It feels great to see the old blog friends around. I should thank all the people that emailed me before, expressing concern about my disappearance, and now welcoming me back. :)
I should mention something that I’ve mentioned before, and that’s my English. I know my English is not good enough, and that’s because of the fact that I have never been to any native-English speaking environment before. I have learned English in Iran, and I know few people who have learned English just in Iran and speak perfect English. I know I have to work more, and I know if I want to study journalism in the US, my writing should be much better. By the way, I
would be thankful if you correct my mistakes!
Lady Sun 
34 comments
Thursday, February 12, 2004 at 7:16 am
Laura
Looks like you do a terriffic job to me. Glad to see you writing again.
Friday, February 13, 2004 at 12:09 am
sara
Good thing you explained. I was going to be pretty picky about your trivial grammatical errors, given that you hold an MSc in English! I mean Lord! It is sad how an Iranian university is not capable of training a university level student in English even to hold up to standards of a high school student in an English speaking country. I mean, it’s simple grammar you are getting incorrectly, nothing fancy. I do sound critical, but it is directed at the schooling system that hands out MSc’s out of nowhere, not yourself per se.
Friday, February 13, 2004 at 12:10 am
sara
make that an MA.
Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 2:07 pm
mahmood
Well in my opinion your english is very good.
I did not know english well when I left Iran in 1975 but did ok in school. I think you will be very sucessful.
By the way I think Islamic Republic is not going to be in power for long. Hope they leave our country soon.
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 3:55 pm
simi
Do not worry about your English! You do a very good job at communicating your ideas. Grammar is a minor worry.
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 4:23 pm
Tim
This is my first visit to your site, and I’ve yet to find any evidence that your English is anywhere near as bad as you describe. Don’t be so hard on yourself!
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 5:34 pm
Brian
Your English is much better than my Farsi.
Brian
New YorkCity
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 6:55 pm
occaam
Forget the petty pecks at your grammar. There is an old saying: “Language is psychological, not logical,” the import of which is that language is what the people do; not what the scholars say we ought to do. Not that a mastery of the rules is pointless; to the contrary, the rules are generally there for a purpose. A message should be clear and powerful and many of the rules of grammar and the principles of writing have evolved precisely because they add to the effectiveness of communication. However, adherence to the rules just because they are rules is the sign of a weak intellect. Many of our greatest writers were most powerful because they broke the rules in beautiful ways. P.S. it will be good to have you as a neighbor. Don’t give up on your visa pursuit. The benefits of living in the U.S. offset the costs.
Regards,
Occaam
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 7:21 pm
lukkystarr
Your english looks fine to me. I may not be a literary genius, but I can understand what you are trying to communicate just fine…….
Regards from America,
lukkystarr
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 8:25 pm
Candace
Hi!
I just read your blog from America, and I must say that your English is very good! Don’t be so hard on yourself. I have been studying Spanish for 7 years and I still can barely write a paragraph correctly. Your English is great!
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 9:20 pm
Bruce
Your English is just fine. Keep on truckin’.
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 9:32 pm
Jack Walters
I can’t speak Farsi at all, And best I can tell, you speak better English than I do. Do you give lessons?
Jack Walters
Thomasville, North Carolina, USA
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 10:25 pm
Alida
Your English is perfect. In fact, it may be better than a lot of native English speakers! You’re awesome because you know two languages, something I can’t say!
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 11:37 pm
D Miller
I discovered your blog today. I love your honesty and bravery. Your English is better than half the people in the United States
Thursday, February 19, 2004 at 11:43 pm
Keith
Your English is a lot better than many native born Americans, even students. Don’t let grammer hiccups stop you. And remember: Herman Melville couldn’t spell very well. His wife had to correct most of Moby Dick.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 1:18 am
Don
Interesting blog and I think your English is very good. I can completely understand what you are writing about. Especially since you have not really been working with native speakers.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 3:52 am
Harry
Your English is just fine! One problem in the US is that many Americans seem to think that there is no good reason to lean another language, and that everyone in the world should understand English . We are very insular. If all of us could be as fluent in one other language as you are in English, the world would be a better place. From California, I wish you good luck–and to Iran also!
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 4:37 am
Eric
I would not be too concerned about your English. It is more than adequate for what is needed here for this site. Besides, you should not worry about such things on a blog. Why?
A blog should be like a diary that the rest of the world can read. The words that appear on a blog should come from your mind, your heart, your soul.
The long and the short of it is this: Your written English (from what I have seen) is excellent. For the most part, it is better than some of the English that I have read from my fellow American students. Many of these students have lived here all of their lives.
Trust me, I have a pretty good idea of what I am talking about. I have a degree from UCLA. In what? You guessed it…English. :-)
Just keep doing what you are doing. People are proud of you whether you know it or not.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 7:46 am
nakona
hey lady sun.
forget the critics, the naysayers, the nagging voices which creep from beneath their asinine ideals. you communicate with flair. i celebrate your courage and most importantly, your voice.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 8:19 am
Steve
I think your English is just fine, you are being far too hard on yourself. I appreciate your comments very much. This is an insight for me to a foreign land and culture. I wish you all of the blessings that this life may be able to give you and your family.
Steve
Brisbane, Australia
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 8:42 am
Tyler
you rawk!
Portland, OR USA
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 8:42 am
Danny Miller
Way to go Lady Sun….keep up the fight! Your English is excellent and you should be proud of what you’re doing. It’s amazing how small the world is with the internet. Countries can no longer hide behind the walls that their governments put up to suppress and shield their citizens. The days of oppressive regimes and tyrants are numbered as technology becomes the driving force of human civilization. Open up that country of yours! Tell your government that you’ve had enough! Good luck!
-Danny (Alabama, USA)
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 9:08 am
sally
you’re english is fabulous junam — don’t let them tell you differently
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 9:27 am
Hamid
As many other readers have mentioned it, don’t worry about small grammatical errors you may make. Up-to-now, I thought that you have been educated in an English speaking country. I work in U.S. and many of my co-wokers’ English is grammatically real horrible despite being born and college educated here. I encourage you to read more and that will lead you to a better writing skill. Your work is really appreciated by many Iranians abroad since censoring the media has not left any real critical Iranian voice from within Iran on the net.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 9:51 am
Jules
Don’t worry, your English is just fine. I have lived my entire life here in New York City, and take one walk to the ghettos and you’ll find some people who don’t have a command of the English language like you do. Anyway, I firmly believe that the most important part of speaking English is the ability to tell a good joke. So pick a celebrity to make fun of and let em have it!
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 12:02 pm
charlie
Don’t worry about your english. More than correct or incorrect, you evoke a personality in your writing, and that is something many professional authors have yet to achieve.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 2:30 pm
Tanya
Your english is much better than many who have graduated from high school here in America. Your writing is better than many who have graduated from college here. Your spelling is excellent! You are able to communicate your message clearly in writing. I hope you are able to study journalism here soon. One warning though, journalists don’t neccessarily communicate well in writing!
Tanya
Philadelphia Area
United States
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 2:35 pm
shahrok Atighechi
Your English is fantastic, not good enough!, by far excellent. Those small areas which you might have to fix are hardly noticable, and you will be able to correct very quickly just by reading more in English.
More power to you girl.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 2:35 pm
Tammy
Lady Sun, your english is just fine hon..don’t worry about it. This is my first visit here too. I’m impressed. :) I bookmarked your site so I can come back and read more. Take care..from Ohio, USA.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 2:36 pm
Ramón Kirkegård
I can’t believe that you actually think your English isn’t good enough; quite the contrary, it’s just excellent! ;)
Mon
Philippines
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 10:55 pm
Chad
Hi Lady Sun,
I just found out about your weblog from the articles circulating in the press here in the US. I wanted to commend you on your English skills. You write wonderfully given that you haven’t lived in an English speaking country.
Saturday, February 21, 2004 at 12:57 am
Joe
Hi. Your English is actually very good. I was browsing the blog of your (cousin’s?) that had “better” English than yours. Half of it, I couldn’t even understand. His vocabulary is bigger than most people’s on this side of the Atlantic. (Which actually has me quite scared…)
Saturday, February 21, 2004 at 5:23 pm
Barbara
I’ll just add another vote for “Lady Sun’s English Is Much Better Than Most Native Speakers”. I can’t believe you think it’s no good!
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 at 12:20 am
Olivier
I wish my Anglophone French prof (who holds a PhD in French, and has lived in France for years) were brave enough to make such a confession!
Olivier from Ontario, Canada