These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Do ya talk good? [shudder]

Do you ever think about how you sound when you talk? Not your voice inflections (although those are important, too), but your pronunciation.

I think we are all aware of how difficult a language English is because of the multitude of contributing sources (Latin, German, etc.) from the old world and newer ones from French (chaise lounge, dossier, au jus) and Spanish (casita, tortilla, hola), many of which we mispronounce or Anglecize. Because of the variety of roots in our language it is confusing because sometimes we pronounce letters and other times we don't (knit, gnaw), sometimes letter groupings are not pronounced as they are spelled (cough, thorough), and on and on.

People learning English will tell you how hard it is to get it right. Most languages have fairly regular rules for pronunciation, but not English. Remember when you were in school, back when they actually taught "grammar"? How hard was it? Right! Many of our rules haven't a rationale behind them, just facts you have to memorize and learn over time to internalize for your use.

Then comes my point, how we pronounce the words. We are all guilty of lazy speech (my term) in which we say things such as "The kids are sleepin'. I need to get'em up." Your own lazy language may be different that the example, but you get the idea. We all slur words, elide sounds, use colloquialisms. Now, put yourself in the position of someone from another language trying to muck your way through English.

I often get cyber visitors coming to this blog after googling some words, usually things related to my title "never ending," "journey," etc. Sometimes it is because of words in posts.  Many times the spelling is amusing. It's a miracle google can ferret out the intention. The latest is "humans robotik hand misheens" which led to a post in which I referred to shaking hands, obviously not what the person from this unknown place wanted. But think about it .... how do you pronounce "machines"? I think I might say something close to "meh-sheens."

Oh, don't beat yourself up. Other people in their native or primary language do the same thing. I learned French in high school and my pronunciation was nearly perfect. But when I spoke with French people, I had difficulty because I spoke (and heard) perfect French and they spoke "real" French with the same slurred-together words, dropped syllables, etc.

I try to use my best language skill. I try to say "machine," and "sleeping." But I know I don't always succeed. And how we must confuse others new to the language when we talk with them. When my daughter-in-law, a native of Southern Mexico, was new to the family, she was still learning, even though she had been speaking English for some years and was taking college courses. We had a number of humorous conversations because of the quirks of the language.

So what's my point? Oh, no real point, just an interesting thought that hit me this morning. Well, I could make a point to be patient with people learning the language. I hear so many criticize heavy accents (If they're gonna live here, they should learn English), while many of us say "chase lounge" when it is correctly pronounced "chehz long" (more or less!), we dunk our French dip sandwiches in "oo ju" not "aw juice," and it isn't "tor-till-a" that we wrap around foods, it is "tor-ti-yya." If we use words from another language, let's learn to pronounce them right.

BTW, the most frequent search landing here other than the "never ending journey" is "Johnny Carson/Ed Ames"!!



8 comments:

  1. Names of cities, are some of the most mispronounced words, such as Louisville, New York, etc. Another whole story is accents from different areas of the country. Chicago people have their own as well as those from Massachusetts. No wonder people coming from other countries have such a hard time. Happy weekend.

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    1. Don't forget New Orleans. In Missouri there is a town named Versailles. Locals call it "ver-sails," which drives me crazy.

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  2. Guilty guilty guilty.My lazy speech combined with a South Mississippi accent causes me grief with some of those phone systems where you have to respond verbally. I guess if I spoke "Southern" in one of those standard Hollywood accents (which actually exists in our Delta region, maybe that would be in the system's database. I usually just give up and hang up. I even have lazy ears. When a fast talker answers my call to a business or agency, I sometimes have to ask several times before I can process what is being fired into my ear and determine if I have called the right number.

    I really enjoyed this post. Reminds me of a gardening call-in radio show I was listening to some years ago. It was broadcast statewide and from the variety of Mississippi accents, vocabulary and patterns of speech, it was clear that the passion for gardening spanned geography, cultural heritage, education and race. It was a molasses smogasbord, leisurely, musical, rich and delicious.

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    1. I try really hard to enunciate correctly, but I'm human. And I tend to adopt the language style around me, so If I came to visit you, I'd have molasses dripping pretty soon, too.

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  3. I tend to tailor my speech patterns to fit my audience/those I am with at the current time. Around here with the crews, it is relaxed/slang/"colorful." In a professional setting, it is the other end of the spectrum. That way, no one is offended and no feelings hurt - hopefully - and I benefit from a variety of speaking! :)

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  4. True, if you use formal language in some settings you are seen as uppity. I guess I do that, too, now that you mention it. I have to remember when to not use my "colorful" language! LOL!

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  5. I watch NCIS (and all the re-runs) when nothing is on TV. The role of a girl from Israel is played by Cote De Pablo and she routinely messes up metaphoric speech or idiomatic expressions. I have more fun just watching that part.

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  6. Tabor, great example!! I'd forgotten about Ziva, but she is a perfect example!

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!