Hey San Migs it's good to see you back on the board.

Yeah, regarding English. I am a Native English Speaker, but if Turnoi had advice for me on anything that is language related I would not hesitate to lend my ear and listen humbly. He is someone whom I respect, and he is a non-native speaker.

On the other hand, if someone like any of the Kevins, Londongirl, Mancunian, or ASTF who as far as we know are all native speakers tried to even give us free English courses, I wouldn't bother looking in their direction nor give them the time of day.

Certain native speakers who push the agenda of not giving non-native speakers a chance fail to see the history of their own language. Did Anglo-Saxons originate all 30+ million words in the English language, NO. Countless groups contributed, and it is still evolving thanks to the growing number of people who are trying to learn English. The sharing of British English with American English as the two dominant types of English being learned shows that we can speak the same words but to us Native speakers we are speaking different languages. In my opinion as an American I think that South Africans who are considered Native Speakers are harder to understand than Nigerians and Filipinos. Some Filipinos I have met can speak a near native sounding American accent.

People who do think their language is so superior would do best to carry themselves in a manner that justifies the superior market value, or else the value will go down within the sphere of influence for those folks. Let's hope it's not too big.