In Thailand, often the employment ads for English teachers call for native speakers of English. I'm currently surrounded by a lot of native speakers, and well, lets just say we don't always do our language justice.
Just the other day, I heard someone say the following: "We need to get through all that rigor mortem." I think she meant rigmarole. I had to chuckle to myself. I imagine that rigmarole might make us experience rigor mortis.
Lest I sound language righteous. I will confess my English sins. I say, "sawl" over "saw". I say, "foilage" instead of "foliage". I haphazardly pronounce words I have no business saying (words that come by reading instead of listening--anyone else have a book vocabulary?).
While in Asia it's nice to be a "native speaker" because this classification can get us a job, I hope we "native speakers" don't take ourselves too seriously. Yeah for language and all the ways we can flub it up!
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4 comments:
That's cute! Yes, there are some words I've only read, not heard- but I can't remember any right now. But once in a while I hear it in a movie or something, and I go, "Oh, so THAT'S how it's pronounced!"
What I keep making mistakes in (in both languages) is prepositions. And idiomatic expressions - lucky I have a place to drop dead in right now!
:-)
Yes, I definitely have book vocabulary! There are so many words I go "doh! THATS how its pronounced!" When I hear it pronounced properly. The Battle of Culloden I pronounced horribly recently, and was my most recent embarrassment.
I tease David for his book vocabulary. Nearly weekly he comes out with another one and I get a good chuckle at him. At least he's well-read, right? :) . . . Me? I have the vocab of a six-year-old, presently.
Marlise: I still chuckle about your in-laws dropping dead. It's just those problematic direct translations that make life so fun!
Heidi: Yeah for book vocabulary! Does that mean we are just well read but poorly talked too?
Kristen: Maybe it runs in the family. I know what it is like to develop an "accent" from someone who I spend a lot of time with. Sometimes in Thailand I would just start droping parts of speech from my vocab. Who needs small words anyway?
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