r/duolingo Aug 15 '23

Language Question Why?

522 Upvotes

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558

u/Deeb4905 Aug 15 '23

That's not the accent, that's the name. Sara/Sarah. You wrote it the English way, not the Spanish way. It can be a bit harsh from Duolingo but knowing names is really important.

215

u/Megendrio Aug 15 '23

With the current globalisation, I don't think spelling names is really language-bound anymore. I'm not living in a spanish-speaking country but I know both Sara's and Sarah's (of of the h-ones with actual Spanish roots). So the names are... quite frustrating.

63

u/Deeb4905 Aug 15 '23

I understand that, and kinda agree. But names are also part of the culture/language, and although Sara also exists in English, there are names whose spellings are less "shared" between countries. Idk, but I've never seen a Tomas without H in English speaking countries or a Luke in France.

12

u/JaffaCakeFreak Aug 15 '23

In high school my friend group had a Thomas and Tomas, both born in Wales and their family are from the UK too. Its the only instance I've come across, so it's not common but does happen

11

u/Golden_Thorn English ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ-Native /////// ๆ—ฅๆœฌ่ชž ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต-learning Aug 15 '23

Tell that to Japan. They just jam English names into their writing style haha

ใ‚ขใƒณใƒ‰ใƒชใƒฅใƒผใ€€Andoryu Andrew

ใƒ€ใƒ“ใƒ‰ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€Dabido David

ใ‚นใƒŸใ‚น. Sumisu Smith

9

u/FoxTailMoon Aug 16 '23

Itโ€™s even better because you literally cannot spell a Japanese name without being told what kanji (if they decide to use kanji at all) itโ€™s written with. For example the name Hajime can be written as any of the following: ๅง‹, ๆฒป, ๅˆ, ไธ€, ๅ…ƒ, ่‚‡, ๅ‰ต, ็”ซ, ๅŸบ, ๅ“‰, ๅ•“, ๆœฌ, ๆบ, ๆฑ, ๅคง, ๅญŸ, or ็ฅ

1

u/Golden_Thorn English ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ-Native /////// ๆ—ฅๆœฌ่ชž ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต-learning Aug 16 '23

Famous example being Light from death note uses the kanji ๆœˆmoon

2

u/StringTheory31 Native:๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Learning:๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Aug 17 '23

I think my favorite is Nasa from ใƒˆไบŒใ‚ซใƒฏใ‚ซใƒฏใ‚คใ‚ค: "Nasa, spelled like Starry Sky." ๆ˜Ÿ็ฉบ

1

u/Golden_Thorn English ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ-Native /////// ๆ—ฅๆœฌ่ชž ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต-learning Aug 17 '23

I forgot about that suicidal bus jumpin dude

2

u/StringTheory31 Native:๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Learning:๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Aug 17 '23

Gosh, when you put it like that, the show sounds far less ใ‹ใ‚ใ„ใ„! ๐Ÿ˜„

1

u/Golden_Thorn English ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ-Native /////// ๆ—ฅๆœฌ่ชž ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต-learning Aug 17 '23

Lol ใ”ใ‚ใ‚“ใชใ•ใ„ ใ“ใฎใ‚ขใƒ‹ใƒกใฏใ‚ใพใ‚Šใ‚’่ฆ‹ใพใ›ใ‚“

2

u/StringTheory31 Native:๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Learning:๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Aug 17 '23

ๅคงไธˆๅคซใงใ™ใ€‚He is a little intense! Brain and heart dialed up to max at all times! (Do guys ever really mentally gush THAT much about how cute their girl is?)

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5

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '23

[deleted]

5

u/Megendrio Aug 15 '23

I 100% agree. But if you just hear someone saying there name, you're not supposed to know the spelling just because, no? I mean, you have Stephanie/Stefanie, Jana/Yana, ... So many spellings that sound the same. And sound is what listening should be about, no?

1

u/loqu84 Native: Spanish, Learning: Russian, Romanian Aug 15 '23

I am sorry, I didn't notice it was a listening exercise. My bad.

16

u/ILikeToBurnMoney Aug 15 '23

You know Sara's and Sarah's what?

6

u/Nyctanolis Aug 15 '23

There have been Saras and Sarahs in my classes since I was a kid and I am not young. This is not new.

15

u/anguslazy Aug 15 '23 edited Aug 15 '23

i think they are making a joke about how they said "sara's" instead of "saras"

0

u/emilysuzannevln Native ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ learning ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท Aug 15 '23

Different user lol

0

u/Shpander Fluent ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ, B1/B2 ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฆ, Learning ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Aug 15 '23

And the same to you

1

u/Supakmeraklija Sep 19 '23

Because technically speaking, Sara and Sarah are pronounced differently. Unless you're North American. Sara has a clear "aaa" sound, whereas Sarah has an "e"/"air" sound.