Loading ...Interacting with the locals in Taiwan, I usually hear a lot of mispronunciation or just incorrect use of vocabulary.. and that’s fine.. I don’t expect perfect pronunciation or vocabulary usage from anyone, much less someone born and raised in a non-English speaking country.. but one of my co-workers here lived in the US for 17 years prior to taking his assignment here in Taiwan.. not to mention that he went to UC Irvine and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree.. so I still find it a little strange when he comes up with some strange pronunciations or vocabulary.. here are two instances..
Instance #1:
He was telling me and article in the Chinese newspaper about how Madonna has changed her name to Esther.. well, here’s how the converstation went:
Him: “Madonna has changed her name to Ether”
Me: [thinking to myself] “Ether? like wood alcohol? wth?”
Me: “Ether? What??”
Him: “Yeah, right here? See?” [pointing to the article]
Me: “Dude, thats ESTHER (es-ter)!”
Him: “No! Look, E-S-T-H-E-R.. ETHER!”
Ok, so ESTHER is a little hard.. although I think the ‘S’ can’t be played off as being silent.. besides, ether is spelled E-T-H-E-R..
Instance #2:
He was explaining what was inside this Chinese pastry thing.. here’s how that conversation went:
Him: “It has red bean paste and egg york in it..”
Me: “Egg what?”
Him: “Egg york.. york, the yellow part, york”
Me: “You mean YOLK (yo-k)??? What is egg york?” (yes I am being a dick)
Him: “Its not york? How do you spell it then?”
Me: “Y-O-L-K.. yolk.. sounds like Y-O-K-E”
Him: “Really? For 17 years, I always thought it was york”
Me: “See? You have no friends otherwise they would’ve told you sooner”
Him: “But york is a real word right?”
Me: “Dude.. no.”
I didnt think YORK was a real word, at least not a common word in everyday English.. I knew New York was named after somewhere else, liek York, that was probably named after some feudal lord or something.. anyhow, I looked it up.. and I was right 
Anyhow, I’m not really poking fun at him.. I give him crap all the time.. its just funny how he’s been in the States for 17 years, yet he still seems so “unexposed” to life in California or the US..
