I have been thinking about offering a proofreading service for websites.

Maybe its because I was a traned teacher (English and French) before I became a trader - but poor English on websites really bothers me. Not just on websites, but anywhere - roadsigns, menus, business letters...

However, the standerd of English on a website is often linked to the quality of the company behind it. Admitedly, that is not always the case: I recently narrowly escaped a scammer who had an excellent website.

So, I wonder if this is some form of prejudice. Why should I expect a foreign language speaker to have a perfect English site? Does this really reflect on the proffesionalism of the organisation?

I would be interested to hear from you: English first language/fluent English speakers, do you feel the same way, and why? And for non-native speakers - have you had any feedback regarding the quality of the English on your site?

Oh. And just for fun, I have hidden 5 errors in my posting - can you spot them ;o)

Replying to [houseofcool]:
my English is poor...

Replying to [gigi -freeroom furniture ]:But you try... and your English is already much better than my Chinese!

Replying to [houseofcool]:That used to be the case // My father educated in england and a solicitor was always saying the english we were taught in Australian schools was "Not English" But if I was to write a letter as he did \
now No One Would Understand .. what we must now remember that every country in the world writes English in there own way .. and every country that teaches English in there schools teach it in there own way .. combining
US English and English - English . but the one thing we all understand is

the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Replying to [houseofcool]:
yes , i will learn english ,not only writing english but also oral english...because my coustomers all are foreigners

Replying to [opalcutter]: You have a good point - however I'm not referring to stylistic differences. If I read an email from an American or an Australian, they don't make the sort of errors that I am thinking about.
And of course, the occasional slip is fair enough - but for the sake of professionalism, anything that is designed to be published, whether on the web, or as a trade leaflet (some of these are terrible!) ought to be correct as far as possible.
Before you decide that I'm too judgmental, I should add that I speak three languages (and used to teach two of them). Regardless, when I was planning on submitting a listing to eBay France recently, my first action was to contact a native speaker in order to be certain that my listing would be 'comme il faut'! (As it should be.)
Thanks for your feedback.

Replying to [houseofcool]:
The following are my amendment, pls check if it is right ?

Websites in English
I have been thinking about offering a proofreading service for websites.

Maybe its {it's} because I was a traned teacher (English and French) before I became a trader - but poor English on websites really bothers me. Not just on websites, but anywhere - roadsigns, menus, business letters...

However, the standerd{ standard} of English on a website is often linked to the quality of the company behind it. Admitedly,{Admittedly } that is not always the case: I recently narrowly escaped {narrowly } a scammer who had an excellent website.

So, I wonder if this is some form of prejudice. Why should I expect a foreign language speaker to have a perfect English site? Does this really reflect on the proffesionalism of the organisation?

I would be interested to hear from you: English first language { native} /fluent English speakers, do you feel the same way, and why? And for non-native speakers - have you had any feedback regarding the quality of the English on your site?

Oh. And just for fun, I have hidden 5 errors in my posting - can you spot them ;o)

Replying to [chris--china]: Good job - you found 3. I must confess i have been worrying that someone would find errors that I didn't mean to leave ;)

Replying to [houseofcool]: I know I am a bit late on this topic but I still want to respond. I actually run a business that corrects the English grammar on websites. (disclaimer - I'm typing fast and not checking my own work right now! ). I do think discrimination plays a role. Traders want to do business with people whom they feel are competant, and will not cost them money. To protect one's assets, one must be discriminating. It's just a fact of doing business. It has nothing to do with race, gender, etc.. The reality is that we all judge people/businesses by our first impressions (why do you think marketing is such a big business??). Proper grammar does not gaurantee a home run. It simply gets you to the plate. There are many other factors affecting the outcome of a selling venture. There is also a major difference between understanding proper grammar, and understanding how to code your message so that it conveys the correct meaning to your target market.