Is the author of this essay a native speaker of English or not?

[banderas]

Is the autor of this essay a native speaker of English or not?If not, how would a native write all this?

When I was younger I had a dream to become a great footbal player. I was really good and there was nothing to stop me from making my dream come true, except for me. I tried many different sports and even was a member of national team of moutnain runners. At the age of 18 I decided that sport should not be so important and chose to do something else for living. I do not regret my decision but I feel I am still in love with sport. Wherever I go and play football or basketball, people around me are amazed how good I am. They cannot believe that I was never a professional. It is just a natural talent...Who knows, perhaps I should stick to my passion and make a fortune as Frank Lampard and others did playing a funny game called football? On the other hand, it is said, when you do something every day, your passion gradually becomes your profession and is no fun any more. Did I save my passion from becoming a boring routine? I hope so.

[riverkid]

Is the autor of this essay a native speaker of English or not?If not, how would a native write all this?

It's hard to say for sure, Banderas.

When I was younger I had a dream to become a great football player. I was really good and there was nothing to stop me from making my dream come true, except for me. I tried many different sports and even was a member of the national team of mountain runners.

At the age of 18 I decided that sport should not be so important and chose to do something else for a living. I do not regret my decision but I feel I am still in love with sport. Wherever I go and play football or basketball, people around me are amazed how good I am. They cannot believe that I was never a professional. It is just a natural talent...Who knows, perhaps I should stick to my passion and make a fortune as Frank Lampard and others did playing a funny game called football?

On the other hand, it is said, when you do something every day, your passion gradually becomes your profession and is no fun any more. Did I save my passion from becoming a boring routine? I hope so.

#

[banderas]

Thanks Riverkid for your comment. Is it 50% for a Native and 50% for a non-native? Does this short essay sound natural to your native ear? Do the words flow as they should do in the English language?

[stuartnz]

Like riverkid, I'm finding it hard to say. I might actually say 60/40 for native over non-native, because the overall fliuency is quite high, but some of the small errors seem unlikely for native speakers. The missing articles that riverkid highlight point toward non-native in my opinion, but are far from conclusive.

[banderas]

Like riverkid, I'm finding it hard to say. I might actually say 60/40 for native over non-native, because the overall fliuency is quite high, but some of the small errors seem unlikely for native speakers. The missing articles that riverkid highlight point toward non-native in my opinion, but are far from conclusive.

Thanks Stuart for your opinion.
These missing articles, could you say they might be just typos of a native? Do natives make such mistakes when writing? Besides that, does it all flow naturally to you?

[RonBee]

It certainly could have been written by a native speaker. But it is impossible to say for sure. The writer could have learned English as a second language and learned it very well.

The essay only needed a couple of minor changes. The only question I have is about mountain runners. As far as I know, that is not a sport. Perhaps the writer meant marathon runners.

[stuartnz]

Thanks Stuart for your opinion.
These missing articles, could you say they might be just typos of a native? Do natives make such mistakes when writing? Besides that, does it all flow naturally to you?

Yes, it flows well, and the missing articles could easily be typos from a native speaker. I've omitted articles by "brain fart" myself occasionally, which is why I agree with RonBee that it could be a native speaker or a non-native who's learned it really well. If I ever mastered a SOL to the extent of writing as fluently and naturally as this, I'd be extremely chuffed.

[banderas]

It certainly could have been written by a native speaker. But it is impossible to say for sure. The writer could have learned English as a second language and learned it very well.

The essay only needed a couple of minor changes. The only question I have is about mountain runners. As far as I know, that is not a sport. Perhaps the writer meant marathon runners.

Thanks, RonBee for your input.
The mountain running could be a sport. It is like running but in the mountains. I might possibly be wrong...

[banderas]

Yes, it flows well, and the missing articles could easily be typos from a native speaker. I've omitted articles by "brain fart" myself occasionally, which is why I agree with RonBee that it could be a native speaker or a non-native who's learned it really well. If I ever mastered a SOL to the extent of writing as fluently and naturally as this, I'd be extremely chuffed.

Thanks again, Stuart!
By the way,what is a SOL?

[RonBee]

On the other hand, it is said that when you do something every day your passion gradually becomes your profession and is no fun any more. Did I save my passion from becoming a boring routine? I hope so.

It flows quite well. On the other hand, it is a bit odd that the writer leaves out so many "little" words that others would not leave out. I can't say conclusively that the writer is either a native speaker or is not a native speaker. Certainly, the writer has a good enough grasp of the language that little or no interpretation is needed.

(I'm not a proofreader, but I used to play one on TV. )