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From: Verna.Forristal@f71.n343.z1.fidonet.org (Verna Forristal)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Lipreading foreign languages
Message-ID: <15840@handicap.news>
Date: 30 May 91 04:00:10 GMT
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[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

 JW> You take a person from Brooklyn, Los Angeles or wherever. They are used
 JW> to hearing English spoken a certain way. You transplant them and they
 JW> will speak their particular brand of English for years and years no
 JW> matter how often you correct them. Often it may take them decades before
 JW> they unlearn certain pronounciation-and good Lord, these are Americans!

You're probably right.  I have never had a problem re-producing sounds.  I can
put the proper inflection into just about any accent or language (except ASL).
I can speek "Brooklynese" and "Southernist" with the best of them, and put all
the right rolls and trills in Spanish and do the lip acrobatics of French
without difficulty.  I would NOT be able to produce the clicking sounds found
in some of the African tribal languages.  I guess I just assumed that since I
can speak other people's languages without difficulty, they should also be
able to speak my language.  I think also, that I decided that if I can teach a
deaf child to make the F sound, a hearing Indian should be able to do it as
well, but maybe I should try learning Hindi before I get judgemental!  Anyway,
the principal point that foreigners are also difficult for hearies to
understand at times still stands, whatever the reason.

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