Absolutely correct! --- At a different level, but what you said made me think of Spain. I lived there for 8 years, and one of the things that startled me the most was their relationship with English language.

During the dictature they were very linguistically isolated and English was not widely taught until quite recently. My theory is that their lengthy lack of exposition to English (music, movies, etc) made it harder for them to "acquire" the phonetic codes. This is why, with certain audiences, pronouncing a given English word in English is seen quite snobbish.

My obvious comparison is Mexico. For instance, I think of my grand parents: They didn't know/learned a word of English, but they were able to pronounce English names of songs, actors, politicians, etc. because they were more exposed to English language than their Spanish counterparts, and they intuitively acquired the phonetic codes.

All of this to say that you are right, difference always nourishes.

Source author: Liliana Oliva Bernal loliva@sre.gob.mx