Monday, July 16, 2007

New York - "gibberish"

Today was a VERY interesting day indeed. Did you know that 98% of you out there, if you are not a native speaker, say the word "peso" (as in money from Mexico) incorrectly? I couldn't believe what we were learning, and the nuances of different languages. There are certain sounds that are indigenous to each language, and if you grow up learning only one language, those are the sounds you "hear". Other languages have sounds that are indigenous to them, that we don't say. Therefore, that is why we say so many words incorrectly when learning another language, and vice-versa. Did you know that someone from Thailand wouldn't be able to "hear" the difference between "sheep" and "ship"? Interesting - anyway - those are the types of things we are learning this week. Here is a video that demonstrates some of what we are learning. I guarantee what you hear in the video is actually not what they are saying. They are verbalizing (or not verbalizing) sounds in a different indigenous language. So - how do YOU say peso?!