Fat or VAT?

My Malaysian Chinese friend working in the UK wrote this on her Facebook:

"Customer confronts me today and repeats "fat fat fat where is the fat"... Took a few seconds to realize he was looking for the VAT counter and thankfully directed him there instead of to the queue for roast pork."

English as it is pronounced by different nationalities.

From a linguistics standpoint, the letters 'v' and 'f' are very similar in sound. Blow air through your upper teeth while bringing your lower lip up to the edge of your upper teeth. Then make the sound for 'v' or 'f'. It is so easy to get the two sounds mixed up.

In some words such as 'verb', if pronounced 'ferb', would make no sense whatsoever. The hearer might even wonder if the speaker wants a 'herb' instead.

However, in my friend's case, she almost sent the customer to the wrong counter! Apart from the different pronunciation of 'VAT', her Chinese mind (aka foodie mind), was thinking about any kind of food that contains high amounts of fat. Hence, roast pork.

Moral of the story: try not to process everything you hear through your own cultural mindset. Take a step back and try to understand the speaker's standpoint before offering an answer. When that fails, ask questions. At all costs, try to avoid misunderstanding. At all times, keep a big smile on your face and show interest. When words fail, the smile melts the coldest heart.

Have fun listening to and trying to understand different pronunciations of English!

Eating some kinds of food bring wealth

Braised pork trotters Braised pork trotters. My favourite food. Actually, I like pork trotters cooked in different ways: boiled in soup, Filipino style crispy pata, German pork knuckles, etc.

Crispy Pata I had dinner with a Lao young man and two teenagers (one male and one female) from China. The teen from China observed the Lao man as he was eating braised pork trotters. Then he said, "In Guangzhou, every family must eat this dish for Chinese New Year. You know why? What does a pig do with his trotters? Dig around in the ground, right? So Cantonese (people from Guangzhou) believe that if you eat pork trotters, you will find wealth, like the pig digging in the mud." The Lao man stopped eating to shake the hand of the China teen. He was so pleased to know that someone had just wished him prosperity!

I learned something new that night. I am a Cantonese. My father's family is pure Cantonese. We never ate pork trotters during Chinese New Year. The most auspicious food served was the pancreas of the pig because in the Cantonese play of words, the word for pancreas sounds like 旺财顺利 or great wealth smoothly flowing in. Even then, only my dad, being the eldest son, got to eat it because it's a very small piece. So much for sharing of wealth.

Well, if you don't eat pork, then this dish is definitely not for you. It doesn't mean you won't be wealthy. The only definite thing about eating pork trotters is raising your bad cholesterol level and possibly getting a heart attack from all that fat consumed! Of course, that depends on which culture you come from.

Ultimately, just enjoy the cross-cultural experience. Learn a new language and be able to share the best of your culture with a new friend!

Here's to enjoying food of different cultures!

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Does eating fat kill you?

Here's some fun facts that a friend sent me:

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

I did say food unites us across the globe! Here's to eating what we enjoy!

Enjoy learning a new language today!

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