Proper English Pronunciation...

[LoyalTubist]

As most of you know, I work teaching Vietnamese high school students (as well as local language teachers) how to speak English with an American accent. I really do appreciate the Vietnamese. I haven't gotten used to the slurping and smacking they do when they eat (which shows how much they love the food), it's now been over one year here and I still love it.

I heard a story, perhaps it's an urban legend, about a Vietnamese foreign exchange student. He flew from Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco. While at the airport in SFO, he had to run to catch an airplane to Reno, at which time he lost almost all the money he brought with him, although he still had his passport and visa, as well as plane tickets. From Reno he flew to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he took a Greyhound bus to the little town where he would be going to school for the next year.

He was told he would be meeting his family at 5:00, so he set out to explore the city. The little town had only ONE restaurant and it had a very limited menu. The boy hadn't eaten anything since breakfast before landing at San Francisco, unless you consider a Coke and a bag of peanuts something to eat.

The boy only had one dollar, which was a one dollar bill, in his front jeans pocket. He went into the restaurant, where he met an old man, whom he told about the problem he had at the San Francisco Airport. The old man left and a waiter seated him. The boy looked at the menu and saw two things that appealed to him. One was a "three-course meal" which cost $4.95. The other was a glass of milk, which cost 85 cents. Of course the glass of milk was all he could afford.

"May I have your order, please?" said the waiter.

So the boy tried to say he wanted milk but the "k" sound couldn't be heard. What he said sounded like, "I want some mee-ohl."

The waiter brought him a tray of food that had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cole slaw, as well as a glass of milk. He thought that the waiter heard the story he told the old man and was being nice to him.

But when it came time to pay, there was a terrible disagreement. The boy argued with the waiter that he said he wanted "MILK" (even though he still didn't say the "k"). It took some time, but the waiter finally realized that the boy didn't say he wanted a meal, but he wanted milk. Most Vietnamese, who don't know better, say those two words the same way.

My job is to stop things like that from happening. It gets mighty embarrassing!

[bassoonuba]

That sucks. It's exactly why I use the point at menu method when I am somewhere the people don't understand me; it has never failed me yet. (Knock on wood.)

[fieldshowqueen]

That sucks. It's exactly why I use the point at menu method when I am somewhere the people don't understand me; it has never failed me yet. (Knock on wood.)

I just order by number. Lord help me if I don't want peanuts or something in it though.

[supermutant]

Tried the "point at" method once in Portugal. What I thought was fish actually was cut up chunks of Octopus in a Red Tomato Sauce that really resembled coagulated blood. I was unable to eat for two days. Lost some weight though

[Ex Nihilo]

Tried the "point at" method once in Portugal. What I thought was fish actually was cut up chunks of Octopus in a Red Tomato Sauce that really resembled coagulated blood. I was unable to eat for two days. Lost some weight though

cephalopods are delicious!

[bassoonuba]

Tried the "point at" method once in Portugal. What I thought was fish actually was cut up chunks of Octopus in a Red Tomato Sauce that really resembled coagulated blood. I was unable to eat for two days. Lost some weight though

Perhaps I should try some Octopus then.

[FluteOfTheNewWorld]

Haha I'm learning transcriptions in Lingusitcs 101 right now.. so this whole pronouncing thing is like on the front of my mind.

[Ex Nihilo]

i just realized something...
even native english speakers can't pronounce things correctly... sad, no?

[midavid]

Lisa: If you misuse language, he'll correct you!
Homer: Well, lets put him to the test! Me love beer!
Linguo: I love beer!
Homer: Hey! He loves beer! Here little fellah!
Linguo: Error!
Homer: I'm sorry, I thought he was a party robot.

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Lisa: Just lay still.
Linguo: Lie still!
Lisa: I knew that. Just testing.
Linguo: Sentence fragment.
Lisa: "Sentence fragment," is also a sentence fragment!
Linguo: Must conserve battery.

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Louie: They's throwing robots!
Linguo: They are throwing robots.
Legs: He's disrespecting us. Shuttupa you face!
Linguo: Shut up your face!
Legs: Wassamatta you?
Louie: You ain't so big.
Legs: Me and him are gonna whack you in the Labonza!
Linguo: Bad... grammar... overload. Error! Error!!

[Hostrauser]

And, of course, the conclusion:

Homer: Linguo! Dead?
Linguo: Linguo is deadrrrrr...

[midavid]

And, of course, the conclusion:
Homer: Linguo! Dead?
Linguo: Linguo is deadrrrrr...