M Fassus...
Sometimes a slight hesitation the way a word or words are spoken can bring on a totally different meaning... or (at very least) confuse the person you are conversing with.Emphasis to be pronounced as m- fassus is my example.
English is a 2nd and sometimes a 3rd language to the people I come in contact with. If I know them and communicate on a regular basis, it becomes easier to actually know what they are saying.
I was working for a company that manufactured sofa-beds and the workforce were a group of people from the Caribbean islands. Cubans, Jamaicans and Haitians. Each having some distinct differences in the way words were pronounced.
In Jamaica, the number that comes after two is pronounced 'tree'
Anna is usually pronounced 'Hanna'
I don't speak Spanish, but I can read Spanish words and pronounce them with a fair degree of accuracy.
Most of the people I'm currently working with are from Brazil and speak Portuguese. Some of them also speak Spanish. When they leave notes in the order processing system, I have to run them through a language translator to understand them. The notes aren't intended for me and some of the installers and factory workers who access the system only speak a little bit of English.
Right now, Portuguese is troublesome for me as I haven't been able to figure out Portuguese pronunciations.
Example of good morning is spelled: bom dia, but dia (unlike Spanish) is pronounced gia, like JEE-ah.
I see now, I need to work on the m- fassus.