Ugh - the graphic style makes me suspect this came out around the same time as Mickey Rooney's indelibly fucked-up performance as Truman Capote's Mr. Yunioshi in Blake Edwards' Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Chakolate: Chinese speakers do not hear any distinction between L and R because in Chinese they are members of the same phoneme. Only a person who spoke Chinese AND another language from birth (a language which distinguishes between L and R) would be able to tell "jello" from "jerro".
It may sound incomprehensible to you, but there are phonemes which are the same in English that are differentiated in other languages, too. For example, we use the phoneme "T" to represent two different sounds--in the words "ton" (aspirated Tʰ) and "stun" (unaspirated T⁼)--but they are part of the same English phoneme. In other languages, these two T sounds are members of different phonemes, and they might think English speakers stupid for not hearing the difference. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspiration_… : In many languages, such as the Chinese languages... Korean, Thai, and Ancient Greek, [p⁼ t⁼ k⁼] etc. and [pʰ tʰ kʰ] etc. are different phonemes altogether).
But we're not stupid as English speakers, neither are Chinese speakers. While everyone is born with the ability to distinguish between every phoneme on the planet, this ability starts to deteriorate immediately once the child starts hearing his/her native language spoken, and evaporates altogether before long. (more source: http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/PhonProcess/… : One well-known example of this phenomenon is the distinction between [r] and [l], a phonemic distinction in English, but not in Japanese, Lingala, Inuktitut, or many other languages. For many speakers of languages like these, the ability to hear the distinction is lost.)
@15, you don't know how to use chopsticks. There are some foods for which spoons are better than chopsticks or forks, sure. But chopsticks are better than forks for lots of things that we usually us forks for. Just as there are lots of things for which big cooking tongs work better than big cooking forks. Think of chopsticks as delicate little tongs.
No, Rach3l @ 24, it doesn't sound incomprehensible to me. Patronizing, perhaps, but certainly not incomprehensible. Do you think you're the only one who's ever taken a linguistics class?
mr.herriman @ 25, I heard 'glape', too.
I'd still like to know if any actual Chinese found it offensive.
@24, Chinese here!lol.
It s a complete fault. We distinguish between L and R just like you wont mistake orange for apple. Only one exception, Chinese people who are living in southern part are likely to blur this distinction when they speak.
But I take no offense.
Yeah, when I lived in China we totally had spoons. I'm pretty sure there have been spoons in China for a very long time. And the l vs r problem is something that Koreans have, not Chinese, because in Korean they are both the same phoneme and the difference in pronunciation comes from its position in the word. Just like a native English speaker would have trouble and get confused if they were trying to learn a language in which the hard and soft s were each represented by a different letter instead of just being learned pronunciations of the same one.
Also that if it weren't for us white people they would all have starved to death due to their hilariously primitive eating tools and poor eyesight.
I learned all this from a pamphlet somebody handed me outside of a Toby Keith concert.
Realize this is from the era where those red commie bastards were still thought to be pretty evil.
A baby could never handle chopsticks in the first place, anyway. It's still hilarious!
enjoy your jello/fruit/coolwhip mold, Dan.
I don't think it's racist. It's cute.
Chopsticks are nationalistic. Forks and spoons simply work better.
No, I'm not being sarcastic.
Besides, that's nothin': http://www.cracked.com/article/182_8-rac…
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-au…
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-au…
If any of you are actually Chinese I'd really like to hear how you see it.
It may sound incomprehensible to you, but there are phonemes which are the same in English that are differentiated in other languages, too. For example, we use the phoneme "T" to represent two different sounds--in the words "ton" (aspirated Tʰ) and "stun" (unaspirated T⁼)--but they are part of the same English phoneme. In other languages, these two T sounds are members of different phonemes, and they might think English speakers stupid for not hearing the difference. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspiration_… : In many languages, such as the Chinese languages... Korean, Thai, and Ancient Greek, [p⁼ t⁼ k⁼] etc. and [pʰ tʰ kʰ] etc. are different phonemes altogether).
But we're not stupid as English speakers, neither are Chinese speakers. While everyone is born with the ability to distinguish between every phoneme on the planet, this ability starts to deteriorate immediately once the child starts hearing his/her native language spoken, and evaporates altogether before long. (more source: http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/PhonProcess/… : One well-known example of this phenomenon is the distinction between [r] and [l], a phonemic distinction in English, but not in Japanese, Lingala, Inuktitut, or many other languages. For many speakers of languages like these, the ability to hear the distinction is lost.)
Ain't linguistics cool?
mr.herriman @ 25, I heard 'glape', too.
I'd still like to know if any actual Chinese found it offensive.
It s a complete fault. We distinguish between L and R just like you wont mistake orange for apple. Only one exception, Chinese people who are living in southern part are likely to blur this distinction when they speak.
But I take no offense.