I don't think much

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I don't think much

Postby Enzo » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:03 am

The other day, I went to the local Chinese Buffet for dinner. The pretty, young Chinese hostess seated me. I noticed her form fitting knit shirt had written on the front in rhinestones, "I don't think much." At least it wasn't a tattoo. I thought it was an unusual message. But she was very nice, even if we never had an opportunity to discuss any weighty issues, other than my plate.

That was the same night I got my double fortune cookue - two cookies in the one wrapper.

Normally I fight the urge to stare at women's chests, but I figured in this case, she wouldn't give it much thought.
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Postby Frogmarch » Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:35 am

I suppose "I don't think much" could read as "I'm not impressed".
Sounds kind of like the way a Chinese person would say that."
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Postby Dragon Star » Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:51 am

"I don't think much"

I think I might like this girl...
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Postby Enzo » Thu Aug 17, 2006 7:06 am

Maybe, but it looked like a commercial product.

There is a certain element of the self-righteous in the USA who feel they must be offended for others. SO there are some popular young women's clothes these days that sport messages that some interpret as demeaning to women. But the kids like them. However the forces of fashion police are going nuts telling us we shouldn't sell such things and that wearing them wikll cause all manner of troubles. Foo.

I think that is what I encountered.

I could tell she wanted me by the way she ignored me the rest of the evening.
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Postby umop ap!sdn » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:11 pm

I believe lots of commercial items from the Far East have Engrish on them. :D
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Postby Enzo » Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:39 am

Ah so, thank you Glasshoppa.
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Postby Мастер » Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:19 pm

umop ap!sdn wrote:I believe lots of commercial items from the Far East have Engrish on them. :D


When I was in Beijing last month, I saw a young fellow walking down the street, holding hands with his girlfriend. His t-shirt had "Surf Goddess" written on it. . .
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Postby Мастер » Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:22 pm

Enzo wrote:Ah so, thank you Glasshoppa.


My revenge against one of my Chinese friends who constantly humiliates me by pointing out my total inability to pronounce the tones properly is to utter a phrase alternating between the two Spanish R sounds three or four times, both of these sounds lying far beyond her grasp. . .
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Postby Lance » Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:25 pm

LOL! Meanie.
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However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

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Postby Мастер » Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:28 pm

Hee hee, you say pero, I say perro. . .
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Postby Heid the Ba » Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:08 pm

It's all in the way you roll your "r"s.
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Postby MM_Dandy » Fri Aug 18, 2006 5:43 pm

Khrushchev's Other Shoe wrote:My revenge against one of my Chinese friends who constantly humiliates me by pointing out my total inability to pronounce the tones properly is to utter a phrase alternating between the two Spanish R sounds three or four times, both of these sounds lying far beyond her grasp. . .


I've found, at least among the handful of Chinese exchange students I semi-regularly conversed with at school, that they have difficulty with the short u/ou sound as well (they usually would pronounce my name as dog). I imagine, though, that this is probably an easier to learn than the Spanish rs. Anyway, I never gave them too much guff, their English was orders of magnitude better than my Chinese.
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Postby umop ap!sdn » Fri Aug 18, 2006 6:12 pm

Enzo wrote:Ah so, thank you Glasshoppa.

RMAO!

Khrushchev's Other Shoe wrote:When I was in Beijing last month, I saw a young fellow walking down the street, holding hands with his girlfriend. His t-shirt had "Surf Goddess" written on it. . .

Heh. :lol:

Used to be I couldn't understand how anyone could confuse the sounds of R and L. To me, one is pronounced almost like a V and the other like a U. (Okay, bad example but they're in entirely different parts of the mouth.) But since L actually has 2 different sounds, it kind of makes sense how an intervocalic L can kinda sound like a tapped R.

This guy I once knew who worked as a car salesman had a co-worker who was Hispanic. When referring to a Ford Explorer, the R's got rolled making it sound (so I'm told) like "Exploder". :D
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Postby Enzo » Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:03 am

A former business partner claimed he could not roll Rs. I told him to just make them Ds and it was simple. CLose enough anyway.

Pero becomes peddo. Or to say "very" in a British sort of rolled R way results in veddy.

pero, perro....

but...but...but...butt (sniffer)

I always thought Asians had a problem making the R sound, I never thought they couldn't hear the difference. I could be wrong.


I have a Hispanic friend who is excited about his new car, a "Cryler" 300. (Chrysler)

I've been working on my Jersey T lately. Normally we place the tongue against the palate behind the upper teeth to make a T sound, as in the start of the name Tony. What I call the Jersey T is where you make the T sound but place the tongue against the lower teeth. Gives it that sort of Mafia, fugeddabowdit thing. We have a local car dealer where Tony something comes on to yell about cars and he says Tony that way. Takes a lot of the percussiveness off the T.
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Postby Мастер » Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:35 am

Enzo wrote:pero, perro....

but...but...but...butt (sniffer)


:P

Enzo wrote:I always thought Asians had a problem making the R sound, I never thought they couldn't hear the difference. I could be wrong.


The individual to whom I referred can tell the difference, but can't do either of them. . .

Enzo wrote:I've been working on my Jersey T lately.


At the risk of asking a silly question, why?
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Postby Enzo » Sat Aug 19, 2006 7:29 am

I am fascinated by speech patterns, and when I hear a new one, or when I hear one that irritates, or otherwise strikes my fancy, I try to see if I can imitate it. I do the misplaced D so often, my wife anticipates me saying it aloud and says it with me.

The misplaced D - my term - is the tendency to overpronounce a d in the middle of a word so it moves into the next syllable. For example didn't shifts from DID-nt to DI-DINT, same with COU-DINT, wouldn't etc. I hear news announcers refer to something in JOR-DAN instead of JORD-n. It grates my ear, and whenever it comes out my TV I wind up saying the word aloud.

The one I hear the most is STU-DENT instead of STUDE-nt. I blame junior grade TV news announcers for spreading that one.

This odd way of making the T sound strikes me. WHen I first heard it I was trying to figure out what they were doing different. I am not practicing for an accent fest, I just wind up trying to perfect the pattern.

WHen I studied languages - Russian in college and Spanish in HS - I worked hard on accents. I also had a lot of Latin, but it's hard to work on that accent.

So in trying to determine what the Jersey/NY Italian guy T sound was, I note it in a local person as out of place geographically, so here in Michigan it stands out. SO every time I hear, "I'm Tony Young, Young Cadillac in Owosso," on my TV it grabs my ears.

I always try to pronounce the new word in Chinese from my fortune cookie for the girl at the counter at the Chinee Buffet. She always gives me the blank stare. My problem is when I try to pronounce the word, I raise my tone at the end of the phrase to make it a question - in my mind - to imply I am asking if my pronunciation is correct. Unfortunately, in CHinese inflection is part of the word, so when I try to say "phone booth" or something, it comes out garden hose to them, or whatever.

SO I guess I'm just a neurotic linguaphile.
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