Languages

[rimturse]

Having someone learning your language is fascinating, because it allows you to observe the language from a completely different angle. For example:

I never thought it peculiar the way the Danes use numbers in phrases, but C does:
We use 117 to indicate a large number of times. Like "I've said it a million times" would in Danish be "I've said it 117 times."

or

"Knock wood" would be "7-9-13"

C also thinks it hilarious that a smart arse is called a "Karl Smart" and he's quickly picked up that a young guy, who tunes his car, fills it with extras and drives like an idiot, is either a "Brian" or a "Benny".

Today we spent most of lunch trying to make out the difference between the word "show" (like a circus show, which is the same in Danish and in English) and the word "sjov", which means "fun" in Danish. To C "show" and "sjov" sounds exactly the same, whereas to me they are completely different. Much time was spent with "ouuuuu" and "ouwwww" sounds, until Lia started barking and we were too cracked up to continue. :p

Comments

[angrboda]

Is he also having trouble with l's and soft d's? failmaster informs me they sound identical.
At work Brazil can't tell i and e apart, but she's doing okay regardless. :)

[frigg.livejournal.com]

hmmm I don't know about the l's and soft d's, but he had huge problems at the beginning pronouncing the soft d's at the end of a word, like "bad", "mad" etc.

[angrboda]

The type of problems likely have something to do with the language you started out in. Brazil also runs into problems with words that that end in consonants and she can't help adding an e-sound after. If something is weird it's 'mystiske' regardless of tense. :p (She's got a great way of saying it too. Myyyyyyyyystiske.)

[frigg.livejournal.com]

*nods*

I know many Asians that have problems with the r's. Me, I have problems with the German z's and sch's. I can pronounce them, but it takes such an effort. :p

[angrboda]

In Silkeborg back in the good old days there was a chinese 'restaurant' (read grill). It was kinda seedy but served very good food (*remembers spring rolls with curry sauce fondly* *nostalgic sigh*). I think it was family run, and the mum had trouble with too many consonants after each other. So 'halvtreds' became 'halletreds' instead. Funny how that was one of the things that made the place memorable. That and the pictures they had on the walls, cross stitch so teensy tiny that we had a long discussion once about whether it was cross stitch or paintings and dad eventually had to get up and take a closer look.