Magnus Rosetta Stone

This is a quick translation guide for all friends of Magnus.

It's easiest to remember that there are consonants that he avoids pronoucing and substitutes with other consonants.  His vowel formation is not bad, but depending on word, it varies from "very good" to "sort of".  The consonant substitution is definitely the most challenging part.  He likes to map everything to a 'D' sound!

1. 'K' is pronounced like a 'D': e.g. "Car" = "Dar", "Kick" = "Deek"
2. 'G' is pronounced like a 'D': e.g. "Gonggong" = "Dongdong", "Gone" = "Done", "Yogurt" = "Yodurt" 
3. 'T' is pronounced like a 'D': e.g. "That" = "Dat", "Water" = "Wa-da"
4. 'V' is pronounced like a 'B': e.g.  "Avocado" = "Abodado"
5. 'L' is pronounced like a 'Y': e.g. "Light" = "Yight"
6. 'S' is pronounced like a 'D': e.g. "Soup" = "Doop", "Applesauce" = "Appledod"
7. 'F' is pronounced like a 'D': e.g. "Four" = "Door", "Five" = "Dibe"
8. 'R' is pronounced like a 'W': e.g. "Rain" = "Ween"

In the past 3-4 weeks, Magnus has really started to enjoy talking, and more importantly enjoys making an effort to say new words.   My parents speak a lot of Cantonese around him, and he's been pretty good at picking up Cantonese words too:

• "yut yee sam" - 1 2 3.. he picked this up much more quickly than the English version, although he has been hearing the English numbers for much much longer and far more frequently. 
• "mei duc!" - not finished yet
• "lo dong!" - husband (often said by my mother in exasperation - note magnus substitutes the 'G' sound for the 'D' as usual)