<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> my first language was Japanese, my pronunciation of "Liandra" would be "RDee-AHHN-DRWA" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I would have thought it would be
"Ree-Ah-N'-D'RA"
For those who have no clue to Japanese pronunciation, the sounds we use for the letters "L" and "R" have no equivalents in Japanese. Instead there is a sound somewhere
Between an "R" and a "D" that usually gets transcribed by English speakers as an "R". The "L" sound seems to be the one that native Japanese speakers are most likely to have trouble with since it Doesn't Exist in Japanese. And, it usually comes out sounding more like an "R" than anything else.
The confusion of these sounds is the source of all those "Rorrypop" jokes made by the humor impaired.
Also, in Japanese, Every Vowel is a seperate syllable and consonent syllables are always completed by either a vowel or an inflection. Consonents followed by an inflection are rare, so usually you see a syllable consisting of a consonent and a vowel sound.
So, iie (pronounced ee-ee-eh) is a Three Syllable word meaning (roughly) "what you just said is not correct" and is usually translated as "no".
Hai (pronounced Ha-ee in such a way that it usually sounds to American ears like "High")
is a Two syllable word meaning (roughly again) "what you just said is correct" OR "I'm listening". (just like a husband saying "yes dear"
) and is usually translated as "yes".
Hence "Lee-ah-n'-d'-ra" or "Ree-ah-n'-d'-ra", depending on how well the person has mastered the "L" sound.
See, I knew dating a Japanese woman for a few years would pay off.
Besides the obvious.
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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?
[This message has been edited by bakana (edited October 11, 2001).]