Blog 3:

During my fourth visit to my Nepalis family we had an easier time trying to communicate. I had a sheet of phrases that a friend had given me. They were words and phrases translated from English to Nepalis. When I started to read them off to the mother she immediately brightened and started speaking back to me. Or trying to. I realized that I was pronouncing some of the words wrong and she would correct me. My phonological skills were off because I wasn't sounding out the letters and words correctly. This meant that sometimes I'd say something that was so far off their actual word, all she could do was start laughing. She also misunderstood a couple times that I tried to say a word in Nepalis. I also noticed that for several phrases, social hierarchy and respect was shown. Respect was shown with different words according to who you were talking to. Respect was also shown in terms of social hierarchy, or addressing people from different statuses. For example, when speaking to an older person the Nepalis use one word and when talking to someone younger they use another. This shows the strict social hierarchy and respect shown in words for the Nepalus culture. She tried to explain the differences and circumstances under which each would be said. Of course, I couldn't understand much of what she said, but paying attention to the context of the situation helped me understand what she was meaning to say.

The phonological concept applied in this situation helped me understand how important it is. It showed me how just a slightly different sound can make a totally different word. It also reminded me to try harder when pronouncing another language's word so that I'm not misunderstood in the future. I also know now that social hierarchy plays a large role in other cultures, much more than I'm used to. Knowing that words can reflect a futures stand on showing respect has taught me to next time listen to the meaning of words and phrases to better understand what it means to show respect in that culture.