Ya'll come!

I was watching a video today on the website ted.com
which is a compilation of an annual conference focused on technology, the arts etc. and very expensive to attend. But they put all their speakers on the web and it is a good resource.

The speaker was from South Carolina but started talking about Hungary (for a bit). Now he admits he doesn't even have a drop of Hungarian blood. But his heavy southern accented speech reminded me of some old friends (both deceased) from back in the 70s.

Walter and Edelwiess Kaschel. They were Brazilians from Sao Paolo. They had come to my work in Akron, Ohio to help translate a TV program into Portuguese. Walter had spent years as the voice of Billy Graham in Brazil. He served as the on-stage translator for Graham's rallies in Brazil. They were the sweetest couple I may have ever known. By the time I met them both were in their 60s and I was a young man in my mid-20s.

The point of this is to remark on their spoken English. Both spoke impeccable English having been trained as translators and serving in this challenging profession for decades.

But in the 50s they came to the U.S. to study at a Bible school. It happened to be in southern Louisiana. If you've ever heard any native Louisianian speakers then you can appreciate the humor here. Here they were, temporary immigrants to the U.S., in northern Ohio which is known for its lack of discernible accent, and they would jump from their perfect Brazilian Portuguese into the patois of a Cajun and back to Portuguese. I guess just like a child grows up with an accent that reflects who he grows up hearing, some if not all non-native English speakers are going to adopt the cadences and accents of the people they hear speaking English. As a kid in Texas we used to see these commercials for Wolf brand chili and their spokesperson was Justin Wilson; a Cajun comedian. If you've heard Mr. Wilson, you know the accent I am talking about.

I only spent about a year or so working with them but they were and are special people.

God Bless both of them.