After having a drink with Frank, Wayne
has got home, and is telling Annie what happened in
the interview, and about his conversation with Frank.
Wayne:
Babe, do you also think that correct spelling is important?
Annie:
Yeah, I think so. Correct spelling is of course important.
What's going on, hon?
Wayne:
Well, it's just that the interview I went to this afternoon.
I didn't do quite well.
Annie:
What do you mean you didn't do quite well?
Wayne:
My spelling is crook,
as you already know. And it happened that the manager who
interviewed me was extremely picky about
the correctness of spelling. He knocked
back all the applicants
who had got wrong spelling in their CVs. For him, wrong spelling
was like a
pain in the neck.
Annie:
Don't worry, hon. Since you're not knocked back at the first
stage, I suppose you're not the pain in his neck.
After a few seconds, it came to Annie
that...
Annie:
Unless you wrote something...
Wayne:
What?
Annie:
Did you fill out any documents
in the interview?
Wayne:
Yeah, I did, and that's why I'm so worrying now.
Annie:
Why didn't you keep a close eye on your
spelling?
Wayne:
I did, and that's what caused the problem. The more I wanted
to make sure my spelling was correct, the more confusion
I got. I checked and revised my spelling again and again.
But when I told Frank in the bar about that, he told
me all of my corrections were wrong.
Annie:
You corrected the words of correct spelling to wrong spelling.
So you then hand in a paper with words of wrong spelling.
Well, that really sounds like a recipe
for disaster.
Wayne:
Yeah, to satisfy the taste of bitterness. You know, English
words are not spelt based on any logical rules. For example,
why couldn't I spell "supersede"
with "C-E-D-E",
like "intercede"
or "precede"?
Annie:
So you spelt "supersede" with "C-E-D-E"?
Wayne:
Yeah, because I just applied the knowledge about the spelling
of "intercede"
or "precede" to
"supersede" even though I'd never actually
used that word in my writing before. And also, "liquefy".
Why is it "L-I- Q-U-E-F-Y, not "L-I-Q-U-I-F-Y? Isn't it related
to liquid? I made mistakes for applying some spelling rules,
which are to be broken in English. I know too much, so I'm
too smart to get the spelling right, I reckon.
Annie:
I don't think it's because you're too smart; instead, it's
because they're derived
from Latin.
English is not a perfect language itself. We need heaps of
foreign words or word-roots to express the world around us.
Wayne:
You're losing me, babe. Use English, please.
Annie:
Ok, take "broccoli" as
an example, one of the green vegies allowed to appear on
your vegie menu. "Broccoli" is derived from
Italian; or
"lieutenant",
your father's rank in the Air Force. That's from French;
or "insomnia",
the title of the film we watched last week. That's also from
Latin; and also......
Wayne:
Really! That's cool. So, it means that I also speak Italian,
French, and even Latin.
Annie:
Well, if thinking that knowing "broccoli"
means knowing Italian can make you happy, then 'yes', you
can speak heaps of languages.
Wayne:
Woo, that's really cool. Then, how about Chinese, Japanese
or Korean? Do I speak those languages?
Annie:
Well, let me think...... "kung
fu", "dim
sum" and "mahjong"
are from Chinese; "sushi" and "karate"
are from Japanese; then Korean...oh, "kimchi"
is from Korean.
Wayne:
I didn't know I am so multi-lingual. See, I'm a genius.
Annie:
Ok, it's great news to finally know that my hubby is a genius.
So, did you get the result after the interview?
Wayne:
No, the jury was still out when
I left the company.
Annie:
Anyway, no worries, hon. You're home now, so just put
your feet up, forget about the interview, and then
I'll make you a cup of coffee, and you get a dictionary
for your leisure reading.
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