On Mon, Jul 18, 2005 at 07:27:44PM -0700, Steve Lamb wrote: > > It also reflects poorly on the person who couldn't be bothered to take the > time to see how the locals do things. Isn't that something that Americans are > always blasted about in good ol' Europe? Going over expecting everyone to > speak English and when people don't... speaking slower and louder as if > somehow volume is going to impart the capability to understand a foriegn > language?
Speaking slowly and loudly is of no use to someone who doesn't know the language at all. But is it of great use to someone who knows it poorly, or who has learned it from books instead of from a live native speaker. I usually describe it as "pronounce the spaces between the words". Cues for word divisions in spoken language are subtle to spot, vary from language to language, and are often absent. (as in when "why don't you" is pronounced "Whyncha"). Sometimes entire words are idiomatically suppressed. Pausing between words makes the language *much* more comprehensible. -- hendrik > > -- > Steve C. Lamb | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your > PGP Key: 8B6E99C5 | main connection to the switchboard of souls. > -------------------------------+--------------------------------------------- -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
