LET’S SHOW SOME UNDERSTANDING
2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 408
It was not particularly easy learning Spanish when I was in Peace Corps training, but Spanish is learnable because it has rules regarding phonetics and accents – and it almost unfailingly uses them! In fact I could still today read something aloud in Spanish and even if I would not know what I was reading my listeners would still understand what I was saying. As opposed to English. So I have learned to have and show some understanding and even sympathy for people in our country trying to learn English because so many words rely upon memorization instead of rules. What are some examples of this? The words “Deer” and “Sheep” are both singular and plural. (Ouch!) Why aren’t the words “pass” and “gas” spelled the same way? And then why isn’t the word “has” pronounced the same way? The words “woe,” “mow,” “low,” “tow,” “so,” “sew,” and “though” all rhyme with each other. So why isn’t the word “how” pronounced the same way? Another head-scratcher: the word “city” rhymes with the word “pretty.” And the word “does” rhymes with “because,” but the word “cause” standing alone is pronounced differently. Oh there are so many . . . How about “pier” and “here?” And then where does the word “hear” come from? In fact, speaking about difficulties, try learning these homonyms with English as a second language:
- The Fly was buzzing vs. Let’s go Fly a kite;
- Nose and Knows;
- Read and Red;
- Please mail my Letter vs. The second Letter in the alphabet is “B”; and
- Our teacher can Write Right.
Yes, we have all memorized these differences in English such that we don’t really even have to think about them. But let’s all try to remember and show some understanding to those people who are both trying to learn English at the same time as they are trying to adopt to a new country. Not only is it the humane thing to do, it will also make everyone feel better!
Thought for the week: The next time you dislike your life, remember it’s all about perspective. I have a friend who reads 2-3 books per week, works out twice each day, has no financial worries, and has people who want to have sex with him all the time. And yet he constantly complains about how much he hates to be in prison . . .
Judge Jim Gray (Ret.) Superior Court of Orange County, California 2012 Libertarian Candidate for Vice President