Need help from native English speakers

[Pimpanicaille]

Hey guys, I'd really appreciate some help here. I'm a student in journalism and i'm in a kind of bilingual French/English master's degree in Paris. In the course of the year I need to get two work placements, one in French and one in English. I alreday got the French one and I contacted an American journalist who told me she might take me as an intern if I wrote an exhibition review. The thing is that my English has to be perfect and I'm afraid it's not. I wrote something about an exhibition on Hugo Pratt's paintings and drawings. Could you please check it out and tell me what needs to be changed? Please don't hesitate to be harsh !

Thank you very much in advance.

[Mexicola]

Part of my job is to proof-read text for formal letters, so I've had a quick scan through for you. The good news is there is very little that needs changing.

Corto Maltese’s father is an English sailor; his mother a Gypsy from Gibraltar.

- no need for the semi-colon here. A comma would be better. ie. 'Corto Maltese’s father is an English sailor, his mother a Gypsy from Gibraltar.'

Hugo Pratt was born in 1927 in Rimini, Italy, and spent most of his childhood in Venice. At 14, Pratt leaved Italy for Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia), then an Italian colony.

- you need to change 'leaved' to 'left'.

Otherwise, your English is excellent

[Guido]

Yeah, your English is very good, especially for someone from France. Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

[fujee]

Your English is very good, I wish I could say the same about my french.. one day I will be fluent. It seems Mexicola is the man for the job! Hope all goes well with your placements!

[BrandNewRetro]

Yeah, your English is very good, especially for someone from France. Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

And lets not forget the Dutch! I was amazed how well people speak English over there!

[A_Northern_Soul]

Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

Probably due to where different languages originate. French, Spanish and Italian are all derived from Latin whereas English, German and Nordic/ Scandinavian languages are derived from some of the same sources, so therefore share some word/grammar structures.

[rik0000]

Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

Probably due to where different languages originate. French, Spanish and Italian are all derived from Latin whereas English, German and Nordic/ Scandinavian languages are derived from some of the same sources, so therefore share some word/grammar structures.

And it may have something to do with the focus of a country. Speaking for the Dutch, there aren't enough of us to create everything in Dutch (like television shows etc) and we have a history of trading all around the world, so our focus is outward oriented. The French on the other hand are with quite a lot and have a lot of pride in their country, so English isn't needed necessarily.

Well that are my 2 cents...

[tontonz]

Well that are my 2 cents...

"those", not "that"

[Pimpanicaille]

Part of my job is to proof-read text for formal letters, so I've had a quick scan through for you. The good news is there is very little that needs changing.

Thanks man that was really nice of you.

And fujee if by any chance you need help with French don't hesitate to tell me!

[Pimpanicaille]

Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

Probably due to where different languages originate. French, Spanish and Italian are all derived from Latin whereas English, German and Nordic/ Scandinavian languages are derived from some of the same sources, so therefore share some word/grammar structures.

And it may have something to do with the focus of a country. Speaking for the Dutch, there aren't enough of us to create everything in Dutch (like television shows etc) and we have a history of trading all around the world, so our focus is outward oriented. The French on the other hand are with quite a lot and have a lot of pride in their country, so English isn't needed necessarily.

Well that are my 2 cents...

Yeah I would more or less agree with you here. I think in France it has both to do with our education system, where English is learnt more than spoken, and by the fact that we don't need English in France. For example, all American movies and Tv shows are dubbed in French and the French-speaking world/market is big enough to allow artists to write or sing in French and be successful, as in Spain or Italy.

That said, although English shares its roots with Nordic and Germanic languages, the influence of latin in it is still huge. There are piles of words that are the same in English and French for instance.

[rik0000]

Well that are my 2 cents...

"those", not "that"

Hmmz... I tried to think of a clever explanation but I can't think of anything that would answer the big 'why??' for such a mistake... I humbly apologize and I feel deeply, deeply ashamed

[Ender]

If many people in France ignore who Hugo Pratt was, few are those who have never heard of Corto Maltese.

Sorry I'm not sure what this sentence is saying. What does people ignoring who Hugo Pratt was have to do with people who have never heard of Corto Maltese?

Like Tintin or Astérix, Corto Maltese is one of the most well-know bande dessinée characters, one of the most easily recognizable ones.

well-known, not well-know. Also should be "Corto Maltese is one of the most well-known bande dessinée characters and one of the most easily recognizable ones." i.e. replace the comma with an "and".

The fact is that the Pinacothèque’s director, Marc Restellini, had to put together a replacement exhibition following the cancellation of the exhibition on Mayans masks that was originally planned, because of the recent diplomatic tensions between France and Mexico.

I don't think a comma is needed between "planned" and "because."

Hugo Pratt died in 1995 in Switzerland and it is the first time since his death that a major retrospective of his artwork is organized in Paris.

"retrospective of his artwork has been organized" not "is"

At 14, Pratt leaved Italy for Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia), then an Italian colony.

"Pratt left Italy" not "leaved."

And that's it! (I think). Just a couple of grammatical things, but besides that your English is really good. Sorry if other people have pointed a lot of these out already, didn't really have time to read all the replies. Good luck

[GrangalanJr]

Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

Probably due to where different languages originate. French, Spanish and Italian are all derived from Latin whereas English, German and Nordic/ Scandinavian languages are derived from some of the same sources, so therefore share some word/grammar structures.

Finnish is actually in a totally different language group from all of those; it is more closely related to Estonian and Hungarian than to either the Latinate or the Germanic / Nordic groups. So I don't think it is about linguistic similarity.

My guess for why they speak good English is just that they have a top notch education system, one of the best in the world. See here for example:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/ ... =education

[Guido]

Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

Probably due to where different languages originate. French, Spanish and Italian are all derived from Latin whereas English, German and Nordic/ Scandinavian languages are derived from some of the same sources, so therefore share some word/grammar structures.

Finnish is actually in a totally different language group from all of those; it is more closely related to Estonian and Hungarian than to either the Latinate or the Germanic / Nordic groups. So I don't think it is about linguistic similarity.

My guess for why they speak good English is just that they have a top notch education system, one of the best in the world. See here for example:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/ ... =education

Cool. Looks like my country (NL) is indeed a good runner-up of the European countries.

[JosephG]

Almost all French people have a flawed command of English. I wonder why that is? Bad education? The Spanish and the Italian aren't very good either. The Finnish, on the other hand, are the best in Europe in my opinion.

Probably due to where different languages originate. French, Spanish and Italian are all derived from Latin whereas English, German and Nordic/ Scandinavian languages are derived from some of the same sources, so therefore share some word/grammar structures.

Finnish is actually in a totally different language group from all of those; it is more closely related to Estonian and Hungarian than to either the Latinate or the Germanic / Nordic groups. So I don't think it is about linguistic similarity.

My guess for why they speak good English is just that they have a top notch education system, one of the best in the world. See here for example:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/ ... =education

Yah, Finnish is most definitely separate from the Indo-Germanic language groups.. And modern english has a good batch of loan words. Especially french, considering the Norman conquest of england in 1066 by will the conqueror. Changed the Old English landscape considerably, paving the way for Middle English and so on.

[Pimpanicaille]

And that's it! (I think). Just a couple of grammatical things, but besides that your English is really good. Sorry if other people have pointed a lot of these out already, didn't really have time to read all the replies. Good luck

Thanks man that was helpful. I sent the article today, so we'll see!

[fujee]

Part of my job is to proof-read text for formal letters, so I've had a quick scan through for you. The good news is there is very little that needs changing.

Thanks man that was really nice of you.

And fujee if by any chance you need help with French don't hesitate to tell me!

Thanks alot

[Pimpanicaille]

I've deleted the article now that it has been pusblished.

Thanks again to everybody!