Let's learn together!

[SitangCampus]

Mr. Behnam, how are you? So you are the OP (original poster) of this long and interesting thread and now you are coming back like a king who covers his lost land, congratulations!
I learned that you had a heart problem, so you should take good care of yourself. As far as I know, the diet of muslins (so you are a muslin, right?) is free of or with little fat and people do not drink, then why do you have such a problem that may have been caused by heavy eating or drinking?
Nowadays many young people in my country China die from heart attacks because they have to work long and hard schedules on a 996 or 007 manner? 996 means working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, and 007 means 7 days a week, non-stop working. It is very harsh that the capitalists squeeze the blood and sweat of the working class.
In China's social media platforms I have met with two Iranian women who are very beautiful and speaking very good Mandarin, even better than most local people. They do not wear the face-covering masks as we see in TV or movies and what impress us most is that they say the oil price in Iran is much cheaper than that in China, which has broken many hearts of Chinese car owners.
Many men in China know about Iran through its football and the players. It is a history of sadness to Chinese fans because we lose to you more often than not, and on one occassion an Iranian striker kept the ball still on the goal line, when the rival defenders were left far behind him unable to stop him from scoring by any means, but this guy did not slightly kick the ball across the line and score the goal until a few suffocating seconds later. It was a huge insult to Chinese football team and fans.
I hear one of the former key player Ali Daiyi (maybe not very exact spelling for that) has been deeply invovled in Iranian politics and under political purge when he spoke for the rights of Iranian women. The ladies are very sexy but why do they not have the chance to expose their white skin and beautiful faces in public? So we all support this courageous rival player despite his many scores made during the matches with Chinese team.
The above doesn't look like a letter to you personally, sorry about that, and you can treat it as something out of the bottom of the heart of a friend, who doesn't know exactly what he is saying sometimes.

[behnam]

So, use it if you really want to, but be aware that other people who have to read it may find it annoying."[/color]

Dear Josef,

Thank you very much. I guess I got what you mean, and I do agree with you. I am not going to make all the lines in my texts "justified". However, I want to make some of the paragraphs "justified". It can be optional, can't it?

By the way, I didn't get what exactly to do, or how to use it! I am so sorry. Would you please let me see the code or the method of justifying practically?

Do you mean "BBCode is ON" on the corner of this box? I guess so!

All the best,
Behnam, 9 February, 2025

[behnam]

Mr. Behnam, how are you? So you are the OP (original poster) of this long and interesting thread and now you are coming back like a king who covers his lost land, congratulations!
I learned that you had a heart problem, so you should take good care of yourself. As far as I know, the diet of muslins (so you are a muslin, right?) is free of or with little fat and people do not drink, then why do you have such a problem that may have been caused by heavy eating or drinking?

Dear SitangCampus,

Thank you very much for following this thread, posting and putting comments on it.
You have written beautifully and wisely. There are many points inside every paragraph. I will try to cover all of them.

I am not a king. I consider myself as a gardener. I prefer to be the gardener, not the king, since kings do nothing, but gardeners are useful.
Thank you once again for caring about my health. Yes, I am a Muslim. My heart problem is not because of eating or drinking. I am diabetic and have had this problem for twenty years. The cause of diabetes is not just eating or having a bad diet. Scientists still don't know why some people's body's immune system attacks insulin-producing cells and disables them.
One of the long-term effects of diabetes is narrowing of the body's blood vessels.

Nowadays many young people in my country China die from heart attacks because they have to work long and hard schedules on a 996 or 007 manner? 996 means working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, and 007 means 7 days a week, non-stop working. It is very harsh that the capitalists squeeze the blood and sweat of the working class.

It is the same almost in all over the world. Mental and psychological pressures, restless nerves and stress cause diseases more than physical activities. When the mind and spirit are not at peace, the body's nerves are disturbed, and as a result, the brain cannot have good control over the body's organs. They lose their health and efficiency. Of course, diet is also very effective. In fact, anything that is unusual to the physical and mental parts of the body can become problematic.

In China's social media platforms I have met with two Iranian women who are very beautiful and speaking very good Mandarin, even better than most local people. They do not wear the face-covering masks as we see in TV or movies and what impress us most is that they say the oil price in Iran is much cheaper than that in China, which has broken many hearts of Chinese car owners.

You are lucky to have a chance to meet two beautiful Iranian women who can speak Mandarin. I personally know nothing about that language. About face-covering, I should say that you have not noticed carefully which country the TV shows! There are many Muslim countries in the world. In some Islamic countries, women cover their faces either voluntarily or compulsorily. But, in Iran women do not cover their faces. It should be mentioned that wearing Hijab by women that Islam says is different from covering faces by masks. As far as I know, Islam never says to wear masks. Wearing masks which is common in some countries mostly roots in the culture of those nations. Of course, misinterpretation of Islamic laws that are extracted from the Holy Quran can also cause non-uniform behaviors.

About Hijab and its philosophy, I have put some posts in this thread. You can easily search for them by key words such as "Hijab" or "Hejab". If you are interested in discussing this subject more, I am ready to write about it in details. Just, let me know, and make your question clear.
In Iran, the oil is cheaper than water! It is strange, but these days, there are too many unusual things in Iran. I don't like to sound politics, since I dislike politics then I am not interested in speaking about political issues.

Many men in China know about Iran through its football and the players. It is a history of sadness to Chinese fans because we lose to you more often than not, and on one occassion an Iranian striker kept the ball still on the goal line, when the rival defenders were left far behind him unable to stop him from scoring by any means, but this guy did not slightly kick the ball across the line and score the goal until a few suffocating seconds later. It was a huge insult to Chinese football team and fans.

I am so sorry. Personally, I am not interested in football. I don't follow its news. However, I do not support immoral events in any way.
China is a historical country with an ancient history. The Great Wall of China is one of the wonders of the world. These days, there is a lot of trade between Iran and China. The Iranian market is full of Chinese items.

I hear one of the former key player Ali Daiyi (maybe not very exact spelling for that) has been deeply invovled in Iranian politics and under political purge when he spoke for the rights of Iranian women. The ladies are very sexy but why do they not have the chance to expose their white skin and beautiful faces in public? So we all support this courageous rival player despite his many scores made during the matches with Chinese team.

Yes, Ali Daee is a very famous person in Iran. He always takes the side of the people and people love him very much. About your tricky question, I will write in a separate post. This subject is connected to the "Hijab". It needs to start from beginning. For this purpose, it needs to dig the matter to the deeper points.
Let me take this opportunity and play a joke. Obviously, Chinese women are whiter than Iranian women. If white skin or beauty is the reason for showing the body, according to Chinese culture or law, how much of their bodies are they allowed to show or expose to the public?

The above doesn't look like a letter to you personally, sorry about that, and you can treat it as something out of the bottom of the heart of a friend, who doesn't know exactly what he is saying sometimes.

It was very kind of you. I really enjoyed your post and the different interesting points inside it. They are good excuses for me to think and write. Thank you very much indeed.
Please write more. I am eager to hear more from you.

All the best,
Behnam, 9 February, 2025

[behnam]

Dear friends,

Three months ago, my father passed away. In my Azerbaijani culture, most of the close members of family wear black clothes and do not shave for 40 days. This is a traditional custom. Of course, this custom is slowly fading among families. The following photo of me is taken by myself(selfie photo) on the 40th day of my father's death.

All the best,
Behnam, 9 February, 2025

[Josef Essberger]

Dear friends,

Three months ago, my father passed away. In my Azerbaijani culture, most of the close members of family wear black clothes and do not shave for 40 days. This is a traditional custom. Of course, this custom is slowly fading among families. The following photo of me is taken by myself(selfie photo) on the 40th day of my father's death.

All the best,
Behnam, 9 February, 2025

Sincere condolences for the passing of your late father.

Did you draw those beautiful flowers on the walk behind you?

Josef

[behnam]

Sincere condolences for the passing of your late father.

Did you draw those beautiful flowers on the walk behind you?

Dear Josef,

Thank you very much.
No, they are not drawing or painting. They are some attachments, flower stickers on the wall.

All the best,
Behnam, 10 February, 2025

[SitangCampus]

Hi, Sir Behnam, good afternoon~(Forget the time difference, haha.)

It is nice to receive your reply in which you give me a point by point explanation. That is fantastic and even better than when I learned the language itself in a classroom from a young and inexperienced teacher. In China, we have a saying that goes, "I find it more valuable listening to your words for a while than my learning alone over a decade."

It is also interesting to see the picture you later posted in the next reply to Mr. Josef and you look very wise, a mature man growing wiser and older, who is a hot cake in the market of marriage nowadays if you are in need of a young and beautiful wife.

We actually have had historic relationship through the Silk Road with Iran, which was known as Persia in the former times. Most people admire that part of the world for its renowned brave men on the horse. One species of cat, known in China as Persian Cat, is highly valued and used figuratively to mean a pretty girl of exotic style.

Some of us also know about Iran through the movies entering for some famous film festivals around the world. Though such products may not have made excellent box office results, they are good for raising the appreciation of foreign culture and young people like to make them a yardstick to measure their artistic taste to some degree. Before 1990s, the time when China began fully its nationwide reform and opening up, there were many movies imported from elsewhere of the world, such as the former Yugoslavia, France, Italy, Mexico, Romania, Egypt, India, Iran, Japan..., but now when we talk about foreign movies, they are mostly the works of Hollywood. But it is relieving to see that the film industry of China is rising, with much better performance in box office for the current Chinese New Year holidays that spans from Jan 29 to Feb 12. I watched two films in cinema too during the same period and have contributed a few Yuan to this great undertaking.

But I now remember I have never really watch a film of Iranian directors. So I like to hear something about that if you or anybody in this forum can provide some interesting information. I was in a muslin country and learned that movies are not allowed in public and that there is no images of holy spirits even in the mosque church or temple of Islamic. A religious clergyman I met there once secretly went in my car to a distant local market to see a film. I asked him why he did so when he could see a film near his home and he said that it was not good for neighbors to see him so he had to travel far. Unbelievable!

[behnam]

Hi, Sir Behnam, good afternoon~(Forget the time difference, haha.)

It is nice to receive your reply in which you give me a point by point explanation. That is fantastic and even better than when I learned the language itself in a classroom from a young and inexperienced teacher. In China, we have a saying that goes, "I find it more valuable listening to your words for a while than my learning alone over a decade."

Dear SitangCampus,
Thank you so much for your reply and kind words. Your English is fantastic, and the way you choose for clarifying your points with examples, quotations, proverbs etc. is really wise and interesting.

It is also interesting to see the picture you later posted in the next reply to Mr. Josef and you look very wise, a mature man growing wiser and older, who is a hot cake in the market of marriage nowadays if you are in need of a young and beautiful wife.

The picture was sent to all. I posted it to show what I mean by wearing black and not shaving.
Mr. Josef kindly replied it.
I never think of myself as a wise person or a 'hot cake in the market of marriage' as you have said. Thank you anyway.

We actually have had historic relationship through the Silk Road with Iran, which was known as Persia in the former times. Most people admire that part of the world for its renowned brave men on the horse. One species of cat, known in China as Persian Cat, is highly valued and used figuratively to mean a pretty girl of exotic style..

Both Iran and China are ancient countries. Throughout history, these two countries have traded with each other. The Silk Road is a very telling example. Persian cat, as a pet, is famous all over the world.

Some of us also know about Iran through the movies entering for some famous film festivals around the world. Though such products may not have made excellent box office results, they are good for raising the appreciation of foreign culture and young people like to make them a yardstick to measure their artistic taste to some degree. Before 1990s, the time when China began fully its nationwide reform and opening up, there were many movies imported from elsewhere of the world, such as the former Yugoslavia, France, Italy, Mexico, Romania, Egypt, India, Iran, Japan..., but now when we talk about foreign movies, they are mostly the works of Hollywood. But it is relieving to see that the film industry of China is rising, with much better performance in box office for the current Chinese New Year holidays that spans from Jan 29 to Feb 12. I watched two films in cinema too during the same period and have contributed a few Yuan to this great undertaking.

The cinema industry is very effective in spreading the culture of a society.
Many countries have tried to identify themselves to other nations in this way. In Iran, Korean, Japanese, Indian or Western series or films are well known. Iran also has been able to play a big role in identifying itself among the Muslim nations of the Middle East by producing religious series. Of course, identification alone is not the goal. Influencing the thoughts of nations may have a greater role in the goals.

But I now remember I have never really watch a film of Iranian directors. So I like to hear something about that if you or anybody in this forum can provide some interesting information. I was in a muslin country and learned that movies are not allowed in public and that there is no images of holy spirits even in the mosque church or temple of Islamic. A religious clergyman I met there once secretly went in my car to a distant local market to see a film. I asked him why he did so when he could see a film near his home and he said that it was not good for neighbors to see him so he had to travel far. Unbelievable!

I know very little about the Iranian cinema industry. I may not be able to help you in this area. But, in Iran, filmmakers have many restrictions from the government. Directors are not allowed to make any type of film. Especially, the sensitivity about political and religious laws is very high. I don't know exactly, but the government probably has given an instruction to the filmmakers that they must observe that there should be no nakedness in their films, that men and women should not touch each other, and that no words should be spoken against the government. Also, it has probably been emphasized to them to somehow include some religious values ​​in their films, which is a kind of propaganda for the government.

Please reply to my questions in the previous post that was written to you.

All the best,
Behnam, 10 February, 2025

[SitangCampus]

Let me take this opportunity and play a joke. Obviously, Chinese women are whiter than Iranian women. If white skin or beauty is the reason for showing the body, according to Chinese culture or law, how much of their bodies are they allowed to show or expose to the public? [/color][/size]

Haha. Sir, after I reviewed the earlier post, I guess the above is that very question you asked me.
Actually my original question to you is about the freedom and liberty for female in a conservative country like Iran. I don't mean the flashes in public of naked bodies that are found now in western world culture, which can only stimulate the eroticism for some perverts.
In China, as you may know, before the reform and opening up in early 1990s, Chinese females all had dull and stupid clothes that could hardly suggest their sex identity. But now they can do almost whatever they want, though sometimes will get criticisms from the public. This matter is a little complex and I don't think I am an expert to enlighten you in this regard. So I have to stop here, but if you wish to go on, I would like to entertain you on condition that you raise more interesting questions.
About Iran, I notice that in some American TV shows, the word is pronounced as Eye-Ron, rather than the usual one E-Ran as noted in any Oxford or Longman dictionary. What do you say to that?

[behnam]

Haha. Sir, after I reviewed the earlier post, I guess the above is that very question you asked me.

Dear SitangCampus,

Thank you for your reply. I am happy that you are laughing. "Haha" is a sign of laughing, isn't it?
I have asked you many questions, but you haven't replied them yet. maybe, you are going to reply all of them soon, who knows! By the way, please do not call me sir. I am your friend Behnam. Call me Behnam please. Thank you!

Actually my original question to you is about the freedom and liberty for female in a conservative country like Iran. I don't mean the flashes in public of naked bodies that are found now in western world culture, which can only stimulate the eroticism for some perverts.

When the word "freedom" is mentioned, the questions arise in the human mind: how much freedom? Is there a limit in this regard? If so, who enforces this restriction? Why should these restrictions be applied? Where should these limits be derived from?
When the word "body covering" is mentioned, the questions arise in the human mind: how much of the human body should be covered? Should men and women wear the same clothes? Why should women's clothes be different from men's clothes? How much of her body should a woman cover? Who determines this amount of coverage? What is the reason for this amount of coverage?
Words have meaning. But we are used to using them freely in speech and writing!

In China, as you may know, before the reform and opening up in early 1990s, Chinese females all had dull and stupid clothes that could hardly suggest their sex identity. But now they can do almost whatever they want, though sometimes will get criticisms from the public. This matter is a little complex and I don't think I am an expert to enlighten you in this regard. So I have to stop here, but if you wish to go on, I would like to entertain you on condition that you raise more interesting questions.

Unfortunately, I could not imagine the appearance of Chinese women in the era before 1990 from the words "stupid" and "dull". What do you mean by those words? Could you please explain more?
You mean: In China, these days, Women can do whatever they want? Really?
What do you mean by "sex identity"?

About Iran, I notice that in some American TV shows, the word is pronounced as Eye-Ron, rather than the usual one E-Ran as noted in any Oxford or Longman dictionary. What do you say to that?

The name of my country is Iran, which is spelled as EE-RAN!

All the best,
Behnma, 12 February, 2025

[behnam]

Dear friends,

This is to let you know that I love you very much.
I used to put the photos of my favourite physicist Richard Feynman as my profile picture or avatar in chat rooms or on the Internet. Recently, I have decided to put my own photos.

Of course, nothing happens without a reason. The reason why I did not choose my own photo was the fear of being stolen! Hahahaha... I am kidding!

I am uploading two photos of myself. I prefer to be seen by my friends. There is no need to be hidden. People have nothing to do with a sick Behnam who is doing nothing unless waiting for death!
All the best,
Behnam, 12 February, 2025


In this photo, I am visiting Shiraz. I met some people from Vietnam. Two ladies were professors of literature in Hanoi. They asked me to be in a photo with them. I accepted.

[behnam]

Hallo Behnam,
it‘s me, Seba from Syria.. a few years ago we were gut Friends.
How are you? I want to Write an Email to you, but i don‘t have your Email Adresse . I have German gelernt, because of that i Write so badly. German is different from english.

Dear Sebaa,

How are you? I hope you are doing well. This is my second reply to your post. The first one is on page 121. Please see your own message and my first reply.
In a private message you have asked "Do you remember me?"! Come on! How can I forget you?
The sweetness of your kindness is like a rope around my neck that you pull me to follow you with that rope! Or, I am always following you in my thoughts, like a bee follows the sweetness of flowers. I even remember your first words written to me. How can I prove this claim? That's easy for Behnam.
I wrote to you exactly 17 years ago, on February 12, 2008.
Today is the anniversary of that event. Good old days!

I am impatiently waiting for your reply.

All the best,
Behnam, 12 February, 2025
***********************
You have written:

************************
I have written:

[SitangCampus]

Dear Mr. Behnam,
Thank you for your long reply which is very thought-provoking and from which I have learnt a lot.

The reason for addressing you Sir is that you are a respectable man who deserves such a title. As you know, in China and other eastern countries to call somebody his name is a bad manner. Some people even try to avoid to read or write the exact word that is found in the names of his parents or other people that he respects. Something like euphemism. If a man is old enough, we may call him uncle and it is shocking in our culture to call a father-in-law Jim or Peter when staying with him.

Your reply was itemized, that is a very good practice and suggests that you are a scientist in addition to the photo attached. People like me may not understand what astronomy is really about, but we do know that it is sophisticated and that not anybody in the street of Tehran or Beijing can take it as their career or field of interest.

So I cannot do the same by listing your question first and my answer next. I am simply an elementary schoolboy before you, so I think it is my liberty to say whatever happens to be in my mind, otherwise I may suffer from the constipation that might be caused by overthinking.

Regarding the women's dress in China previously, I mean that their clothes erased the unique sexual character of themselves, or in other words, it is the clothes that defines a person or from the clothes we can judge it is a male or a female. When you see a lion or a peacock, you can easily determine which is male and which is female, because they are different in looks. Things like that. Forgive my poor wording or bad examples if you are still confused. Perhaps I need to be admitted into a good college in London or New York to improve my writing with a number of theses. Haha.

[Josef Essberger]

[behnam]

Dear friends,
As you know much better than me, today is 14th February, Valentine's day. Valentine's Day is all about spreading love and kindness. I am not going to write about its philosophy or origin, since you know those things well. By the way, these days, artificial intelligence gives you an ocean of information by clicking on a button.

Happy Valentine’s Day! May your day be as sweet as chocolate and as bright as love. Wishing you a day filled with hugs, smiles, and all the love you deserve!

All the best,
Behnam, 14 February, 2025

[behnam]

Dear Josef,

Thank you for maintaining this amazing and useful site. I know you have a very busy schedule, but please take the time to answer the following questions. Thank you very much.
1. How can I align the lines of a paragraph? Please teach me this practically with an example. I have asked this question before.
2. To insert the photo in the post, we need to upload it to a site and then paste the link address between this mark img...img. Sites usually delete the photo after a few days. As a result, the photo in the post will be deleted. Do you have any suggestions or solutions to permanently embed photos in posts?
3. What is those three signs for?

All the best,
Behnam, 14 February, 2025

[behnam]

Dear Mr. Behnam,
Thank you for your long reply which is very thought-provoking and from which I have learnt a lot.

The reason for addressing you Sir is that you are a respectable man who deserves such a title. As you know, in China and other eastern countries to call somebody his name is a bad manner. Some people even try to avoid to read or write the exact word that is found in the names of his parents or other people that he respects. Something like euphemism. If a man is old enough, we may call him uncle and it is shocking in our culture to call a father-in-law Jim or Peter when staying with him.

Dear SitangCampus,

Thank you very much for your reply. Your way of naming people is very polite. It shows the very rich culture of your country. But, in this thread we are friends. To feel intimacy, we should call our friends by their names.

Your reply was itemized, that is a very good practice and suggests that you are a scientist in addition to the photo attached. People like me may not understand what astronomy is really about, but we do know that it is sophisticated and that not anybody in the street of Tehran or Beijing can take it as their career or field of interest.

So I cannot do the same by listing your question first and my answer next. I am simply an elementary schoolboy before you, so I think it is my liberty to say whatever happens to be in my mind, otherwise I may suffer from the constipation that might be caused by overthinking.

You can answer the questions however you want. Actually, those questions are some excuses to keep writing to each other.

Regarding the women's dress in China previously, I mean that their clothes erased the unique sexual character of themselves, or in other words, it is the clothes that defines a person or from the clothes we can judge it is a male or a female. When you see a lion or a peacock, you can easily determine which is male and which is female, because they are different in looks. Things like that. Forgive my poor wording or bad examples if you are still confused. Perhaps I need to be admitted into a good college in London or New York to improve my writing with a number of theses. Haha.

Your writing is excellent and your examples are very clear. I get your point easily from your text. Don't worry about anything.
Yes, you gave a good reason for the difference between women's clothes and men's clothes. Your example is very clever. My question is this: Women are trying to show different parts of their body to others. Are they free to show their bodies as much as they want? If they are not free, then how much of their body do they have the right to show? Who determines this limit and amount?

All the best,
Behnam, 14 February, 2025

[Josef Essberger]

Dear Josef,

Thank you for maintaining this amazing and useful site. I know you have a very busy schedule, but please take the time to answer the following questions. Thank you very much.
1. How can I align the lines of a paragraph? Please teach me this practically with an example. I have asked this question before.
2. To insert the photo in the post, we need to upload it to a site and then paste the link address between this mark img...img. Sites usually delete the photo after a few days. As a result, the photo in the post will be deleted. Do you have any suggestions or solutions to permanently embed photos in posts?
3. What is those three signs for?

All the best,
Behnam, 14 February, 2025

1. Sorry Behnam. I don't think it's possible to justify text in this forum. I may be wrong and maybe I have to set something up, but at the moment I don't know. It's related to BB code, I think. If I find the way I will let you know. And please reciprocate in the event that you find the way.

2. You can upload it to EnglishClub, as you have done previously. You have at least two images (from 2012 I think) uploaded on this forum. If you find one of your early posts with images about your New Year (I think it was) you may remember what you did. After upload, yes, you can use the BB code img...img. I will try to write specific instructions and add them to the forum HELP page.

3. = very good (or you can have = very bad if you prefer )

[Josef Essberger]

electric.jpg

How I added this image:

Below the text entry box, you should see two tabs: Options | Attachments. Proceed as follows:

> Attachments > Add files > Place inline > Submit

Optionally, if you want to add a caption ("Cartoon" in this case), write it in the FILE COMMENT box.

[behnam]

3. = very good (or you can have = very bad if you prefer )

Dear Josef,
What is very good?

Love me little, love me long!.png

WOW! It is a wonderful feature of this site. Thank you dear Josef. I had forgotten it.
How can I delete the extra things under the picture? I mean repetition and ".png (76.42 KiB) Viewed 12 times"

All the best,
Behnam, 14 February, 2025

[Josef Essberger]

How can I delete the extra things under the picture? I mean ".png (76.42 KiB) Viewed 6 times"

To be honest I don't know. It didn't happen with my example.

But one thing is certain. You are asking for trouble when you give an image a filename such as:

Love me little, love me long!.png

Filenames should be alphanumeric and dash only (abc123 and -), and in my book have no spaces (modern systems can accommodate spaces but I avoid them like the plague).

I recommend you rename your image filename to

love-me-little-love-me-long.png

or just

love.png

and try again.

[SitangCampus]

Have you seen the news that at a recent press conference the US President Donald Trump said that he could not understand even one syllable of the words given by an Indian or a Pakistani journalist?

I think it is a funny question and I did have the similar experience when I received two clients from India for buying machinery. But at that time I assumed the problem might have come from myself, because I am not a native speaker of English but India is a country under heavy influence of authentic English language and culture.

In the city where I live, there are places called English Corner where English learners can have direct verbal exchanges with other learners or international friends, with English as their working language. If they pay a small sum to a coffee house or a small restaurant, then it becomes the venue for such an interesting activity. Some English Corners are free, when they are held outdoors. Later on, when some native speakers smell the chance of making profits through teaching English, they come regularly to find the potential customers who want to learn English for studying or working later in Europe or America.

So they do have very strong accent, I wonder how is the situation with English learners around the world? In Iran or the Middle East region, do you have such a problem?

[behnam]

Dear Josef,

I am still waiting for receiving your reply to my previous post written to you about Hercules Poirot series. I know you are very busy, but your reply will help me with keeping the discussion going.

All the best,
Behnam, 15 February, 2025

Not Answered.png

[Josef Essberger]

Dear Josef,

I am still waiting for receiving your reply to my previous post written to you about Hercules Poirot series. I know you are very busy, but your reply will help me with keeping the discussion going.

All the best,
Behnam, 15 February, 2025

Not Answered.png

Wow, excellent Behnam! I see you managed to get an image up without the extraneous details. And you even added a caption! Well done! I will try to figure out text justification, though it may be beyond my remaining two or three brain cells :)

[behnam]

Have you seen the news that at a recent press conference the US President Donald Trump said that he could not understand even one syllable of the words given by an Indian or a Pakistani journalist?

I think it is a funny question and I did have the similar experience when I received two clients from India for buying machinery. But at that time I assumed the problem might have come from myself, because I am not a native speaker of English but India is a country under heavy influence of authentic English language and culture.

In the city where I live, there are places called English Corner where English learners can have direct verbal exchanges with other learners or international friends, with English as their working language. If they pay a small sum to a coffee house or a small restaurant, then it becomes the venue for such an interesting activity. Some English Corners are free, when they are held outdoors. Later on, when some native speakers smell the chance of making profits through teaching English, they come regularly to find the potential customers who want to learn English for studying or working later in Europe or America.

So they do have very strong accent, I wonder how is the situation with English learners around the world? In Iran or the Middle East region, do you have such a problem?

Dear SitangCampus,
Indian and Pakistani people speak English very well, but their accent is different from the American or the English! When I was practicing English, I used to listen to audio files with British accent. I used to listen to BBC. I personally prefer British accent. My friends used to ask about the reason of my choice. My Answer to this question was: when you want to drink water from a river, try to drink from its source. The origin of the English language is England. Its Capital city is London. In my opinion, the accent of Londoners can be a good choice.

In my country Iran, it is not common to use foreign languages ​​due to the lack of tourists. In other words, it is almost impossible for foreign language learners to practice with native speakers.

All the best,
Behnam, 15 February, 2025

[Josef Essberger]

Have you seen the news that at a recent press conference the US President Donald Trump said that he could not understand even one syllable of the words given by an Indian or a Pakistani journalist?

I think it is a funny question and I did have the similar experience when I received two clients from India for buying machinery. But at that time I assumed the problem might have come from myself, because I am not a native speaker of English but India is a country under heavy influence of authentic English language and culture.

In the city where I live, there are places called English Corner where English learners can have direct verbal exchanges with other learners or international friends, with English as their working language. If they pay a small sum to a coffee house or a small restaurant, then it becomes the venue for such an interesting activity. Some English Corners are free, when they are held outdoors. Later on, when some native speakers smell the chance of making profits through teaching English, they come regularly to find the potential customers who want to learn English for studying or working later in Europe or America.

So they do have very strong accent, I wonder how is the situation with English learners around the world? In Iran or the Middle East region, do you have such a problem?

For what it's worth, and at the risk of generalising, poor word stress is the major barrier to clear communication in English.
https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciati ... stress.php

Anyone can try this simply word stress quiz at any time:
https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciati ... s-quiz.php

[Josef Essberger]

Dear Josef,

I am still waiting for receiving your reply to my previous post written to you about Hercules Poirot series. I know you are very busy, but your reply will help me with keeping the discussion going.

All the best,
Behnam, 15 February, 2025

Not Answered.png

Dear Behnam, You used the conditional "if you don't mind" which I naively thought gave me the liberty not to reply

But since you insist, I moved from London at 18 to the west of England and since then also lived in other countries including Thailand and France...

Sadly never Iran.

[behnam]

Dear Josef,

I am still waiting for receiving your reply to my previous post written to you about Hercules Poirot series. I know you are very busy, but your reply will help me with keeping the discussion going.

All the best,
Behnam, 15 February, 2025

Not Answered.png

Dear Behnam, You used the conditional "if you don't mind" which I naively thought gave me the liberty not to reply

But since you insist, I moved from London at 18 to the west of England and since then also lived in other countries including Thailand and France...

Sadly never Iran.

WOW! You are very wise. That's a good excuse.

Can you speak French? I have been practicing French for three years, but my progress in it is unsatisfactory!

All the best,
Behnam, 15 February, 2025

[Josef Essberger]

WOW! You are very wise. That's a good excuse.

HA HA HA

Thank you

Yes, some French. CA VA.

But you can content yourself with your English which is streets ahead of my French, in fact superb.

[Josef Essberger]

Just for Behnam. Working on BBcode which has to be set up for this forum. I just added "highlight" to test. (See highlight, next to YouTube?)

These words are highlighted with BBcode

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[highlight=pink]These words are highlighted with BBcode[/highlight]

Now I will see about justification. I think justified right may be possible, and maybe justified center. Not at all sure about fully justified (as in books). We shall see.