Tag Archives: andrew

02 Nov

set the tone

Who taught : Andrew

Set the tone (source: shannonstanley.wordpress.com)

Have you ever played team sports such as soccer, baseball, basketball, etc? I strongly believe it is one of the best ways to learn how to collaborate with other people. One of the interesting things I have noticed by participating in team sports is that one person can make a big difference in terms of team performance.

When I was in Korea, I was in a soccer team. The team was not good at all at first but, a few months later, we were able to recruit one player who used to play soccer all the time in many of different soccer teams. He knew how to play a better soccer. As we all practiced and played together, we all got better. But  the main reason why we were able to beat many other teams was not that he was a good player but that he had an ability to organize the whole team.

A few weeks ago, Andrew and I were talking about his ultimate frisbee team. I said, “So, how is your ultimate frisbee these days?” He said, “That is very interesting question. So….. when I first got to know about my team members, I thought the team would lose a lot because the players are not that great compared to other teams. But, we did really good and won many games.” “Why?” said I. He answered, “Interestingly, it was because of one lady. She is a good player but, more importantly, she is amazingly good at organizing the team. She basically set the tone for the team and games. We all followed her and, as a result, won the games.”

That is right! There is an expression, “set the tone.” The meaning of the expression is to establish a particular mood. Well, if you set the tone correctly, then the outcome should usually be good, I believe, just like the soccer player I mentioned earlier. But it is also possible to set the tone in a bad way. Are you a person who sets the tone? If so, you would want to set the optimistic tone. I am sure there are so many ways to set the tone. What else do we have? Do you have any good examples you have done, setting the tone? Actually, you can set the tone for your day every day? Let’s do it, shall we? Am I setting the tone here? 🙂

07 Oct

a raw deal

Who taught: Andrew

Sushi (www.foodandwaterwatch.org)

Do you like sushi? I love it. What is the major characteristic of sushi? It is mostly made with raw fish. Now, what is the definition of the word, “raw”? It means not treated with heat or not refined, right?

A few days ago, my friend Andrew posted a new status on his facebook. He said, “Waking up early in the morning is good because I can do a load of laundry.”

I replied to it, saying “I would like to sleep more and ask Jessy to do the laundry.” (Don’t get me wrong! I do what I need to do but Jessy is the one who usually does the laundry.) In reply to my comment, he said, “We’ve been living together for over 6 years and we still do all of our laundry separately!” I was very surprised by that. Is this part of the American culture or what? 🙂

His reply made me kind of curious about their financial decision. So, I asked, “Does that mean you guys have separate bank accounts? That is minus for you.” (Supposedly, his wife makes more money than him. 🙂 ) Well, finally, he said, “That is a good point! I think I am getting a raw deal here!”

From the context, I was able to understand what he meant by “raw deal.” But, to be honest with you, that was my first time to see the expression. Do you guys already know the expression?

When I think of the word, raw, it is uncooked or unrefined as I mentioned earlier. After seeing the expression, I looked up the word again and  found out that it also means crude. And, because of it, raw deal can mean any deal which is crude. I am sure you can totally say “unfair deal” instead of “raw deal.” But I am also sure a lot of American people use “raw deal” instead of “unfair deal.” Am I correct?

26 Sep

English pronunciation

Who taught : Andrew, Jake, James and Carl

There is a new tv show started last week. It is called, “Outsourced.” I love it. It shows a lot of cultural differences between America and India. You should really try to watch it and let’s talk about it later.

Do you know what file type I hate most? It is zip file.

Do you know why? Well… it is so hard to pronounce. A few months ago, I was having a meeting with a client and there were James, one of my old coworkers, and Carl, my old boss. After the meeting, I went into Carl’s room to have another meeting and, at the end of the meeting, he taught me how to pronounce zip correctly. And, interestingly, when James and I had brunch together last Saturday, he mentioned about his feeling about my pronunciation of zip file. It is actually kind of frustrating to have the feeling that I would never be able to have a correct pronunciation for some of the alphabets or words.

There are a few other alphabets or words that are hard to pronounce correctly. (Here, I mean really correctly like Americans, not like mimicking the sound!)

1. v and th

A lot of Koreans, or Asians, pronounce this incorrectly so that many American people think we are saying “b” instead. For example, when you are looking for a “vase” but if you pronounce it incorrectly, then it becomes “base.” The other example is any word having “th.” More specifically, if you trying to say that you are “thinking” now but, if you say it incorrectly, then it becomes to mean that you are “sinking” now. Then your American friends would be like, “to where are you sinking down?”

2. wood

This one looks pretty easy to pronounce but it, in fact, is very hard to pronounce correctly. Jessy has a friend who came to the U.S. around 20 years ago when she was around 25 years old. She has children who of course are native English speakers. One time, she had a conversation with her children and she said “wood.” As soon as she said that word, her children said to her, “Mom, that is not correct. Say it again!” So, she tried again and again but still the pronunciation was not correct. You know what happened eventually. Her children said, “Mom! You are never gonna be able to pronounce it correctly at all.”

How frustrating it is! Remember! She has been living in the U.S. for 20 years. 20 years!

3. Square or Squirrel

Well, I had a very similar experience with what Jessy’s friend had. I live in a neighborhood, called Squirrel Hill, in Pittsburgh. One time, I was talking about this neighborhood to Andrew and Jake. As soon as I said it, they were like, “Terry! What? Say it again!” So, I kind of realized that I spoke it incorrectly and tried really really hard to pronounce it correctly. Then, they said, “That is pretty good. Before, it was not correct.”

Then, a few days ago, I was talking about something and I said “Square Root” to Andrew and Jake. Then, they were like, “Hey! Terry! Say it again?” Yeah, they challenged me again. So, I tried again. Andrew and Jake! How was I? Do you think I need more practices? I guess so, right?

So, as a non-native English speaker, what is the hardest word or alphabet for you to pronounce? I think mine is “Z” alphabet and any word having it like Zoo or Zip. The real hope I have now is I wish I can speak those ones really good so that no one can recognize me as a non-native English speaker. There must be some ways to practice. Does anybody know how to practice to pronounce those alphabets correctly?

19 Sep

Jones

Who taught : Jake and Andrew

Jones is one of the family names you can find here in the United States. Original meaning of Jones is “son of John.” There is no problem with name, Jones. But, people in America use this word as a verb many times.

For example, I have really been wanting to have Vietnamese Pho soup for a few weeks. And finally, I had it this afternoon. It was very good. While eating, I told Pat, Rachel and Jessy, “This is so good. I have been craving for this one for a while.” You all know the expression, craving for. Right? It basically means you want to have something very much.

Jonesing for (source:www.arhband.com)

Now, instead of saying “craving for,” you can use “jonesing for.” I could have said like, “This is so good. I have been jonesing for Pho soup for a while.”

I believe “jonesing” has even a stronger desire than “craving.” Do you know why? It is because of its origin, I guess. Here is what I found on the Internet about how people started to use this word to mean strong desire for something.

In early 1960’s, the word, “jones,” first appeared in African-American slang, it was as a noun meaning “a drug addiction, especially to heroin.” There are a few different stories why this word became to mean it but there is one story I can believe.

It may be that there once was an infamous drug dealer by that name, of course, or that “Mister Jones” was a common euphemism for one’s local heroin pusher.

In 1970’s, people started to use this word to mean, “gotta have it.” Since I have no experience of any type of drugs, I do not know how badly addicted people would want it. But, I believe it should be something so strong that people cannot wait any more. Am I right? Hey, I know some of you people out there have some experience. So tell me! Am I right? 🙂

Well, maybe smokers would know how it feels to jones for smoking when they try to quit. That is the feeling of this expression. Let’s now then practice, shall we. “Honey, I jones for iPad. Can I buy it?” 🙂

17 Sep

quiche or quickie

Who taught: Andrew, Jake and Carol

Quiche (source: www.rosieleescafe.co.uk)

Do you guys all know who George W. Bush is? I believe so. He is a former President of the United States. OK then… here is another question. Do you know what the Bushism is? What do you think it is? It sounds like Bush’s political policy principles he set up during his presidency, doesn’t it? It has nothing to do with any political stuff. Here is the definition of Bushism on Wikipedia.

unconventional words, phrases, pronunciations and semantic or linguistic errors that have occurred in and defined the public speaking of George W. Bush

Here is one example for you. On Jan 11, 2000 he said, “Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” when he gave a speech in Florence, South Carolina. What do you think? Doesn’t it sound familiar, my non-native English speaker friends? I have made so many mistakes like that, wrong BE verb, when I am speaking. It is quite hard to use the correct BE verb, especially with the choice between “is” and “are.” But, he was a former President of the United States and he is an alumnus of Yale and Harvard. So, I guess you do not need to worry about your wrong BE verb too much when you speak.

In relation with the Bushism, I heard another joke from Carol. I do not think this is a real story but who knows it could be. 🙂

1. Bush wins the election. He and Cheney are having lunch at a diner near the White House.

2. Cheney orders the Heart-Healthy salad.

3. Bush leans over to the waitress and says Honey, “Could I have a quickie?”

4. She’s horrified! She says, “Mr. President, I thought your administration would bring a new era of moral rectitude to the White House. Now I see
I was wrong and I’m sorry I voted for you,” and she marches off.

5. Cheney leans over and says George, I think it’s pronounced ‘QUICHE’.

Do you get it? Maybe not! OK. Let me give you a little bit of context here. So, Dick Cheney served a former Vice President of the United States under George W. Bush. In America, there is a food called, “quiche.” It is French food and a baked dish that is based on a custard made from eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust. It is Jessy’s one of the favorite foods. As you can see, it looks very similar to quickie. Then, what is quickie? Quickie is from another word quick. But, it has a total different meaning from quick. It means a very quick paced version of sex. I am not sure how quick it should be to be qualified as quickie? Maybe it depends on a guy? 🙂

Now, the issue is pronunciation. Quiche’s pronunciation is /ˈkiːʃ/ whereas quickie’s pronunciation is /kwiki/.

It is not a surprise at all for Bush to make a wrong pronunciation. Apparently, the waitress did not want a quickie with Bush. One question for my American friends! “Could I have a quickie?” Do people even ask this kind of question in the real world?