The way I pronounce ‘no’ in English gave me a massive advantage when I moved to Spain.
I can’t imagine how difficult it would’ve been if I’d had a Southern English accent.
Same with lay (my lay rhymes with Spain’s qué) and bath (short a).
And I say ‘me’ for ‘my’ (me mam/house/job).
My is mi in Spanish. It’s pronounced me.
Basically, I coasted!
For once, I had the advantage: my accent has been a gargantuan disadvantage throughout my working life due to irrational prejudice (when is prejudice anything else?)
(Thank you, Tim Berners-Lee, for removing that obstacle.)
I’m from Northeast England.
The photo is from some time between 1990 and 1994.
It shows my relief after a drunken local finally lassoed a rein-free, unsaddled horse I had somehow decided to mount. It had been tethered outside the bar.
The steed galloped through the narrow streets.
The more I screamed and squeezed my legs, the faster it ran.
(I now know that’s a signal to go faster.)
We literally ran for the hills!
