How do you spell fish?
I’ll give you a few seconds to think about it.
*whistles*
*looks out window*
*whistles again*
Ready? Ok, did you say f…i…s…h?
Well, that’s ok I suppose. I mean, it is correct after all.
But wouldn’t you like to try spelling it differently, at least just once? For example, how about… Continue reading
Just a short post tonight as it’s late, I’ve had three pints of delicious local Buried at Sea chocolate stout, and I’m quite tired after watching Ireland dramatically beat Italy in the European Championships to qualify for the next round.
I think those last two might be related actually…
Also, well done to Wales, Northern Ireland and England for also qualifying. And well done to Italy and my Italian friends who might be reading this: you still finished top of the group, though I’m not sure playing Spain is a fair reward for that!
Anyway, less football, more English. These last few days, there’s been quite a nice yacht in Galway docks and out sailing in the bay. Apparently it’s a superyacht, according to Google. Well. it’s certainly very nice. Seeing its mast over the rooftops of the Claddagh as I’ve walked to work in the mornings has made think again about how strange the word yacht is.
Yacht.
Look at it there, with a silent ch and not caring who knows about it! It’s the only modern English word with a silent ch.
Pronouncing ch as the old Greek /k/ as in charisma, character and psyche? No problem.
Or with a soft, swishy French /ʃ/ as in machine, chef or machete? Oui, bien sûr!
But a silent ch!? It takes a really special word to get away with that. A word like yacht. Continue reading
While in London recently, I came across a book entitled Get Rid of Your Accent: The English Pronunciation and Speech Training Manual. My initial reaction was to get quite annoyed, and my feeling hasn’t really changed since then. Accents and pronunciation are often on my mind, as an English teacher, and at the time I was particularly conscious of this area of language as I was on a course with fellow teachers from England, The Isle of Man, Scotland, Australia, India, Serbia and Portugal. Everyone of course had quite different accents, but was perfectly comprehensible, which is obviously important for an English teacher.
And comprehensibility is naturally a primary concern for language students. You want to make sure that people can understand you when you speak. Which is why I understand when students are concerned about their accent causing communication problems. And that can happen, depending on the person’s native tongue, nationality, and particular way of speaking. Therefore one can help students with developing their accent in terms of certain words and phrases, or specific sounds. But getting rid of one’s accent? Not only do I think that it’s never necessary, I actually find the thought quite abhorrent. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 