Mr. Shrimp & Sammy

Here you'll meet our characters Mr. Shrimp and his pal Sammy the Shark. Take a look and listen what happens when they meet on the beach on a particularly beautiful and sunny day. Then continue with the exercise below.


Shrimp: Well, hello there, Sammy the Shark!
Sammy: Hello, Mister Shrimp, how's life?
Shrimp: Err... I think this is sealife...
Sammy: Sealife indeed! Sea is very beautiful today!
Shrimp: Who do you mean?
Sammy: I mean seashore.
Shrimp: Oh, is she sick? That's shocking!
Sammy: No, there's no shock. Only sand and shingle.
Shrimp: Well, it's nice that she is single...
Sammy: Not she. I mean ocean.
Shrimp: Oh... By the way, have you seen Sally the Shellfish today?
Sammy: Yeah, Sally the shellfish, I saw her creeping into her shell earlier today.
Shrimp: In my opinion, she is not selfish at all! And what is she doing in a cell? Is she in trouble?
Sammy: I don't think so. I just saw her when she rushed away at the beach.
Shrimp: Oh, gosh, that awful! Is there anything we could do to help her?
Sammy: Nah, she's fine. Hey, I almost forgot! There's a party at my place next month. Are you coming?
Shrimp: Maybe, who else is coming?
Sammy: At least one shoal.
Shrimp: Oh, that sounds... fun.
Sammy: Yes, I thought it would be nice to take a sip together.
Shrimp: Well... I don't know if I can afford it.
Sammy: No problem. It's a month away so you have time to save money.
Shrimp: I don't know but I'm getting really confused. I think I'll see you later.
Sammy: Okay, see you later, pal! Don't get fished.
Shrimp: Thanks... You too, I guess...


In this dialogue, a number of misunderstandings occur, due to Sammy's poor pronunciation: in particular, his inability to distinguish between English 's' and 'sh' -type sibilants. Write down the words where Sammy makes the mistakes on the left hand column of the table. Use the context to come up with words he meant to say and write them down on right hand column, for example, srimp = shrimp.
Check your answers. How many did you find?


Mark your answers here:


Notice that in one of the word pairs the misunderstanding does not occur in the sibilants but in final voicing. Congratulate yourself if you manage to find this, as well!

 

 

 

 

 

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