Slavery And The American Bigot Essays - Slavery, Physiocrats

Slavery And The American Bigot Essays - Slavery, Physiocrats Slavery And The American Bigot Slavery and the American Bigot We Americans are interesting people and we have an interesting history. Slavery is part of that history. From time to time we forget just how much of part slavery plays in our history. I was reminded of that once again by the news story on the family reunion of the Thomas Jefferson family. The family of Thomas Jefferson has both white branches and black branches. Thomas Jefferson looms large in the history of our country. The humor comes not from the fact that his decedents are feuding. Who of us dont have family feuds? The humor comes from the attitudes adopted by the two different branches of this same family. Sadly one of the branches has a bigoted point of view. To me a bigot is simply a person who says there is one and only one way to look at a thing. Actually the bigot says a bit more than that. They say there is only one right way of looking at a thing. What makes that narrow is the word one. What makes it bigoted is the word right. Of course the religious bigot would say there is only one godly way of looking at a thing or an issue. The problem with looking at a thing or an issue from one single point of view is that by so doing only the simplest of things can be understood. Most things and most issues are not simple. Imagine looking at a three dimensional object from a single point of view. If we look at the front of our house we can not see the back of it with out changing our point of view. In fact if we only see our house that way we do not even realize that there is a back yard. To us from this point of view the back yard does not exist. Objects and lifes problems are too complex to be grasped from a single point of view. To restrict yourself to a single point of view dooms you to a lack of understanding. To ask others to share this single minded view is to cause bigotry. Understanding Thomas Jeffersons family tree can best be accomplished by acknowledging Sally Hemming.

Pronouncing Spanish Vowels

Pronouncing Spanish Vowels English speakers generally find the pronunciation of Spanish vowels fairly easy. Close approximations of all their sounds exist in English, and, with the exception of the E and the sometimes silent U, each of the vowels has basically one sound. The main thing to keep in mind is that in Spanish the vowels sounds are generally more distinct than they are in English. In English, any vowel can be represented by whats known as the schwa, an unstressed vowel sound such as the a in about, the ai in mountain, and the u in pablum. But in Spanish, such an indistinct sound isnt used. Although, as in most languages, the sounds of the vowels can vary slightly with the letters before and after them, in general the sound remains the same regardless of the word its in. Pronouncing the 5 Vowels First, the more or less invariable sounds: A is pronounced similarly to the a in father or the o in loft. Examples: madre, ambos, mapa. There are some speakers who sometimes pronounce the a something halfway between the a in father and the a in mat, but in most areas the first sound given is standard. See also the lesson on pronouncing the . I is pronounced similarly to the ee in feet and the e in me, although usually a little briefer. Examples: finca, timbre, mi. This letter is covered in more detail in the lesson on pronouncing the i. O is pronounced like the oa in boat or the o in bone, although usually a little briefer. Example: telà ©fono, amo, foco. See the lesson on pronouncing the o for more information. Now, the two vowels whose sound can change: E is generally pronounced like the e in met when it is at the beginning or within a word. It is pronounced similarly to the Canadian eh, kind of a shortened version of the à © in the English cafà ©, when it is at the end of the word. Sometimes it can be somewhere between those two sounds. Its not quite the sound of the English letter A, which if pronounced slowly often has an ee sound at the end, but closer to the e of met. Keep in mind that even when its at the end of the word, in a sentence it may sound more like the e of met. For example, in a phrase such as de vez en cuando, each e has approximately the same sound. Examples: cafà ©, compadre, embarcar, enero. See also the lesson on pronouncing the e. U is generally pronounced like the oo in boot or the u in tune. Do not pronounced it like the u in uniform. Examples: universo, reunià ³n, unidos. In the combinations gui and gue, as well as after q, the u is silent. Examples: guà ­a, guerra, quizs. If the u should be pronounce d between a g and i or e, an umlaut (also called a dieresis) is placed over it. Examples: vergà ¼enza, lingà ¼ista. This letter is covered in more detail in the lesson on pronouncing the u. Diphthongs and Triphthongs As in English, two or three vowels in Spanish can blend together to form a sound. The sound is basically the sound of the two or three vowels rapidly pronounced. For example, the u when followed by an a, e, i or o ends up sounding something like the w in water. Examples: cuaderno, cuerpo, cuota. The ai combination sounds something like the sound of eye. Examples: hay, airear. The i when followed by an a, e or u sounds kind of like the y in yellow.: hierba, bien, siete. And other combinations are possible as well: miau, Uruguay, caudillo. Pronouncing Y Generally, the y is pronounced the same as it would be if it were an i, as part of a diphthong. Examples: rey, soy, yacer. Some words that are derived from English and have a y at the end often retain the English pronunciation. For example, in popular songs you may hear words such as sexy and phrases such as oh baby. This letter is covered in more detail in the lesson on pronouncing the y.