#hope this was helpful??

[zhuzhudushu]

I just found your blog (I am learning Chinese so I keep getting the blogs of other language learners reccomended) and while scrolling through it, I ran across that other ask about being a speech pathologist. If you don't mind a question from an absolute stranger - do you happen to have a book rec for understanding American accents & pronunciation geography? I'm a native English speaker, but my foriegn friends keep asking me English pronunciation questions and I can't answer them - I generally want to answer "well, in some cities they say it that way, but in other cities they say it that other way, so both are fine". But their textbooks say it has to be one way, and that just confuses me so much. (one recent example was when to pronounce "the" as "thee" vs "th-uh" "Th-uh apple" and "thee apple" Both sound natural to me but "th-uh apple" is my normal. But apparently that is "wrong" for most of the USA?) I'd like to get a better understanding of what defines mainstream English and what parts of my own speech are a geographic quirk.

Also, I feel like the thing making my friends sound foriegn isn't pronunciation details like that, it's more rhythm and tone or something, but I don't have the vocabulary or background knowledge to figure out what part of their speech sounds off or how to fix it, so if you have a rec for a basic "how speech works" book I'd love that too. (I'm not asking for a book that will magically give me all the knowledge of your profession- that is obviously impossible. But I'd like to learn at least a little since I get asked these types of questions so very very very often and I feel like I am generally exceptionally unhelpful, to my dismay. (I have tried some random linguistics books and they were a) very dense and difficult and b) not really covering what I was looking for.)

Any advice is appreciated! (But there is absolutely no urgency and it's not very important, so don't feel obligated to like, do research or even reply if you can't think of something appropriate for laymen off the top of your head.)

OMG Longest Ask Ever Award??

I have also come across foreign speakers who were told they Had To Pronounce Things This Way, but in my experience, if they get snippy with me about it when I tell them that's not true, then I will send them to videos or TV shows to show real speakers pronouncing it a variety of ways. Once I sent a friend an Appalachian accent video and she couldn't understand it at all which was funny.

When I was in grad school, unfortunately the only real resources we had were for AAE (African American English) dialect, because my field has a horrible history of diagnosing Black children (especially boys) with language disorders for "incorrect grammar" that was really just a dialect. This was really the only dialect we studied.

But really, in my experience with intermediate+ English learners, they are VERY aware that words have multiple pronunciations. I mean, especially in Chinese, they should know that's true because those with Taiwanese and Beijing accents can struggle to understand each other (for just one example). Also, many of my Chinese friends learn British English, and are very aware that different English-speaking countries have different vocab and pronunciation.

I also agree that for the most part, if non-native speakers are difficult to understand, it's less about pronunciation of individual sounds, and more about the flow of the sounds together. We combine sounds, we skip over some, we connect them, and also - especially for tonal language speakers - their intonation doesn't sound natural and it throws native English listeners off.

But unfortunately I don't know of any good accent book resources. But to help you search yourself, the Normal (white i mean what) dialect is formally called Standard American English in educational settings. If you google that you might be able to find some books on it. This also goes for Standard British English and Standard Australian English.

I haven't watched them but WIRED on youtube has a whole set of videos about a US Accent Tour lol You could check those out?

[hayanahed]

Emergency: Help Evacuate My Family From GAZA WAR

Dear Humanity,

I'm Haya from Gaza , from a family of 8 people: my parents, two sons, and four daughters (two of them suffer from allergies).

I've witnessed the evidence of the tragedy that has struck our lives in Gaza, where my family and I have survived amidst numerous previous wars. But today, we face the most dangerous and fierce battle in the current war. The urgent need intensifies for us, as we have nothing left and are unable to secure our basic needs such as food, water, and safe shelter.

Here is our story - On October 7th, our lives changed forever, my family and I evacuated from northern Gaza to southern Gaza, hoping to return soon, but it wasn't meant to be. Our home was surrounded, burned, and then completely destroyed, Our home, once a fortress of hope, now lay in ruins, a stark reminder of our shattered dreams.

The night before we left from the north to the south was terrifying. Shelling sounds were everywhere, making a loud noise that felt like it went through our souls. Every explosions shook the ground like earthquakes, sending shockwaves of fear through our trembling bodies. filling us with fear. The air smelled of destruction and blood, making it hard to breathe. When dawn came, we saw the devastation around us, realizing our home was now a symbol of loss and despair.

We ran into the streets and with each step we took into the unknown streets, we felt as if we were plunging deeper into the abyss of our shattered existence, leaving behind everything we own in our home: Clothes, important official documents, the car, and literally it's almost everything - the enormity of our loss weighed heavily upon us.

Our home it was where we found hope, safety, and made precious memories. Losing it felt like losing years of our lives, leaving us adrift amidst the wreckage of our shattered existence.

A brief video depicting the devastation that struck our home and our entire neighborhood in Gaza.

Desperate Plea: Escaping Gaza's Allergy Nightmare

I, Haya, suffer from severe allergy to penicillin-derived medications, and my sister, Amal, also suffers from severe allergies to medications from my family such as Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.

These allergies create a deep sense of fear and anxiety for us, as we live in a constant state of tension and fear of anything that may require a visit to the hospital. We fear being given inappropriate medications due to the unavailability of suitable treatments in Gaza because of war or lack of awareness and not informing the doctor of our allergies, which could lead to serious consequences threatening our lives.

MY Father Income

Our dreams are heading towards oblivion in the labyrinth of an uncertain future

My story, along with my siblings, represents a united team of four individuals, three of whom are skilled programmers and one graphic designer. We work as freelancers in the world of freelancing.

As for my younger sister, she is a student studying at the College of Architecture. She has always carried a big dream in her heart, a dream of being part of changing Gaza, of making it more beautiful and better. She looked forward to the day when she would receive her degree and start building this dream. But the beginning of the war changed everything. The destruction of infrastructure and universities cast shadows of despair over her dreams.

When I think of my brother in Belgium, I can't help but feel deep sadness. He has been suffering from unbearable anxiety and insomnia since the outbreak of the war. Sleep eludes him at night, and his physical and mental health collapses under the weight of these heavy burdens, negatively affecting his performance at work. Problems and challenges pile up in front of him without the slightest opportunity for rest.

We all feel psychological pressure and extreme anxiety. The war hasn't been limited to external attacks but has deeply infiltrated our daily lives. We search among the rubble for a little safety and the basic resources for survival. Every day comes with a new challenge that we must overcome.

As we sway amidst the rubble of shattered dreams, our souls wrestle and our hearts beat strongly challenging the ravages of war.

Our parents earnestly seek a way to rescue us from this hell, feeling the heavy responsibility for every moment we spend under the shadows of fear and destruction. They dream of a safe place where they can build for us a better future, filled with security and hope, for we deserve life in all its meanings of comfort and peace.

Perhaps this fundraising campaign represents a light in the midst of darkness, it is indeed the only hope we cling to firmly.

I appeal to the world as a whole to hear my cry and the mournful cry of my family in Gaza. We need the helping hand that reaches out to wipe our tears and build a bridge to safety.

Your donation is not just a donation; it's an opportunity to rebuild life and brighten a better tomorrow. Be part of our hopeful story, for we need your hand to start anew.

The purpose of the fundraising campaign

The goal of this fundraising campaign is to rescue my family - my parents, my siblings, and me - through the Rafah Crossing to Egypt, which currently requires $5000 per person. This campaign is our only chance to stay alive, and I humbly request your assistance at this critical time. I will provide you with a comprehensive breakdown of the expenses, committing to transparency and clarity.

All of our important links are here https://linktr.ee/hayanahed

Verified by :

⭐️ operation olive branch, number 26 on their spreadsheet. (On Master list)

⭐️ Project watermelon,line 249 on their spreadsheet. Or you could see it as number 212 here is the photo for more clear proof

Thank you for your kindness and support.

.جزاكم الله خيراً

yours sincerely;

Haya Alshawish.

[willgrahamscock]

[oatmealspet]

Over 800 TAG members marched on Netflix & delivered a petition demanding the AMPTP keep #animation jobs #union, agree to AI protections & more. Show the AMPTP that you #standwithanimation. Sign your name next to the people that make the shows you love.

[badolmen]

WARNING 18+

19

[reasonsforhope]

If you're feeling anxious or depressed about the climate and want to do something to help right now, from your bed, for free...

Start helping with citizen science projects

What's a citizen science project? Basically, it's crowdsourced science. In this case, crowdsourced climate science, that you can help with!

You don't need qualifications or any training besides the slideshow at the start of a project. There are a lot of things that humans can do way better than machines can, even with only minimal training, that are vital to science - especially digitizing records and building searchable databases

Like labeling trees in aerial photos so that scientists have better datasets to use for restoration.

Or counting cells in fossilized plants to track the impacts of climate change.

Or digitizing old atmospheric data to help scientists track the warming effects of El Niño.

Or counting penguins to help scientists better protect them.

Those are all on one of the most prominent citizen science platforms, called Zooniverse, but there are a ton of others, too.

Oh, and btw, you don't have to worry about messing up, because several people see each image. Studies show that if you pool the opinions of however many regular people (different by field), it matches the accuracy rate of a trained scientist in the field.

--

I spent a lot of time doing this when I was really badly injured and housebound, and it was so good for me to be able to HELP and DO SOMETHING, even when I was in too much pain to leave my bed. So if you are chronically ill/disabled/for whatever reason can't participate or volunteer for things in person, I highly highly recommend.

Next time you wish you could do something - anything - to help

Remember that actually, you can. And help with some science.

[hansoeii]

look at you, you're gorgeous!

[bug-s0da]

blehhh...

i made an aa/lawyersona of @snapscube :3 we all know and love the lawyer+silly girl duos of ace attorney but it's about time the silly girl became the lawyer

[martyrbat]

the memes and jokes about biden dropping out are all great but PLEASE dont turn away and forget the victims of him directly funding a genocide. these are real people that are still being impacted by his cruelty, their tragedies are still ongoing and they need our support more than ever.

if I can suggest a Palestinian family to support, I'll highly recommend Yusuf and his family—who has been vetted for [here]. The GoFundMe breaks down the costs, including the urgent need for an eight year old child to have a kidney replacement, but only €8,404 is currently needed for his family to pay crossing and coordination fees!!

[callisteios]

i made a character uquiz. i 100% promise you that you will get a character you know AND like

[thundersbugs]

rich boy get your ass up and FIGHT!!!

[1st year au]

[brucie-baby]

the fact that alfred was the one to put up jason's memorial is so important to me

[willgrahamscock]

Why bother arguing in support of trans people if you’re not trans?

very simple concept called believing in human rights

[falesten-iw]

last night i was on the phone with my 74 year old mother in gaza trying to explain how tumblr is helping us stay alive and she cuts me off frustrated “tumblr? what even is that? how are these people with strange names and pictures gonna help when we don’t have bread? the children are hungry. this is genocide.” so i said mama these people are real they’re donating so we can survive and she scoffed “show me one of them actually helping” so i opened tumblr and read a message “mama a friend sent us $20 yesterday that’s how we bought two loaves of bread yesterday and another one shared our story with their friends” silence then she sighed “well god bless them even if their names and pictures are ridiculous” then she goes “thank you to everyone out there you’re the reason we’re still alive and please continue donating and sharing! your support truly makes a difference”.

if you can’t donate via gofundme you can use paypal instead please note that 110 sek is approximately 10 usd and 220 sek is around 20 usd.

Donate on GoFundMe: Link

Donate on Paypal: Link

Vetted and shared by @90-ghost: Link.

Verified and shared by @el-shab-hussein: Link

Listed as number 282 in "The Vetted Gaza Evacuation Fundraiser Spreadsheet" compiled by @el-shab-hussein and @nabulsi : Link

Listed on the Butterfly Effect Project, number 957: Link

Additionally, Al Jazeera News has documented apart of my family's case: Link

@tamamita @postanagramgenerator @mxwhore @rooh-afza @danijaci

@amygdalae @stuckinapril @neptunerings @sabertoothwalrus @ankle-beez

@inkskinned @akajustmerry @mxwhore @pissvortex @catgirl-kaiju

@pryexel48 @nillabean @mintaii @b0nkcreat @pitbolshevik

@balaclava-trismegistus @ripley-stark @irhabiya @gaynfl @afro-elf

@feluka @zsnes @bug-slappy @rikebe @comrademango

@txttletale @tpwrtrmnky @brittklein18 @lakesbian @shadowofmoth

@gauntletqueen @gauntletqueen @extremelycursedimages @evilponds @vacillator

@metamatar @joeyclaire @communist-ojou-sama @soul-hammer @omegaversereloaded

@chilewithcarnage @prokopetz @cowboy-queer @bluesturngold @determinate-negation

@a-scary-lack-of-common-sense

[aluminumneedles]

I'm knitting in the corner at a party

and guys my age stop by to tell me I remind them of their aunt, of their grandmother. This is a compliment and I take it as such. They confess to having tried crochet once, and I smile. They get back in line for the bathroom.

I'm knitting in the corner at a party and a queer woman sits on the floor next to me, arranges her skirt, and smiles up at me. (I try not to blush.) She asks me all the questions on her mind about my craft and I answer them, hands still moving. We swap yarn sources. She doesn't stay, but she knows where to find me.

I'm knitting in the corner at a party and everyone knows where to find me when they need a minute, when socializing is too much and the music is too loud and they need to catch their breath. They pretend to be checking in on me, which is sweet, but I can see the relief in their eyes the moment they stop performing for a house full of people. They sit down and tell me things and all the while they never take their eyes off my hands.

The party has wound down and I'm still knitting and the hosts, two guys in their twenties, thank me for "helping to curate the vibe." I had no idea that's what I was doing. I leave the party having forgotten to drink anything and without that woman's number but with many rows added to my top-down raglan sweater. I call it a night, and a good one.

[novelconcepts]

I Saw the TV Glow is such a uniquely, devastatingly queer story. Two queer kids trapped in suburbia. Both of them sensing something isn’t quite right with their lives. Both of them knowing that wrongness could kill them. One of them getting out, trying on new names, new places, new ways of being. Trying to claw her way to fully understanding herself, trying to grasp the true reality of her existence. Succeeding. Going back to help the other, to try so desperately to rescue an old friend, to show the path forward. Being called crazy. Because, to someone who hasn’t gotten out, even trying seems crazy. Feels crazy. Looks, on the surface, like dying.

And to have that other queer kid be so terrified of the internal revolution that is accepting himself that he inadvertently stays buried. Stays in a situation that will suffocate him. Choke the life out of him. Choke the joy out of him. Have him so terrified of possibly being crazy that he, instead, lives with a repression so extreme, it quite literally is killing him. And still, still, he apologizes for it. Apologizes over and over and over, to people who don’t see him. Who never have. Who never will. Because it’s better than being crazy. Because it’s safer than digging his way out. Killing the image everyone sees to rise again as something free and true and authentic. My god. My god, this movie. It shattered me.