One of our cat's name is Earl, but no-one who is an Italian speaker is capable of saying it!

Is it only an Italian problem?

My kids and some other native English speakers have no problem, but even those who speak perfect English (but not as their mother tongue) can't get their head around it! Did the test at work today, and major fail by all!

Tom

How do they say it?

Nope, not only Italian speakers.

I have a Swiss-French colleague who spent several years in the US and is inordinately proud of his ability to pronounce "squirrel".

I can't either. Örl or OEurle but not Earl.

If that's the case, he should go back and teach the Americans how to say it.

"Squurrrrl", indeed...

Hehe, that is a 'problem' for my partner (Francophone)!

"Skewel"
"Nah"
"Skewer"
"Uh-Uh"
"Skii-l"
"Nope..."

Every now and again we amuse ourselves with that...

Not sure about Italian speakers, but Francophones can say it... but in a very French accent!

earl, is actually how old timey brooklynites say oil. hahaha.

but no, it's not just italians, if i said it like my spanish speaking relatives did, it would be different. it's the 'er' that's difficult, schwa plus r and all that. not an easy sound for most non-english speakers...most likely they'll put a vowel between the r and the l. like, eril or something of that nature. our cat is named kitty (creative, i know) but is now known by a ton of different names, killy, keeety and when he knocks the plants over it gets even more interesting

our second cat is coco. much easier universally.

__________________
'there isn't enough of anything as long as we live.
but at intervals a sweetness appears and, given a chance prevails'

My name is Earl.

I learned to say it from that show.

I know I have a french accent when I talk. I try to get rid of it because I hate it. But because I am not in a total english immersion and always with foreigners with english as a common language, I keep picking up everybody else accent!

If it is not as bad as French TV news speakers who for years spoke about a US foreign minister named "äg" or "aigue", and about two Presidends, named "Cartäär"/"Cartèère" and "Regaan"/"Régane"

When I lived in Germany I noticed how many people couldn't really say pearl, the "r" and "l" in English is supposed to be a lot more liquid, than the usual "ril" you get, either from Germans or Italian, too, I guess. French say the gutural RRRRrriLLLLL with very soft, palatal L, too.

Try to make them say "rural", even more fun.

Back home, people have troubles with other things, th sounds, voiced and voiceless, w/v is fun, too.

We shouldn't rip on people's pronunciation, though, especially here, where people speak multiple languages, me thinks.

Important in additional languages always is to LISTEN to native-speakers in regard to prononciation, emphasis, choice of expressions, syntax, etc. Do not hesitate to contribute to the ongoing discussion, but always listen carefully. And in case of doubt, never hesitate to ask precise questions.

Me what? I didnt do it

Im just being silly, need to get some sleep

And not only italians, mexicana me also have problem with Earl. For me its just "erl" when you hear me talking you can realize both in grammar and accent im not eanglish native speaker so why to bother with pronuncing Earl correctly? Is like asking english speakers to pronunce
"Erre con Erre cigarro, erre con erre barril, rapido pasan los carros del ferrocarril"
Nil, the tv show i liked it and starting watching it and then found out that got off air. sad!

Most orientals have problem with the "rolling" R sound..

I once heard a Korean friend introduce a man to another friend saying "he is a very important man!" (Drop the R and replace 'a' with 'e')

My (German) husband and (hard-of-hearing) father had a long and completely meaningless conversation many years ago due to the difficulty of that American /r/ + /l/. It went something like this:

H: "Look at that squiwl."
F: "What?"
H: "The squioll"
F: "Huh?"
H: (pointing) "Squiwal, squirrrro"
F: "Oh, there's a squirrel."

Part of the problem was that pointing out a squirrel to my dad is like pointing out a fly. A squirrel is only a topic of conversation if it is in the bird feeder.

In any case, it was a big day when my husband could finally say "squirrel" and "world".

My German husband (the german part in him) still mixing the V and W....

Wictim is one that make me tick....

Well, I've tried teaching my girlfriend, saying " girl - earl", but the best she can manage is "airold", and even my coworkers who can speak varying degrees of English aren't any better at it.

Tom

Why do they do this?? "v" in German isn't ever pronounced as a "w"(as far as I know), it's more of an "f"...

how about the movie:

The Rural Juror.

I like seeing native english speackers deal with Ueli

"Crisps" is always a good one to get non-native English speakers to say.

(Mind you, you should hear me trying to say "Trois Rois" )

T'wawa?

I'm also amused at the hoards of orientals chanting for the new Nintendo console. Sounds like a fire engine