Written by native English speaker?

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Do you think the letter below is writen by a native English Speaker? The grammar of the letter sounds perfect to me. My ability, however, of appreciating English writting is limited. So I post the thread here.

The letter -------------

Gentlemen:

Thank you for your inquiry of June the 1st concerning the Deer Mountain Bike. It gives us great pleasure to send along the technical information on the model together with the catalog and price list. After studying the prices and terms of trade, you will understand why we are working to capacity to meet the demand. We look forward to the opportunity of being of service of you.

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As a business communication it reads a little 'flowerily', at least by Australian standards. Almost sounds like a Nigerian spam. The 'after studying the prices' reads wrong. Maybe, 'examining' or 'reading' or 'seeing'.

That doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't written by a native English speaker - lots of ESL people speak better and write gooder than some EFL people. :wink:

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Thanks for replying.

In my book, ESL = EFL. Since ESL means "English as a second language," and EFL refers to "English as a foreign language." So the comparison between the two could get further discussed. Anther question is that I cannot find the word "gooder" in any dictionaries. :wink:

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ESL = English as a second language
EFL (in this context) = English as a first language (my little joke)

'speak better' and 'write gooder' are both little jokes too - hence my use of :wink:

Forgive my strange antipodean sense of humour - self-deprecation as an art form.

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Hingehead, you certainly wrote that gooder than I coulda.

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fanks mate.

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Snow prob.

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Hmm, I had a hunch that you acted cute, not that you would exactly make such rudimental mistakes. But if poor ESL speakers just deserve "gooder" writting, the sarcasm would surely innuendo the ESL speakers can never master English. That is pointless; that does not hold water.

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oristarA, the British and the Aussies have a very similar sense of humour.
We tend to use it most of the time, preferring to look on the funny side of life.

Some other nationalities take pride in being serious all the time.

Sometimes, we have a joke when we shouldn't, and to anyone who is looking in, it may seem very confusing.

In future, we will take you very seriously, and respond accordionly.

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I have to admit I feel like you think I was making fun of you Oristara - and I certainly wasn't. I answered your question honestly and took the p1ss out of myself. As M'Lud has it, it is life we laugh at, not those living it.

Serious hat: ON.

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by the way, there is an actual mistake in the last sentence: it should end with "being of service to you" not "being of service of you." it could have been a typo, but since the whole letter is written in a highly formal style, it doesn't seem likely a native English speaker would make a mistake like that. but if it was written by a native speaker, i'm rather sure the writer is not American--an American would not use the phrase "terms of trade" in a letter in reply to an inquiry about a bicycle model.

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Now I am inspired by these replies that help to cross the cultural bridge.
Crafting humor is in the core of any culture. And with different forms, humor can show us unassuming, charming ideas.
Get the idea, forget its form.
Now I've got your idea.
Thank you all. Smile

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yitwail wrote:

by the way, there is an actual mistake in the last sentence: it should end with "being of service to you" not "being of service of you." it could have been a typo, but since the whole letter is written in a highly formal style, it doesn't seem likely a native English speaker would make a mistake like that. but if it was written by a native speaker, i'm rather sure the writer is not American--an American would not use the phrase "terms of trade" in a letter in reply to an inquiry about a bicycle model.

However, the author has learnt to spell in the American way, as he/she has written "catalog" as opposed to "catalogue", which is how we would spell it in Britain. Maybe an American spellchecker is installed on his/her computer.

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OristarA, your English has come on a bundle since we last wrote on this topics all those months ago. Congratulations.

As Lord Ellpus and our Australian friend have so eloquently explained, many people choose to write English in a non-standard form, even using slang expressions, to add a bit of interest or in an attempt at humour.

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Lord Ellpus wrote:

However, the author has learnt to spell in the American way, as he/she has written "catalog" as opposed to "catalogue", which is how we would spell it in Britain. Maybe an American spellchecker is installed on his/her computer.

spot on, your lordship. a pity that rest of the world hasn't adopted our sensible spelling innovations. Rolling Eyes

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yitwail wrote:

Lord Ellpus wrote:

However, the author has learnt to spell in the American way, as he/she has written "catalog" as opposed to "catalogue", which is how we would spell it in Britain. Maybe an American spellchecker is installed on his/her computer.

spot on, your lordship. a pity that rest of the world hasn't adopted our sensible spelling innovations.

I wasn't trying to be funny, Yit. If the man wants to find out where something originates from, this could help to narrow it down significantly.
For once I was just making a serious comment. I can tell, from my observation, that there is a 99% chance that the author wasn't raised in Britain.
This rule, I think, maybe applies to Australia and also New Zealand.

Maybe I was a bit vague, or vaig, as it may be spelt in America.

I know, I'm being a rogue again. It seems to be the vogue, nowadays.

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yitwail wrote:

Lord Ellpus wrote:

However, the author has learnt to spell in the American way, as he/she has written "catalog" as opposed to "catalogue", which is how we would spell it in Britain. Maybe an American spellchecker is installed on his/her computer.

spot on, your lordship. a pity that rest of the world hasn't adopted our sensible spelling innovations.

At least the Brits still know the difference between a check and a cheque (and a checker and a chequer)

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McTag wrote:

At least the Brits still know the difference between a check and a cheque (and a checker and a chequer)

whereas i haven't a clue. one has to do with money, and another the game of draughts?

lord e, i was acknowledging the astuteness of your observation, as opposed to your sparkling wit. :wink:

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McTag wrote:

yitwail wrote:
Lord Ellpus wrote:

However, the author has learnt to spell in the American way, as he/she has written "catalog" as opposed to "catalogue", which is how we would spell it in Britain. Maybe an American spellchecker is installed on his/her computer.

spot on, your lordship. a pity that rest of the world hasn't adopted our sensible spelling innovations.

At least the Brits still know the difference between a check and a cheque (and a checker and a chequer)

For all that the English complain of American spellings (produced largely by Noah Webster) it is noteworthy that they adopted the change of musick to music, and magick to magic.

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Yes, I found that quite tragick.

<sorry, Yit, I saw the rolling eyes and thought...>

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Written by native English speaker?

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