franc 91 wrote:
Yes I'm sure we all know of examples of children having set on their particular idea of how to pronounce or to use certain words in a way they have decided on that doesn't necessarily correspond to 'normal' usage. It's all part of a natural process of trying to make sense of language and creating their own logic about it - eventually they'll change and adapt this according to what they'll hear being spoken around them. Eg - 'I goed' instead of 'I went' or in French 'j'ai prendu' instead of 'j'ai pris' (and in our family - un 'tacski' for un taxi etc)
When I was little (about three), I couldn't say "salt and pepper shakers." My mom would have me carefully pronounce each element ("Say 'salt,' Say 'pepper.' Say 'shakers.') and I could pronounce each perfectly, but when I tried to put them together it always came out as "palt and pepper pakers"!
And I can empathize with adult learners having trouble with the subtler sounds of Irish, especially when they're sounds we don't really have in English (or at least sounds that don't create a difference in meaning in English).
But the difference between slender and broad "s" is pretty distinct. Plus the spelling of "slán" SHOULD suggest the broad sound to an English speaker's mind, as it's one of those few words that are spelled in Irish pretty much as they would sound if they were English.
The only thing I've been able to come up with is that some adult students familiar with the name "Seán" have come to assume that all "s" words in Irish begin with the "sh" sound and have a hard time letting go of that habit.
Redwolf
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
