry of the Brownings... with little affinity for current business English, rendering her an unsuitable choice for my writing. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,659 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Business English

	milky  +  321831 Tue, 30 Jan 07 06:43 AM <The study of the language (native or foreign) is a necessity that a high-school drop-out just doesn't have. > Is a high-school drop out someone who didn't continue his/her studies after 15? milky

	milky  +  321833 Tue, 30 Jan 07 06:45 AM <I think the current status and abilities of the native speaker should be compared to the current status and abilities of the Professor, rather than the achievement of a 15 year old with the achievement of an adult. That drop-out might now also be a Professor of English. We don't know.> In my story, we do. He/she did not go on to higher education at all, found an ordinary job, but is a native speaker after all. So... milky