Most adults I know who study a foreign language do so in order to speak it, perhaps visit that country. In languages that build words from letters, the phonemes are important to meaning. Obviously “heresy” is very different from “hearsay,” but sow and sow are different words that sound different, while sew and so are also different but sound the same. It’s especially important in order to appreciate literature, poetry, music, and jokes.

Personally I cut cubes first, makes freezing and thawing easier. Drain but don’t press. Spread in a layer until frozen, then you can put into a bag or container.

When English-speaking kids are taught to read, and to spell, it’s very much an out-loud process, using phonics, and methodically covers the various pronunciation of all the letters’ sounds. “Sound it out” is the first step in decoding written words. Then of course there’s using context clues to figure out what word you’ve heard before could be spelled using those letters’ possible sounds. And it’s not until later, once all the common rules and exceptions of pronunciation are automatic, that you start “reading to learn” and attempt words you’ve never heard before.

Tbf, you’re not wrong about the inconsistency of English, it’s because we stole words, phrases, entire dialects from so many sources. And sometimes we kept the original pronunciation, other times we rudely imposed our phonetic expectations of the time and place when we stole them. Also the “correct” pronunciation for many words is different in different English-speaking countries.

On the plus side for you, that means most people are pretty lenient about what we consider “fluent,” and make allowances for accent. Unless they’re a racist asshole in the first place. When you mispronounce a word because you’re following phonetic rules but that word breaks them, most of us can recognize that version because we did the same thing when learning to read.

Invites? Demands!

In B4 someone blames the Left

Israeli experts in using sexual violence as a genocidal strategy, eh?

Agreed, although I prefer silicone rather than rubber these days, it holds up better with heat.

They start small, and get big like that if they’re undisturbed. Show up in lawns sometimes too. Taste sour, in a nice way.

I live in Los Angeles and just happen to have a grocery store within easy walking distance. Like 0.5 km. But I don’t, because the old nice little convenience store got turned into stupid Whole Foods. Or Mold Foods, as we started calling it after trying some of their groceries. Now I drive a mile to where I can get fresher produce and dairy, and paper towels that don’t disintegrate with the first touch of liquid. Or we get our groceries delivered.

What do we think this kid really got into?

If he’s really scalded I don’t wanna be laughing

Ron Perlman

Good points, both would be good.

But, $GOP$

True, and maybe it would make sense for the county (or a cellphone company?) to invest in strategically located towers so that cell service would be less spotty in general there? Not just for this kind of emergency but also lost hikers etc.

Good points. It’s too bad someone ruined a pretty funny joke with AI slop.

…Or is it perhaps a sign the robots are stealing our boyfriends?!?

Now he can grow up to be a SPICY butterfly!

Oh sorry, family word maybe? A child cheater is a flexible spatula (rubber or silicone) rounded on one side, that scrapes all the yummy cake batter out of the bowl and into the baking pan, leaving not enough to lick.

Let’s see Mr and Mrs Bezos out there volunteering first. It’s a wholesome honeymoon activity!

The grotesquely wealthy contribute a much smaller proportion of their income to the economy than those of modest or meager earnings, simply because they sit on most of it. It does them no good, it does nobody any good. It needs to be returned to the churn of commerce, and used to turn on the lights and water for society.

IF, and we all know that’s a big IF, the disgustingly rich all started to compete with each other in philanthropy, funding this and that needy cause (not political shenanigans, actual aid) throughout society, they might argue taxation wasn’t necessary. They’d still be wrong, because the distribution should be according to need rather than the giver’s interests. But at least they’d have a point. But right now they just hoard, without even the honor of dragons, more like trolls or gollums.

The grotesquely wealthy contribute a much smaller proportion of their income to the economy than those of modest or meager earnings, simply because they sit on most of it. It does them no good, it does nobody any good. It needs to be returned to the churn of commerce, and used to turn on the lights and water for society.

IF, and we all know that’s a big IF, the disgustingly rich all started to compete with each other in philanthropy, funding this and that needy cause (not political shenanigans, actual aid) throughout society, they might argue taxation wasn’t necessary. They’d still be wrong, because the distribution should be according to need rather than the giver’s interests. But at least they’d have a point. But right now they just hoard, without even the honor of dragons, more like trolls or gollums.