> This can create amusing situations, such as when a native English speaker
> tries to talk about dogs in Bambara (the language spoken in Mali).  Say it
> with the wrong tone, and you're talking about male genitalia instead.
> Moral: don't talk about dogs in Mali.
>
>
I spent last weekend at a literary festival, on a panel of literary
translators. In the middle of a serious presentation, all of the Italian
speakers burst into hilarious laughter. Same thing. I think they were
talking about the translation of a term for a species of bird, and the
word used was the same as what the Italian presenting described as 'the
male organ'.
Language is so rich!
The other moral of Kathy's excellent summary of phonemes is that it is a
great idea to expose your children to different languages before the age
of one, preferably through music. My husband and I are convinced that
the languages easiest for us to learn were those we heard first in song.

To put this back on topic: breastfed and attached babies grow into more
competent users of language, because the first acts of communication and
connection are so strongly reinforced.
Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, PhD. Cert. Trans.

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