Monday, June 11, 2007
Ai spik Inglish
We found this book at work recently called "Ingles Facil Para Todos (Con la pronunciacion que todos comprenden)." It's a book of English words and phrases with pronunciation guides for Spanish-speakers. It must belong to one of the students, but nobody's claimed it, so in the meantime, we're having all kinds of fun with it.
The book is broken down into various themes based on real life: everyday words and phrases, getting help, work, medical/dental/hospital, body parts, numbers/time, banking/business, shopping, restaurant, traveling, family, American phrases, etc. And within each section, it has Spanish phrases one might wish to use in that circumstance, the English translations, and the pronunciations of the English translations spelled out phonetically so that a Spanish-speaker can pronounce it. The problem is that the pronunciation, while simply understood to the person pronouncing it, is really bad, which makes it potentially impossible for the person listening to it. I've given you some of my favorites below, broken down into their categories to help give you some clues as to what they're trying to say. See how many you can figure out. Say them out loud. And remember to pronounce all the j's like h's. You're a Spanish-speaker, after all.
Negocios (Business):
"taim is moni"
"Ferst com, ferst servd"
"mai ai jelp yu?"
"maind yuar oun bisnes"
Banco (Bank):
"tu juum du yu uant tu meik dis draft peiyabel?"
"dis is mai ai di"
Medico (Medical):
"mai beibi is il"
"ai jav som-zing in mai ai"
"Mai denchur is brouken"
Trabajo (Work):
"ai am lukin for ei yob"
"ai can jelp yu tu seiv taim and moni"
"dis is mai bred and boter yob"
I'm going to go ahead and translate this one for you because I'd never heard it before. "This is my bread and butter job." What? What does that even mean?
"ai niid tu liv erli, cud it bi posibel?"
Cuando necesita ayuda urgente (When you need urgent help):
"Faiar!"
"Ai am bi-in cheisd"
"Ai uil guet yu!"
"Guet di jel aut of jiar!"
De Compras (Shopping):
"ai uant tu gou chopin"
Ummm...I don't understand. Is this a lumberjack or a serial killer? He seems to be expressing a desire to take his axe out chopping, but it isn't clear what he wants to chop. Either way, though, I'm pretty sure this phrase is in the wrong section.
"ai am lukin for bargans"
"ai don't ou yu eni-zing"
"mai chek is guud as gould"
Frases Tipicas Americanas (Typical American Phrases):
These are my favorites, because really...how often do any of you say any of these "typical" American phrases?
"ai got tu protect mai-selv"
"ai uil fait for mai raits"
"dei stop'd mi could"
"bonch of cruks"
This one should maybe go in the shopping section.
"contempt tu cort"
"gou tu jel"
The book is broken down into various themes based on real life: everyday words and phrases, getting help, work, medical/dental/hospital, body parts, numbers/time, banking/business, shopping, restaurant, traveling, family, American phrases, etc. And within each section, it has Spanish phrases one might wish to use in that circumstance, the English translations, and the pronunciations of the English translations spelled out phonetically so that a Spanish-speaker can pronounce it. The problem is that the pronunciation, while simply understood to the person pronouncing it, is really bad, which makes it potentially impossible for the person listening to it. I've given you some of my favorites below, broken down into their categories to help give you some clues as to what they're trying to say. See how many you can figure out. Say them out loud. And remember to pronounce all the j's like h's. You're a Spanish-speaker, after all.
Negocios (Business):
"taim is moni"
"Ferst com, ferst servd"
"mai ai jelp yu?"
"maind yuar oun bisnes"
Banco (Bank):
"tu juum du yu uant tu meik dis draft peiyabel?"
"dis is mai ai di"
Medico (Medical):
"mai beibi is il"
"ai jav som-zing in mai ai"
"Mai denchur is brouken"
Trabajo (Work):
"ai am lukin for ei yob"
"ai can jelp yu tu seiv taim and moni"
"dis is mai bred and boter yob"
I'm going to go ahead and translate this one for you because I'd never heard it before. "This is my bread and butter job." What? What does that even mean?
"ai niid tu liv erli, cud it bi posibel?"
Cuando necesita ayuda urgente (When you need urgent help):
"Faiar!"
"Ai am bi-in cheisd"
"Ai uil guet yu!"
"Guet di jel aut of jiar!"
De Compras (Shopping):
"ai uant tu gou chopin"
Ummm...I don't understand. Is this a lumberjack or a serial killer? He seems to be expressing a desire to take his axe out chopping, but it isn't clear what he wants to chop. Either way, though, I'm pretty sure this phrase is in the wrong section.
"ai am lukin for bargans"
"ai don't ou yu eni-zing"
"mai chek is guud as gould"
Frases Tipicas Americanas (Typical American Phrases):
These are my favorites, because really...how often do any of you say any of these "typical" American phrases?
"ai got tu protect mai-selv"
"ai uil fait for mai raits"
"dei stop'd mi could"
"bonch of cruks"
This one should maybe go in the shopping section.
"contempt tu cort"
"gou tu jel"
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Ai am laffink ahut lahud!!