Why?, ¿por qué?, pourquoi?, perchè?
I speak American English with a rhotic accent. And with a hint of an Ohio Valley dialect. Listen to the Ohio Five recording here to get an idea. I love trying to figure out what part of the United States people are from based on their dialect or accent.
I also enjoy learning foreign languages. I studied Spanish in high school, and I lived in Spain for several months while in college. (I ran with the bulls in Ceuta, and I have gouge marks to prove it.) I’ve taken a couple of French and Italian courses, and I learned a smattering of Thai and Mien while teaching English in a Laotion refugee camp in Thailand.
Why am I talking about this?
Well, I just read an interesting article by Jerry Bader, “Web Content: It’s All About the Why.” For some odd reason (too much caffeine this morning?), my brain translated the word “why” into Spanish and French. I wanted to know how to say it in Thai, so I started googling around for an online translator.
You know how it goes. One thing leads to another, and before you know it, you land on a really cool site such as the International Dialects of English Archive referenced above.
I still haven’t answered the question. Why, oh why, am I talking about accents, dialects, foreign languages, and getting gouged in Spain?
See if you can guess.
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Here’s why:
Simply to tell a story. Why? Read Jerry’s article.