Thoughts From Class

So far my favorite class is Language of the Cognitive System. Right now we are learning the IPA (international phonetic alphabet), which consists of letters and symbols that represent the different sounds. The fun part is that – seeing as we are in Australia – we spell the words out the way Australians say the words. Breaking down the words into the individual sounds is actually pretty helpful to my goal of developing an Aussie accent, as it highlights the differences in pronunciation. The major difference between the way we say words and Australians do, or between any language, is the way vowels are pronounced. They seem to make the vowels longer, to the extent that it often replaces consonants in the word. For instance, instead of saying R’s in the middle or end of words it’s pronounced more like ‘eh’ as in yeah. So perform is pehfum or certain would be cehten. In class everyone must have thought I sounded like a pirate because I kept pronouncing R’s when no one else heard it. Later, in my classics class today, a girl said the "Earth gave birth..." which sounded pretty funny in an Australian accent. (Eh-th gave- beh-th). (What would you say if she said it in Australia ... beat you to it Marina and Mom. Too easy.)  Not too much else to report back on. This weekend we are going paintballing on Saturday for Craig’s birthday; and on Sunday I am going on a wine and chocolate tour with Lauren, Devon, and Vicki (our advisor) in Swan Valley.

Oh, and here’s the Koala claw picture with the border like you asked for Mom.