Growing up, I often heard that learning English was hard. As a native speaker, I recognized some stumbling blocks myself. Yet, I thought there must be much harder languages like Chinese, for instance. At least English uses the same alphabet as many other languages.
Now I know that the criticism I heard as a child applied to non-native speakers who struggled to acquire a working knowledge of English. I can see now how listening to English without seeing it written could be even more confusing than just tripping over the spelling of homonyms.
For example, there are three words that sound like “tense.” Two are nouns, “tents” and “tense” (as in present or past tense). Yes, I know there is a “t” near the end of one of these, but only the British are likely to enunciate the letter. “Tense” is also a verb or adjective. Notice there is no variation in spelling for the three uses of “tense.” You tense (flex) your muscles doing exercise. Your nervous disposition is called “tense” (adjective). Or it can describe the tightness of a stretched cord.
How confusing it must be to a non-native speaker to hear, “He was two tents today,” when the speaker actually said, “He was too tense today.” Can you see the poor non-native speaker trying to grapple with a human being transforming into tents?
Another example is the sound “pray.” In this case there are two verb uses and one noun. Pray by itself is a verb. Its homonym “prey” is the one playing games with the hearer. Prey is both the object pursued (noun) and the action (verb) of pursuit. But to the ear, all three sound the same. Imagine hearing “He likes to pray on animals of all kinds,” when the speaker was using the other “prey.” Did you see a male kneeling in prayer beside an animal or offering a blessing over a herd?
These are just a couple of examples. The actual list is much larger and more challenging to the non-native speaker. No wonder they ask that we native speakers talk slowly. They need time to translate, reject, and start over.
MARGARET TO BE TREASURED
As she sits there
Head bowed, arms folded
Asleep, as if going back
To a youth now faded
Yet, an awareness is still there
And her hair now shines
With the glory of age
Badge of a life well lived
Her years of service framed
In my need of her heart
One more moment to treasure
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“FLOWERS RISING IN THE AIR” was written in response to a presentation at Orpheus chapter 1990 (California Federation of Poets) which proposed the members “compose a poem using 4 pairs or more of the following rhyming words:
Wore/door, Flowers/hours, There/air, Line/design, Born/ adorn, Play/day, Knew/hue
REFRACTIONS— a poem by Robert Roxby
“MARGARET TO BE TREASURED” first appeared in the author’s collection, Reflections on a Lifetime. It appears this week for Thanksgiving Day.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“HOMECOMING” was created by the author as a Thanksgiving Day thank you card for her parents in appreciation of what she had learned from them.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.
Guidelines for submission:
SPLINTERS FOR NOVEMBER 2022
IN ANOTHER’S SHOES
I chose to write
In an alien voice
To speak out
To explain the why
I forced myself
To travel roads
Unknown to me
To hear the howls
Of broken destiny
It is all spilled
Now upon inked pages
That pain, the twisted limbs
Of history that maimed
Lie bleeding across pages
Charred by words burning holes
Leaving me here
Horribly bruised
Stranded where I sought
To be—
No-man’s land—
Waiting to learn of peace
Holding my white flag
Of surrender
JAPANESE BRIDGE AT GIVERNEY*
Beneath an arched stone span
lilies floated
liquescent glow
mystic
rose…blue…white
Entranced
as color flowed
into the heart of memory
for me
I was, by chance,
caught unaware
at dreaming water’s edge
*A painting by Claude Monet
WORD CONFUSION
Growing up, I often heard that learning English was hard. As a native speaker, I recognized some stumbling blocks myself. Yet, I thought there must be much harder languages like Chinese, for instance. At least English uses the same alphabet as many other languages.
Now I know that the criticism I heard as a child applied to non-native speakers who struggled to acquire a working knowledge of English. I can see now how listening to English without seeing it written could be even more confusing than just tripping over the spelling of homonyms.
For example, there are three words that sound like “tense.” Two are nouns, “tents” and “tense” (as in present or past tense). Yes, I know there is a “t” near the end of one of these, but only the British are likely to enunciate the letter. “Tense” is also a verb or adjective. Notice there is no variation in spelling for the three uses of “tense.” You tense (flex) your muscles doing exercise. Your nervous disposition is called “tense” (adjective). Or it can describe the tightness of a stretched cord.
How confusing it must be to a non-native speaker to hear, “He was two tents today,” when the speaker actually said, “He was too tense today.” Can you see the poor non-native speaker trying to grapple with a human being transforming into tents?
Another example is the sound “pray.” In this case there are two verb uses and one noun. Pray by itself is a verb. Its homonym “prey” is the one playing games with the hearer. Prey is both the object pursued (noun) and the action (verb) of pursuit. But to the ear, all three sound the same. Imagine hearing “He likes to pray on animals of all kinds,” when the speaker was using the other “prey.” Did you see a male kneeling in prayer beside an animal or offering a blessing over a herd?
These are just a couple of examples. The actual list is much larger and more challenging to the non-native speaker. No wonder they ask that we native speakers talk slowly. They need time to translate, reject, and start over.
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“Japanese Bridge at Giverney” is included this week for Claude Monet’s Birthday, November 14. In a note to her poetry Round Robin friends, the author wrote: Pushing through the milling crowds at an exhibit in LA, I found myself ‘caught unaware’—could not move from this wonderful painting. Daughter, Kathy, had to come and find me and guide me away to other paintings. But my heart stayed THERE.”
KALEIDOSCOPE— an essay by Kathleen Roxby
“WORD CONFUSION” continues the author’s series on the English language, especially focused on its oddities. It is included this week as a companion for ‘In Another’s Shoes.”
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“In Another’s Shoes” is included this week for November 16, United Nations International Day for Tolerance.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.
Guidelines for submission:
SPLINTERS FOR NOVEMBER 2022