The Random Image Thread (keeping it PG-13 at the worst)

[obvs]

Oh. I didn't realize that the hearts were the same color as her skin. I was just like "Oh, she kind of looks weird."

[sean]

Wait... the hearts are cut out of her face!?

[maurvir]

Wait... the hearts are cut out of her face!?

Love hurts, man. She just gets to the point more directly...

[ukimalefu]

Thanks for my new "forest moon of Endor" desktop pic.

I'm imagining the speeder bike chase, but ewoks do not suck.

[sean]

Thanks for my new "forest moon of Endor" desktop pic.

Wot 'e said.

[TOS]

[TOS]

by the way, page 400, holy shmoly

[TOS]

[TOS]

[DukeofNuke]

Lego instructions?

[Mustapha Mond]

Is it wrong that when I see people like this I assume that they must really hate themselves?

[maurvir]

[maurvir]

[maurvir]

[maurvir]

[jkahless]

Mmmm Greta.

[TOS]

Lego instructions?

experimental transport made with huge pieces of carbon fibre instead of thousands of pieces aluminum and fasteners

[Donkey Butter]

a boot.jpg

[obvs]

From what I've heard, the Canadian pronunciation of "about" sounds more like "a boat" than it sounds like "a boot".

[Geesie]

From what I've heard, the Canadian pronunciation of "about" sounds more like "a boat" than it sounds like "a boot".

The feature is called Canadian raising and moves the initial vowel in the dipthong from low to mid position. Americans hear it as "aboot" because we don't have the equivalent vowel sound in our linguistics so we hear the nearest familiar thing. It's like the stereotypical Asian r - l confusion. Certain Asian languages and dialects have less distinction between those two glides so they hear it as the same sound.

[obvs]

I always thought it was strange to hear people from the U.S. say that Canadians said "aboot", because I'd never heard any such pronunciation.

[maurvir]

[TOS]

I always thought it was strange to hear people from the U.S. say that Canadians said "aboot", because I'd never heard any such pronunciation.

ditto

[Donkey Butter]

it's definitely a boot. also hooose instead of house and beg instead of bag.

[Donkey Butter]

you guys talk funny

[DukeofNuke]

I only read Canadian

[TOS]

it's definitely a boot. also hooose instead of house and beg instead of bag.

never heard it once in my entire life except from giggling americans

[Geesie]

[justine]

This is a roadsign near my house. The sign is posted at the beginning of HWY50, and shows the end in Ocean City, MD.

roadsign.jpg

[sturner]

it's definitely a boot. also hooose instead of house and beg instead of bag.

never heard it once in my entire life except from giggling americans

How about from lowland and highland Scots?

[jkahless]

[maurvir]

[obvs]

human waste.

Well thank God.

[user]

Thank Pizza the Hutt.

[macaddict4life]

This is a roadsign near my house. The sign is posted at the beginning of HWY50, and shows the end in Ocean City, MD.

roadsign.jpg

A girl I knew from Maryland told me that there is the reverse of the sign, with the distance to Sacramento, on the other end.

[macaddict4life]

From what I've heard, the Canadian pronunciation of "about" sounds more like "a boat" than it sounds like "a boot".

The feature is called Canadian raising and moves the initial vowel in the dipthong from low to mid position. Americans hear it as "aboot" because we don't have the equivalent vowel sound in our linguistics so we hear the nearest familiar thing. It's like the stereotypical Asian r - l confusion. Certain Asian languages and dialects have less distinction between those two glides so they hear it as the same sound.

Some languages don't have the r/l distinction at all.

Another common one is f/v and p/b. Some languages (Bahasa Indonesia comes to mind) lack one or both of these dissections, making fat and vat sound like the same word and/or making pit and bit sound like the same word.

[DEyncourt]

From what I've heard, the Canadian pronunciation of "about" sounds more like "a boat" than it sounds like "a boot".

The feature is called Canadian raising and moves the initial vowel in the dipthong from low to mid position. Americans hear it as "aboot" because we don't have the equivalent vowel sound in our linguistics so we hear the nearest familiar thing. It's like the stereotypical Asian r - l confusion. Certain Asian languages and dialects have less distinction between those two glides so they hear it as the same sound.

Some languages don't have the r/l distinction at all.

Another common one is f/v and p/b. Some languages (Bahasa Indonesia comes to mind) lack one or both of these dissections, making fat and vat sound like the same word and/or making pit and bit sound like the same word.

Actually for Japanese at least--both my parents had this speech "problem"--there is a different phoneme which is kinda-sorta halfway between the Western "r" and "l" phonemes, so when native Japanese speakers try to say "look" it can sound like "rook" to Western ears partially depending on context ("look takes pawn", "rook over there"). It is difficult to "unlearn" the speech habits one develops as an infant.

I can hear and speak all three phonemes. For me nearly all Westerners simply cannot say ”らめん” (ramen) correctly.

[ukimalefu]

From what I've heard, the Canadian pronunciation of "about" sounds more like "a boat" than it sounds like "a boot".

The feature is called Canadian raising and moves the initial vowel in the dipthong from low to mid position. Americans hear it as "aboot" because we don't have the equivalent vowel sound in our linguistics so we hear the nearest familiar thing. It's like the stereotypical Asian r - l confusion. Certain Asian languages and dialects have less distinction between those two glides so they hear it as the same sound.

Some languages don't have the r/l distinction at all.

Another common one is f/v and p/b. Some languages (Bahasa Indonesia comes to mind) lack one or both of these dissections, making fat and vat sound like the same word and/or making pit and bit sound like the same word.

Actually for Japanese at least--both my parents had this speech "problem"--there is a different phoneme which is kinda-sorta halfway between the Western "r" and "l" phonemes, so when native Japanese speakers try to say "look" it can sound like "rook" to Western ears partially depending on context ("look takes pawn", "rook over there"). It is difficult to "unlearn" the speech habits one develops as an infant.

I can hear and speak all three phonemes. For me nearly all Westerners simply cannot say ”らめん” (ramen) correctly.

all "westeners"?

[maurvir]

This is a roadsign near my house. The sign is posted at the beginning of HWY50, and shows the end in Ocean City, MD.

roadsign.jpg

A girl I knew from Maryland told me that there is the reverse of the sign, with the distance to Sacramento, on the other end.

I used to live in Maryland, and yes, there is a similar sign just outside of Ocean City, MD

[DEyncourt]

From what I've heard, the Canadian pronunciation of "about" sounds more like "a boat" than it sounds like "a boot".

The feature is called Canadian raising and moves the initial vowel in the dipthong from low to mid position. Americans hear it as "aboot" because we don't have the equivalent vowel sound in our linguistics so we hear the nearest familiar thing. It's like the stereotypical Asian r - l confusion. Certain Asian languages and dialects have less distinction between those two glides so they hear it as the same sound.

Some languages don't have the r/l distinction at all.

Another common one is f/v and p/b. Some languages (Bahasa Indonesia comes to mind) lack one or both of these dissections, making fat and vat sound like the same word and/or making pit and bit sound like the same word.

Actually for Japanese at least--both my parents had this speech "problem"--there is a different phoneme which is kinda-sorta halfway between the Western "r" and "l" phonemes, so when native Japanese speakers try to say "look" it can sound like "rook" to Western ears partially depending on context ("look takes pawn", "rook over there"). It is difficult to "unlearn" the speech habits one develops as an infant.

I can hear and speak all three phonemes. For me nearly all Westerners simply cannot say ”らめん” (ramen) correctly.

all "westeners"?

Yeah, YOU!!!1!!

Thinking about this, I THINK that Western tongues can kinda-sorta get there. Forgive my English-centric examples.

Say "law".

Now say "raw".

Notice how at the beginning of "law" the tip of your tongue starts behind your front upper teeth or gum or lip, as distinct to "raw" for which your tongue stays at the bottom of your mouth.

Now try to say "law" but keep your tongue at the bottom of your mouth like when saying "raw".

That's NOT quite there but gets closer to the Japanese r/l phoneme. When I say ”らめん” (ramen) much of my tongue--not just the tip--does not begin at the bottom of my mouth but is suspended partway between the top and bottom of my mouth.

So next time you say "ありがと” (arigato == "thanks") to a Japanese friend, give that a try.