sorry for being a little rude... shoelaces is surely more popular than shoestrings, but the latter is perfectly fine also. i've seen native speakers making wrong judgments a lot of times, so.... here are some links:
本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛“小心台阶”用英语怎么说？ 很多人会觉得是be careful of the steps 或者 watch out the steps.
上中学的时候，有一阵英语热，经常有人来学校做报告。有一次，一个外语学院的老师来讲课。他有时候也到外面带旅游团。他说有一次，和几个美国游客外出，下一个山坡的时候发现台阶比较陡，他就提醒身后的老头，be careful of the steps! 老头一听很感动，忙向后传达，但他讲的却是 “mind the steps.” 这位老师当时很惊讶，虽然是教英语的，但他却是第一次听到这种说法。
我对这个故事印象很深，因为发现书本上学的，和实际中用的，存在很大的差别。如果只是为了考试，这种差别对你没任何影响，你永远也不用分清rubber和eraser的区别。但如果是生活在英语世界里，这个差别，轻则令你闹笑话，比如前阵有人贴过的几个英语表达错误笑话。把straw说成是pipe, 要napkin说成要 paper，分不清 jam 和 ketchup；重则可能会让你丧命。1992年，日本留学生Yoshihiro Hattori，因为找错地址，又没听懂屋主说的"Freeze"是什么意思而遭射杀。
所以，想在英语世界里生活的人，应该多花功夫学习本地英语的词汇和表达方法。当你把牛皮鞋/猪皮鞋说成made of beef or pork的时候，不管你嘴型怎么对，牙齿和舌头的位置如何正确，鼻后发音多么流畅，美音模仿的如何象，得到的都是售货员石化的表情。更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
别太敏感。shoestring is perfectly ok, same as shoelace...as long as you said it clearly!;) so, clear pronounciation still matters.
-hsl(胡司令);
2011-3-2(#6538831@0)
Thanks, Commander, for sharing your opinion. However, this is definitely not a pronunciation issue. I don't think my accent is perfect, but I do client consulting and support every day on the phone, so I believe my accent is acceptable to say the least.
-ontario-farmer(麦十四);
2011-3-3{151}(#6541617@0)
I just asked my native coworker whether "shoestring" could be used here, and he said he "never heard of it". He said it should be "shoelace" too.
Some native speakers are smart enough to correctly guess ESLs' "new words". An example
-heater(美帝苏修);
2011-3-3{170}(#6541658@0)
Many years ago I asked some co-workers what to do if the "houselord" didn't allow us to use the dryer, blah, blah. Only one co-worker could tell I meant "landlord".
agree....(shoe)laces more likely used by north americans (;)).
-hsl(胡司令);
2011-3-3(#6541732@0)
sorry for being a little rude... shoelaces is surely more popular than shoestrings, but the latter is perfectly fine also. i've seen native speakers making wrong judgments a lot of times, so.... here are some links:
-hsl(胡司令);
2011-3-3{37}(#6541705@0)
this example maybe a little extreme. i actually tried it at eaton centre (just for fun) and the salesgirl took no effort understanding it ;) however i agree we are better off speaking the local dialect/jargons. washrom/bathroom is a typical example. thx!
-hsl(胡司令);
2011-3-4(#6543959@0)
reminds me of yankee doodle, the song ;)
-hsl(胡司令);
2011-3-2{261}(#6538811@0)
.
Yankee Doodle went to town
A-riding on a pony.
He stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni .
Chorus:
Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy.
我们在这里需要的是加音，不是美音~~also, "watch your step" is perfectly ok and not any less common!
-hsl(胡司令);
2011-3-2(#6538841@0)
"Mind the Gap!" --- on TTC subway,
-cavalia(Uplander);
2011-3-2(#6538894@0)
还带这么做广告的哪
-heater(美帝苏修);
2011-3-2(#6538945@0)
mind the gap头次听到在香港地铁。所以mind the steps的表达就很自然而然，几乎不可能用错。本地词汇听多了就能掌握，地道的句子表达难度大些，但真正难的是有文化有典故的东东，几乎永远不可能象中文那样
-uptowngirl(若初 扇摇霜雪知多少);
2011-3-2(#6539031@0)