47a3338f$1@news.povray.org...
> Gail Shaw wrote:
>
>> Try Thai. It's a tonal language. The same sounding word has different
>> meanings if you say it with a high pitch, medium pitch, low pitch, rising 
>> or
>> falling.
>
> ...!!! o_O

Or try vietnamese. Not only it's tonal (6 tones) but each vowel has several 
variants ("accents"). Add to this that the language is pretty much 
monosyllabic and the way it's pronounced varies wildly between regions.

One should better learn it as a kid: past a certain age it becomes difficult 
to tell apart some of the sounds and only very gifted foreigners can 
actually become fluent enough so that "Nice to meet you" doesn't sound like 
"Your mother's nipples smell like rotten catfish" to vietnamese ears.

OTOH the language is pretty straightforward and the grammar itself is simple 
compared to European languages.

G.


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