SC - OT-ish... Asparagus sounds (was: Asparagus smell)

[Nigel Bell]

Hi ho,

Odd memories have been nudged by recent comments from Tara and Dana, and 
from Robin's wonderful translation exercises, to wit:

More cultural than genetic, I recall chatting with two friends; one of whom 
was Colombian born (Spanish first language, Italian second, and English 
third - and very adept in English) and the other who was Yugoslavian born 
(when there was a Yugoslavia - but considered herself Croatian). They were 
talking about the nuances of their respective first languages and used me 
(as the ethnically ignorant Anglo) as their 
test-subject/unbiased-third-party sort-of-thing. In slowly enunciating
various words of their particular childhoods, it transpired that there were 
sounds, when Croatian was spoken, that 'the Colombian' could hear and I 
couldn't, and conversely, when Spanish was spoken 'the Croatian' could hear 
some some sounds which I couldn't and, again, there were some that I could 
differentiate which weren't aurally distinctive to the croatian ear.

As someone who travails agin' the vagueries of English (as spoken in the 
Antipodes, at least), does this "I can hear this but I can't hear that" 
phenomenon affect the translating of the old recipes?... more in regard to 
the reading of the old recipes which were themselves translations 'in 
period'.

Ta,


Nicholas.

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Sed quid Custodiet ipsos Custodes

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