Blue Bar Part II

COFFEE, WINE, AND LANGUAGE

Languages do fascinate Antony, as they do me. And he is also trying to master essential German with the help of one of his regular clients. With regards to English, the other day he came up with a list of “o-u-g-h” words, the different pronunciation of which he had mastered.

though            tho

through          thru

thorough        ther-row        

thought           thawt

tough              tuff

To which I have added others that don’t begin with th, like:

bough

dough,

enough 

ought

and

plough.

Thanks I suppose to the Americans, the spelling of some of these has been transformed into something that resembles their pronunciation. Like plow for plough. And when I’m writing, I never remember whether it is gray or grey.

Pronunciation problems are not limited to English though and on the whole Italian does seem relatively simpler. Even though I’ve lived in Italy for more than 50 years, there are some sounds I just don’t hear. Like camino and camminare. One m or two? Agreed my hearing is not the best but even so … I’ll tell my American “learning Italian” friends that often the double consonant will change the pronunciation of the vowel before it. Seta (long e) versus setta (short e)  (silk and sect). Or the number seven, sette. It might also be an accent, such as ancora (again, accent on the o) and ancora (anchor, accent on the an). And how about words involving pesce and pesca. How many foreigners have ordered a glass of “tè all pesce” or fish tea, when what they meant was peach tea  or tè alla pesca.  And why is it camicia, or shirt, accent on mi, but Camucia, the town, accent on ci. Not that English doesn’t also have its pitfalls where the meanings depend on their context, whether you are told you must bow to the king or shoot him with your bow and arrow.  

With Antony, there is also the question of pauses and full stops.  If I’ve forgotten my reading glasses at home, where I have four or five different ones near my computer or by the night table, often with colored frames so I can find them, it is sometimes difficult for me to follow Antony in his reading as he races from one word to the next, and just listening doesn’t tell me what word is what. “Antony, you’ve got to stop and take a breath and then start up again.” I tell him.

Pauses and full stops. An aspect to which too little attention is paid. I’ve occasionally heard poets reading their poems and think to myself, “Oh Lord, let me just read it by myself”. It’s like the story of one’s life. Every so often a stop to catch one’s breath before continuing on the way to that final period.