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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.
--
*****************************
http://www.oyonale.com
*****************************
- Graphic experiments
- POV-Ray, Cinema 4D and Poser computer images
- Posters
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Gilles Tran wrote:
> 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.
Actually, I was just thinking... What if you had some brain disorder
that made all your words come out in the same flat tone? Everybody would
think you're insulting them of something... heh!
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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47a33b36@news.povray.org...
> Actually, I was just thinking... What if you had some brain disorder that
> made all your words come out in the same flat tone? Everybody would think
> you're insulting them of something... heh!
I've been told that there's a village somewhere in the Center where people
do talk "like foreigners", i.e. without any tone. Other Vietnamese find this
comedy gold.
In any case, I guess that the tone differences are sometimes so subtle
anyway (particularly given the Vietnamese habit of shouting to match the
high ambient noise) that people are able to infer what others actually say
from the context alone.
G.
--
*****************************
http://www.oyonale.com
*****************************
- Graphic experiments
- POV-Ray, Cinema 4D and Poser computer images
- Posters
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"Invisible" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
news: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
Apparently there's one combination of sounds that has meaning in all 5
tones, and you can use those 5 words to make a sentence. However, when the
tour guid sia that sentance, t sounded to me like the same word 5 times. I
could not hear any difference.
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And lo on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:09:50 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did
spake, saying:
>>>> You know, it's probably a *good* thing that I don't know how to say
>>>> "you have a really nice arse" in French. Because that waitress would
>>>> have probably slapped me for it.
>>>
>>> OK so I won't translate that :-D
>> OMG, I just had a very silly idea... Google Translate. 0;-)
>> (From the site that brought us "leave the impact price-increase your
>> body"...)
>
> Hmm. I've just spent several hours translating every naughty phrase I
> can think of from English to French. Damn, this has got to the the
> silliest thing I've done in a long, *long* time... ;-)
>
> Je me demande, cela fait un sens?
"What! My mother was a saint. Get out!"
--
Phil Cook
--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com
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And lo on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:51:13 -0000, Gail Shaw sa dot com>
<"<initialsurname"@sentech> did spake, saying:
>
> "Invisible" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message
> news: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
>
> Apparently there's one combination of sounds that has meaning in all 5
> tones, and you can use those 5 words to make a sentence. However, when
> the
> tour guid sia that sentance, t sounded to me like the same word 5 times.
> I could not hear any difference.
[Insert obligatory B5 reference here.]
--
Phil Cook
--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com
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Phil Cook wrote:
> And lo on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:09:50 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did
> spake, saying:
>
>> Je me demande, cela fait un sens?
>
> "What! My mother was a saint. Get out!"
o_O
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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"Gail Shaw" <initialsurname@sentech sa dot com> wrote in message
news:47a33ff0@news.povray.org...
> Apparently there's one combination of sounds that has meaning in all 5
> tones, and you can use those 5 words to make a sentence. However, when the
> tour guid sia that sentance, t sounded to me like the same word 5 times. I
> could not hear any difference.
>
Let me rewrite that, seeing as I apparently completely lost the ability to
type for a few moments
However, when the tour guide said that sentence, it sounded to me like the
same word 5 times. I could not hear any difference.
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"Phil Cook" <phi### [at] nospamrocainfreeservecouk> wrote in message
news:op.t5ur3jmwc3xi7v@news.povray.org...
> [Insert obligatory B5 reference here.]
>
It's friday and I'm slow. Which reference did you have in mind?
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And lo on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:08:39 -0000, Gail Shaw sa dot com>
<"<initialsurname"@sentech> did spake, saying:
>
> "Phil Cook" <phi### [at] nospamrocainfreeservecouk> wrote in message
> news:op.t5ur3jmwc3xi7v@news.povray.org...
>
>> [Insert obligatory B5 reference here.]
>>
>
> It's friday and I'm slow.
Weekend yay!
> Which reference did you have in mind?
Zathras, Zathras, Zathras
--
Phil Cook
--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com
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