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 #2 (permalink) Sun Aug 01, 2004 21:02 pm Communication |
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Dear Hadeel,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Yes, muddling up words can cause confusion at times but I think there is always a way to maintain communication.
By the way: Can you see the difference between getting a massage and getting a message across?
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 10051
Location: EU
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| #3 (permalink) Mon Aug 02, 2004 6:34 am Muddling Up Words |
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Dear Mr. Torsten,
Thank you for your continuous useful comments. Regarding the difference between the two phrases, well I'm not sure, but I think (getting a massgae means getting a private one, sent to a known person) and (getting a massage acrose means a public massage sent to more than one person).
Please explain the difference.
RGDS.
By the way Mr. Torsten where are you from? You've just mentioned Europe. Which country?
Hadeel  |
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Hadeel
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 25 Jul 2004
Posts: 16
Location: Iraq
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| #4 (permalink) Mon Aug 02, 2004 6:49 am Message and massage |
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Hi again Hadeel,
You asked about the difference between a massage and a message. Well, for example you can massage (rub) your temples when you are tired. So, a massage is a physical act while a message is a form of communication.
I'm sure you know the difference between both words.
As for my country of origin - I'm from Germany.
Would you like to tell us where you are from?
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 10051
Location: EU
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| #5 (permalink) Mon Aug 02, 2004 7:40 am Another Confusion |
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Hello Torsten,
Thank you for your clarification. Yes, sometimes we make mistakes by typing or writng the word incorrectly. In English, there are many words similar in pronuncation or in letters but different in meaning, like:-
Currant & Current
Meat & Meet
Fear & Fair
Night & Knight
site & Sight
Bear & Beer
message & Massage
Rain, Rein & Reign
Fellow & Follow
Poor & Pour
Blew & Blue
Park & Bark
Inter & Enter
Dam, Dump & Dumb
Salution & Solution
Floor & Flour
etc......
The non speaking English, or the English learners always face this problem, however they study English efficiently their mother tongue finally has the main influence on their accent.
Hadeel
IRAQ |
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Hadeel
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 25 Jul 2004
Posts: 16
Location: Iraq
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| #6 (permalink) Fri Feb 10, 2006 0:19 am Your accent gives you away |
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| Torsten wrote: |
Hi again Hadeel,
You asked about the difference between a massage and a message. Well, for example you can massage (rub) your temples when you are tired. So, a massage is a physical act while a message is a form of communication.
I'm sure you know the difference between both words.
As for my country of origin - I'm from Germany.
Would you like to tell us where you are from? |
Isn’t it curious how the mistakes we make when speaking or writing a foreign language can to some extent reveal where we are from (to say nothing of accents, which usually give you away at once).
The sound ‘e’ as in ‘pet’ is nonexistent in Arabic, whereas their ‘a’ sounds a bit like the ‘a’ in ‘hat’. Hence the confusion with words like ‘message’ and ‘massage’. In latin languages, for example, both sounds are clearly differentiated, so there wouldn’t be any problem with those words. Now, a typical mistake made by Spanish speaking students is to leave out the pronoun ‘it’: they will often say things like ‘is cold’ or ‘is late’ instead of ‘it’s cold/late’. Also, they tend to pronounce ‘espanish’, ‘estop’, ‘especial’, ‘escore’ etc. since in Spanish all these words start with an ‘e’. The ‘v’ is often pronounced like the ‘b’, as in Spanish. Many final consonants tend to be pronounced differently or left out altogether. The Italians, though, stress them so much that they are inclined to add a little ‘a’ sound: I wanta to eata the breada (OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, sorry).
Pronouncing ‘Jack’ like ‘Jeck’, ‘at’ like ‘et’ or ‘live’ like ‘life’ (see Bruce’s interesting post on this – English Grammar and Vocabulary, Jul 7, 2004 ) are distinctive features of the German accent. The French can have trouble with the ‘th’ sounds and are reluctant to part with their guttural ‘r’ (for a perfect rendition of this difficult gurgling sound, listen to Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel or Yves Montand, for instance – the Germans are also quite good at it, by the way).
‘Ze sing is’, whatever your accent, please don’t try too hard to get rid of it! |
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Conchita
Language Coach
Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain
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| Expression "you are ancient of days" | Hold in centempt |
instead of Respectfully. Our client replied us with (Welcome Respectively). That was one of my many mistakes which begin to be reduced automatically.