Why do Asian people have trouble saying r's and l's?

[SpencerH]

Nobody's better than me!

Except for gymnastics where I sucked.

Oh- and spatial relations (2D jigsaw puzzle-type stuff),

Oh, and Newtonian physics.

Other than those few fields of endeavor , I acknowledge no superiors, I just dont pretend to be humble.

EDIT: my spelling isnt always the best either. My wife is definitely better at english grammer too but then she's swedish.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

we're not arrogant. we're naturally just better than you non-east asians.

Keep dreaming, pal.

Megumi doesn't like you

[Drake Tungsten]

Megumi doesn't like you

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by st_swithin


Then who the heck is designating the forms we fill out?!?

I'd prefer not to be a hyphenated horror, like the Iran-Contras or EthnicOrigin-American.

government agencies, who included an asian american category under pressure, IIRC, from asian american lobby groups. You dont agree with those groups? Write your congressman!

[Q Classic]

EDIT: my spelling isnt always the best either. My wife is definitely better at english grammer too but then she's swedish.

it's grammar.

as for those forms... i have to admit, i much prefer checking "asian-american" as opposed to the following:

[ ] white      [ ] black     [x] other

[x] white     [ ] black

[ ] white      [ ] black     [x] asian/pacific islander

that said, it beats me why skin and origin should matter so much here. i'm more american than i am korean, but if i ever get famous (which i won't), i'll always be described as "son of immigrants, this korean-american..."

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by mindseye

at least in the korean language, (...)

Interesting!

Similar problems for English-speakers learning Chinese. The Chinese seem, to us, to have two slightly different ways of saying each of the sounds CH, SH and TS. To them they are plainly different sounds, to us it's hard to detect the distinction, much less replicate it. It's the reverse of the L-R problem.

Anybody around here speak Hindi, Farsi, or Arabic languages? I would love to hear if there are similar pitfalls!

Hebrew - It is always great fun listening to a gentile (well other than a German or a Scot) or very assimilated Jew trying to pronounce the initial consonant in hanukah or Challah.

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by Q Cubed

EDIT: my spelling isnt always the best either. My wife is definitely better at english grammer too but then she's swedish.

it's grammar.

Like I said

[st_swithin]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
just once, i'd like to hear an asian exaggerate on the generous side.

"My penis is so huge. It is a mammoth penis. A mastadonian penis. I am in awe at being of the presence of my enormous penis." -CEO Sony Corp.

"I am fun to be with. Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me." -Stuart Small Lee

[Q Classic]

ok, i see. i should have clarified: i'd like to hear an asian exaggerate on the generous side when they're not comparing themselves to anyone else.

i'd like to hear an asian be honest when they are.

[st_swithin]

Originally posted by Q Cubed


ok, i see. i should have clarified: i'd like to hear an asian exaggerate on the generous side when they're not comparing themselves to anyone else.

Like those evil fvcking overachiever valedictorians who've never transgressed against their honoured parents, NOT EVEN ONCE, in their entire lives, and are also concert-level violinists or pianists, prima ballerinas, or professional chess players. According to my mom, this is the competition in the world, and since I can't achieve that, I'm going to be a janitor. That's ok; I like cleaning stuff.

Originally posted by Q Cubed
i'd like to hear an asian be honest when they are.

So would I, but you know, monkey see, monkey do. I learn by example. I'd need to follow some caucasian-Ivy-league-trust-fund-kid-who'd-been-told-his-whole-life-that-he-was-perfect-marketing-or-advertising-weasel and copy that guy's actions. Then I'd have to learn not to laugh out loud at meetings and learn to can the snide remarks.

I wish they'd offered that class at university.

[Q Classic]

According to my mom, this is the competition in the world, and since I can't achieve that, I'm going to be a janitor. That's ok; I like cleaning stuff.

i was never at risk of being a janitor. my mom told me that since i wasn't going to be a math superstar or a genius who wins the nobel prize at 15, i was destined for labor in the service sector like at mcdonald's, and that would be absolutely shameful.

asian parents, gotta love them. i am so not going to be one. bring on all the (bad) american ways of raising children, you know, the ones that your parents always said were awful, like your friends dyeing their hair or staying out late, or -gasp!- dating someone who wasn't slected, groomed, and vetted by your parents.

[st_swithin]

I don't need kids - I have myself to kick around. And after all this practice I've had, it would be a shame to stop doing what I'm so good at.

[Q Classic]

bah. i want to ruin the lives of my offspring by doing the exact same things that were done to me.

if they dare come home with a 99 instead of a 105, i'll flay 'em alive. maybe that way i'll get rid of my suppressed anger that i supposedly have. 'sgreat when you've got therapists who have no idea how asian family dynamics work.

[st_swithin]

Amen to that, brother.

I don't want any kids of my own - this prolific little society of ours produces so many others that I can abuse, and I don't even have to let them into my house.

[lord of the mark]

y'all might enjoy the follow essay on WASPS, Jews, Asians, Ice Hockey, scholastics, upward mobility and assimilation:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2378/