There are several words used regularly in the English language that have been borrowed from other languages. Below are a few random examples.
bagel: a Yiddish word defined as a ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling then baking the dough
vodka: a Russian word defined as an alcoholic liquor distilled from fermented mash of wheat, rye, corn, or potatoes
tofu: a Japanese word defined as a bean curd
graffiti: an Italian word defined as "scratched"
A good friend of mine was at a grocery store (in the United States) the other day and witnessed a child (around age 8) and his mother selecting a package of thin, flat cornmeal pancakes... also known as tortillas. The child said something about getting tortillas [tawr-tee-uhs], but his mother (in)corrected him by pronouncing the Ls [tawr-till-uhs].
My friend did what was likely the "right" thing by keeping her mouth shut and not say anything to the mother or the child, but had I been there I would not have been so nice. I would have spoken up and told her that she was wrong and her child was right! I'm not saying that they or anyone else for that matter has to pronounce a "foreign" word with that country's indigenous accent, but at least pronounce the word with the same fundamentals.
As a parent, you are your child's first teacher. If you're stupid, then you're going to teach your kids to do the same stupid things that you do. Not sure how to spell something? Look it up! Don't go through life thinking that you're spelling "independance" correctly because that's how you saw someone else spell it. Do the rest of the world a favor (making it a better place for the rest of us) by NOT passing on your ignorance to the future generations of this country.
I think I didn't say anything because it made my brain come to a screeching halt.
ReplyDeleteIf I heard this in my local grocery store, I would certainly say something while remaining friendly and tactful.
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