Guest Boo_Bradley Posted September 15, 2003 Report Posted September 15, 2003 South Korea's baby-boomer parents in increasing numbers recently are sending their preschool youngsters for outpatient mouth surgery to snip the tissue under the tongue because they believe more tongue freedom will permit the children to pronounce the difficult "l" and "r" sounds that have long stigmatized many Asians when speaking English. "Learning English is almost the national religion" in South Korea, according to one educator quoted in a March Los Angeles Times report, but many authorities in South Korea say Asians' pronunciation trouble is purely cultural and that only a very few people are born with tight-enough tongues to be helped by these "frenectomies." Is this an ethical thing to do? Seems drastic to me.
Firestarter Posted September 15, 2003 Report Posted September 15, 2003 It's a moronic thing to do. Ethics don't even begin to come into it.
dubq Posted September 15, 2003 Report Posted September 15, 2003 Whatcha gonna do when rampant stupidity runs wild on you???
Ripper Posted September 15, 2003 Report Posted September 15, 2003 All the worlds problems can be solved with a Hulk Hogan-esqe quote. And yes this is incredibly stupid.
Der Kommissar Posted September 15, 2003 Report Posted September 15, 2003 This sounds about as stupid as a documentary I saw a few years ago where Asians had eye surgery to look more "American." Heck, I am a native English speaker who can't pronounce r's worth a crap either, and I manage to get along just fine.
kkktookmybabyaway Posted September 15, 2003 Report Posted September 15, 2003 Well, they all look alike. Now they all won't sound alike...
Guest Danny Dubya v 2.0 Posted September 15, 2003 Report Posted September 15, 2003 Geez, some of the countries in that area (thinking of Japan mostly) have been westernized to the point of no return. Do they really need to make a full switch to a crap language like English also? Engrish.com must be light now very happening, for surery that is.
The Czech Republic Posted September 20, 2003 Report Posted September 20, 2003 I didn't know it was physiorogical, I arways just figuled that they could plonounce their Ls and Rs collectly just by being immelsed in collect plonunciation.
AndrewTS Posted September 21, 2003 Report Posted September 21, 2003 I didn't know it was physiorogical, I arways just figuled that they could plonounce their Ls and Rs collectly just by being immelsed in collect plonunciation. Right--native-born Asian Americans seem to have no problem. Wouldn't you be fine if you were just raised in an English-speaking environment?
Anorak Posted September 21, 2003 Report Posted September 21, 2003 Well, they all look alike. Now they all won't sound alike... Will you ever shut the fuck up with your witless xenophobia? Its getting old. Maybe its time for a new gimmick?
kkktookmybabyaway Posted September 21, 2003 Report Posted September 21, 2003 No. No. Just ignore my posts. Ignoring someone at this place isn't that hard -- I do it with you most of the time...
Firestarter Posted September 21, 2003 Report Posted September 21, 2003 (edited) Will you ever shut the fuck up with your witless xenophobia? Its getting old. Maybe its time for a new gimmick? Will you ever stop taking everything so seriously and acquire a sense of humour? Your constant holy crusades are getting pretty damn old too. Maybe it's time for you to find another folder to plague. Go find another playground where you can take shrill offense on behalf of other people at every ridiculously obvious irony. Christ, and you have the gall to call other people "witless." You're its fucking epitome. Edited September 21, 2003 by Cancer Marney
Guest EQ Posted September 21, 2003 Report Posted September 21, 2003 Well, they all look alike. Now they all won't sound alike... Will you ever shut the fuck up with your witless xenophobia? Its getting old. Maybe its time for a new gimmick? Chill man. I thought it was pretty fucking funny.
The Czech Republic Posted September 21, 2003 Report Posted September 21, 2003 I didn't know it was physiorogical, I arways just figuled that they could plonounce their Ls and Rs collectly just by being immelsed in collect plonunciation. Right--native-born Asian Americans seem to have no problem. If fact, they seem to enunciate better than most of us.
Ced Posted September 21, 2003 Report Posted September 21, 2003 It's really hard to break out of a speech pattern once you're taught your primary language or languages. I'm trying to learn Japanese as a native English speaker and the pace at which they speak is nearly impossible for me to emulate without slurring my speech and butchering the accent. On a side note, my friend was told that her Californian accent was really funny sounding in Mississippi and the Californian accent is supposedly one of the most neutral accents in the country.
Anorak Posted September 22, 2003 Report Posted September 22, 2003 Will you ever shut the fuck up with your witless xenophobia? Its getting old. Maybe its time for a new gimmick? Will you ever stop taking everything so seriously and acquire a sense of humour? Your constant holy crusades are getting pretty damn old too. Maybe it's time for you to find another folder to plague. Go find another playground where you can take shrill offense on behalf of other people at every ridiculously obvious irony. Christ, and you have the gall to call other people "witless." You're its fucking epitome. Sense of humour faliure? I have a sense of humour, that's why I got offended reading his post you see. Holy crusades?? Witless xenophobia (50% of this shitty folder) is a cause worth fighting against. Maybe we could start one against those bigoted & half mad lesbian 'christians' too? :JOKE: Irony???? You obviously don't understand the meaning of the word (which is more than likely) or you're just spouting the usual lame defence/explanantion of an unfunny racist crack by one of your fellow worthless twats. Am I right? You know I am.
kkktookmybabyaway Posted September 22, 2003 Report Posted September 22, 2003 Oh, and for the record I love foreigners. If not for them who else would slaughter our livestock and work in the fields for measly wages? Who else would make sure I have a clean hotel room? Who else could keep employed thousands of INS workers? Who else could cause America to put up those nifty Spanish only signs? Who else could fill up newscasts with stories of sailing to America in nothing more than a wooden plank and life jacket? Who else? You friendly neighborhood xenophobe... kkk PS: I also hate plenty of people that were born in the United States. Does that count toward anything?...
Guest Sagrada3099 Posted September 22, 2003 Report Posted September 22, 2003 You forgot to mention the indespensible contribution that the Korean community has made to Nail Salons across the country.
dubq Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 Oh, and for the record I love foreigners. If not for them who else would slaughter our livestock and work in the fields for measly wages? Who else would make sure I have a clean hotel room? Who else could keep employed thousands of INS workers? Who else could cause America to put up those nifty Spanish only signs? Who else could fill up newscasts with stories of sailing to America in nothing more than a wooden plank and life jacket? Who else? You friendly neighborhood xenophobe... kkk PS: I also hate plenty of people that were born in the United States. Does that count toward anything?... Wow, and they actually let you have children? Astounding...
dubq Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 Will you ever shut the fuck up with your witless xenophobia? Its getting old. Maybe its time for a new gimmick? Will you ever stop taking everything so seriously and acquire a sense of humour? Your constant holy crusades are getting pretty damn old too. Maybe it's time for you to find another folder to plague. Go find another playground where you can take shrill offense on behalf of other people at every ridiculously obvious irony. Christ, and you have the gall to call other people "witless." You're its fucking epitome. Sense of humour faliure? I have a sense of humour, that's why I got offended reading his post you see. Holy crusades?? Witless xenophobia (50% of this shitty folder) is a cause worth fighting against. Maybe we could start one against those bigoted & half mad lesbian 'christians' too? :JOKE: Irony???? You obviously don't understand the meaning of the word (which is more than likely) or you're just spouting the usual lame defence/explanantion of an unfunny racist crack by one of your fellow worthless twats. Am I right? You know I am. Ahh that Cancer Marney.. spending his days waging battles of witt against wrestling fans on an internet message board. What a life he must have!
kkktookmybabyaway Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 Must be one heck of a life -- he is a she. Oh, and I hate kids with a passion...
dubq Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 Must be one heck of a life -- he is a she. Oh, and I hate kids with a passion... He, she, how am I to know?
Firestarter Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 I have a sense of humour, that's why I got offended reading his post you see. No, I don't see. A sense of humour makes people less likely to take offense, not more. Witless xenophobia (50% of this shitty folder) is a cause worth fighting against. So essentially you're spending your days fighting against the xenophobia you believe comprises at least half the posts in a folder you consider "shitty" on an internet message board. I'm curious, doesn't the futility and meaninglessness of your life ever depress you? Irony???? You obviously don't understand the meaning of the word I do, thanks. KKK's post was obviously a satire of racist attitudes. Many of his posts in this "shitty folder" exaggerate such attitudes to the point of absurdity in order to make them appear even more ridiculous than they inherently are. This is a specific application of irony (defintion 2a: "the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning") known as reductio ad absurdum. Look it up. I know what the intent of KKK's post was because I go through this forum fairly regularly. His post followed an established pattern which is either unfamiliar to you or way over your head. Am I right? You know I am. No. You are wrong. You are ignorant. And you are foolish. Take your pathetic little jihad somewhere else.
bob_barron Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 Must be one heck of a life -- he is a she. Oh, and I hate kids with a passion... He, she, how am I to know? Because it's painfully obvious to anyone who has ever read one of HER posts. Oh and Anorak- STFU and get a sense of humour. There's nothing wrong with having one
kkktookmybabyaway Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 he, she, how am I to know? So what you're saying is that all lesbians look like guys to you?...
dubq Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 he, she, how am I to know? So what you're saying is that all lesbians look like guys to you?... No, I'm saying I didn't know HER gender. I've seen several posts referencing HER as a male. And why the fuck would I care if she's a lesbian or not? I'm not you.
Internet Warfare Posted September 23, 2003 Report Posted September 23, 2003 Thats pretty dumb, but hey who are we to judge?
The Czech Republic Posted September 24, 2003 Report Posted September 24, 2003 I hate being one of those "this is what I learned in school today" contributors that nobody likes, but this is what I learned in school today. Apparently babies can pick up any language for their first six months, but after that they are narrowed down into recognizing only the speech patterns of their parents' language. Thus if the Asian youths are exposed to English at a young age, they will understand their Rs and Ls at the expense of any Japanese linguistic dealies that English may lack.
kkktookmybabyaway Posted September 24, 2003 Report Posted September 24, 2003 Apparently babies can pick up any language for their first six months, but after that they are narrowed down into recognizing only the speech patterns of their parents' language. Thus if the Asian youths are exposed to English at a young age, they will understand their Rs and Ls at the expense of any Japanese linguistic dealies that English may lack. I remember hearing something similar while I was in school, too. Although it was expanded into how it's easier to teach children multiple languages than adults...
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