: Re: How do I make an ESL character sound realistic? I have to write an assignment in which there's an English character talking with a English as a Second Language (ESL) character. It is turning

@Berumen699

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Typically, Chinese ESL speakers routinely make mistakes with definite and indefinite articles. They leave them out, use them when not needed, or mix the two. They also mess up indefinite plurals and pronouns, and verb tenses. All of this is due to structural differences between Mandarin and English. So, this answer might sound like:

The Chinese ESL speaker routinely make a mistake with the definite and
the indefinite article. They leave article out, use article when it
not need, or mix two. Also, they are messing up many indefinite
plural and the pronoun, also messing up verb tense. All this due
to many difference in structure between the Mandarin and the English.

My advice, then, is to study the basic grammar differences between English and your ESL speaker's language. This will be more effective than trying to imitate things like mistakes in consonant or vowel sounds. (e.g., "Herro! So solly!") Doing that just makes you sound bigoted, as if you're trying to make fun of someone's accent, plus it makes your text hard to read. Even doing what I recommend should be used carefully. A little goes a long way.

p.s. Sorry, I can't give advice specific to Japanese. Maybe read some badly-translated manga?

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