I remember first hearing these phonemes of general Thai phrases and thinking that I’ll never remember this–but now I sit and the words flow effortlessly from my lips.
So interesting being a phonologist and listening to tonal languages
And all these travelers from all over the world all speaking different languages than their own with their own personal dialects. A lot of variables are at play.
One day I really had to force myself to not interupt this hilarious conversation of a woman from Spain who speaks English trying to understand this man from Sussex speaking English—she was flabbergasted–really floored –having him repeat words over and over. The voyeuristic auditory experience was very endearing.