I found something interesting while doing my usual screwing around on the computer.
It should be understood that when I mention translations to English that don't quite say what they mean, I in know way intend this to be making fun of anyone. I do find it humorous, but I also understand that, if I were to go to a foreign, non English speaking country, I would be the one mispronouncing the words and sounding funny.
I've actually had my English corrected by a Mexican coworker. Being from Atlanta, I often leave out the second "t" when pronouncing it, saying basically "Atlanna." My friend and coworker would then point out that, "Eet ees pronounced Ahtlahntah." To which I would answer, "No, I'm from there Saul, we actually pronounce it Atlanna."
Anyway, there is a word "Engrish" for the sometimes humoruos mispronunciations from our Asian friends. Our language and theirs are vastly different, and this Wikipedia entry explains better than I can.
Again, I do not wish to belittle anyone for their natural differences. Ignorant fools are funny sometimes, even if it's a sad kind of dark humor. People who are just different are just different, and difference, in my opinion, is a great way to find out about new and interesting people, and differences make us stronger.
1 comment:
Nicely put. :) Where i live, there is a large percentage of French speakers. BOth languages get mangled in a process called "franglais". Closer to a bigger city near here, it's called "shiac".
Now, I'm not bilingual, but even I can understand what's being said. :)
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