The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #37618   Message #545885
Posted By: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
09-Sep-01 - 08:04 PM
Thread Name: BS: Reasons why English is so hard to learn
Subject: RE: BS: Reasons why English is so hard to learn
It is difficult for one to eliminate one's memory of the rules of pronunciation in one's own language when one is speaking English (sentence illustrative of one problem) . Our Canadian prime minister is French, so the local newspaper (very anti the minister's party) always mimics his mispronunciation in cartoons and editorials. That becomes dat (the h in th is silent in French), these is dese and father becomes fodder. I had a boss from Colombia who, after university in the U. S. A. and 20 years employment with a major company, always started words like special with the syllable es- (special is especial in Spanish). I had a Mexican roommate in college who couldn't pronounce bottle (or was he just cagy when it was his turn to buy?). But I also note how quickly a foreigner picks up enough to get by, and sometimes a lot more than someone born here but poorly educated.