No wonder French food is so good.
Gateau and Cadeau definitely sound alike.
If you look at both words from a vocal production point of view, you will notice something very interesting. The first sound in both words is velar, meaning that it is produced using the soft palate. In gateau it is a voiced velar consonant, in cadeau it is an unvoiced velar consonant. The second sound in both words is the identical vowel. The third sound is alveolar, meaning that it is produced using the blade of the tongue and the ridge of the gum behind the upper teeth. In gateau it is an unvoiced alveolar consonant, in cadeau it is a voiced alveolar consonant. The fourth sound in both words, like the second, is identical. At this point you are probably hearing yourself say, “Who cares?”, to which I respond, “Let me continue…” If we compare the component sounds of each of these words, we find that both include the exact same parts: a velar consonant and an alveolar consonant, one of which is voiced, one of which is not, and identical vowels.
(For those of you who’s French vocabulary is not large enough to have that certain, je ne sais quoi, gateau means cake, and cadeau means gift.)
The obvious conclusion to be made is that the early speakers of the French language were wise enough to see that cake and gifts were either interchangeable and/or always present at the same time. Meaning that when a cake is required a gift will suffice, and vice versa. Or, of course, when a cake is required, it is to be implied that a gift is required also. And, if necessary, cake is to be considered a gift, unless of course, you paid for it.
You may at this time be asking, “When is a cake required?” to which I respond, “When is it not?”
So…if you find yourself in a situation where cake is present, but you haven’t been presented with the gift, remember that the cake can be considered as the gift itself. However, if you paid for the cake (which cannot be considered as the gift in this case), and there is no other gift to be seen, remember this simple phrase: “Je ne parle pas Francais” and that should save you any embarrassment.
If you look at both words from a vocal production point of view, you will notice something very interesting. The first sound in both words is velar, meaning that it is produced using the soft palate. In gateau it is a voiced velar consonant, in cadeau it is an unvoiced velar consonant. The second sound in both words is the identical vowel. The third sound is alveolar, meaning that it is produced using the blade of the tongue and the ridge of the gum behind the upper teeth. In gateau it is an unvoiced alveolar consonant, in cadeau it is a voiced alveolar consonant. The fourth sound in both words, like the second, is identical. At this point you are probably hearing yourself say, “Who cares?”, to which I respond, “Let me continue…” If we compare the component sounds of each of these words, we find that both include the exact same parts: a velar consonant and an alveolar consonant, one of which is voiced, one of which is not, and identical vowels.
(For those of you who’s French vocabulary is not large enough to have that certain, je ne sais quoi, gateau means cake, and cadeau means gift.)
The obvious conclusion to be made is that the early speakers of the French language were wise enough to see that cake and gifts were either interchangeable and/or always present at the same time. Meaning that when a cake is required a gift will suffice, and vice versa. Or, of course, when a cake is required, it is to be implied that a gift is required also. And, if necessary, cake is to be considered a gift, unless of course, you paid for it.
You may at this time be asking, “When is a cake required?” to which I respond, “When is it not?”
So…if you find yourself in a situation where cake is present, but you haven’t been presented with the gift, remember that the cake can be considered as the gift itself. However, if you paid for the cake (which cannot be considered as the gift in this case), and there is no other gift to be seen, remember this simple phrase: “Je ne parle pas Francais” and that should save you any embarrassment.
posted by Anonymous at 2/15/2005 12:08:00 PM
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