Re: [aroid-l] Chubas/pronunciation

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at msn.com> on 2004.08.17 at 00:01:53(12002) >From: "Bryant, Susan L." >Reply-To: aroid-l@lists.ncsu.edu >To: aroid-l@lists.ncsu.edu >Subject: Re: [aroid-l] Chubas >Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 08:47:32 -0500 > > Dear Susan, Ted and Eduardo, Then allow me to remind you! My friend Elizabeth, in commenting on a meal that I had cooked for her plant group some time ago (curried chicken w/ Xanthosoma tubers used instead of potatoes), wrote the word 'chubas' in her note while reminiscing about how good she and her friends had thought the meal was. Someone then replied, asking Elizabeth what these 'chubas' were. I then wrote asking Elizabeth what the origin of this neat and new-to-me word might be, thinking it possibly was of Spanish origin. After a substantial pause, Elizabeth replied that SHE thought that it was I was saying 'chubas', and that SHE had thought it was some sort of exotic word!!! I then realized that when I speak I must NOT clearly pronounce the 'tu' in tubers, it comes out in my Trinidadian accent as 'chu-bas'. Ah, the joy of being a born Trinidadian! Another funny tale comes to mind concerning the way we Trinidadians perceive sounds and then pronounce words ---In Trinidad while speaking in our street dialect/patois, we seldom/never use/pronounce the letter "r". When I began to work in Latin America and began to learn to speak Spanish, I came to the realization that not only did I have problems 'rolling' my 'r`s', I also had problems 'hearing' or perceiving them in the spoken word---remember, in Spanish, 'R`s' play a huge part in the language!!!. A few years later, without meaning to be funny, I was chatting w/ a GOOD friend while working in Amazonion Ecuador. I confided in him about my problem with 'R`s", and went on to use as an example of my problem that to me, the Spanish words 'miedo' (fear/fright) and "mierda" (human excrement) sounded almost exactly alike!!. Well!!!---Mario had to stop the truck, and laughed his! terically for several minutes, he said it was the funniest thing he had heard anyone say in years!! Oh well, I guess I don`t mind being the butt of some jokes! The best, see you all soon, Julius +More >I don't even remember how this topic started.... but I feel there should be >some sort of contest at the IAS Show next month- who can pronounce Chubas >the best. >Poor Julius, thank heavens he has a terrific sense of humour! >susan > > >-----Original Message----- >From: aroid-l-owner@lists.ncsu.edu [mailto:aroid-l-owner@lists.ncsu.edu] On >Behalf Of Eduardo Goncalves >Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2004 11:05 PM >To: aroid-l@lists.ncsu.edu >Subject: Re: [aroid-l] Chubas > >Count me in! I feel that I will never be able to say (or write) "tubers" >again. "Chubas" rule!!!! >(I have been laughing for three days because of this story...) > >

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