Otto Klotz Diary - September 24, 1887 (Vol 10)
Dublin Core
Title
Otto Klotz Diary - September 24, 1887 (Vol 10)
Creator
Klotz, Otto, 1852-1923.
Source
Part of R6645-0-4-E (LAC)
Publisher
Stakeholders Project
Date
1887-09-24
Contributor
University of Ottawa Library
Faculty of Arts
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Format
Diary entry
Type
Text
Identifier
Klotz_Vol10_1887_09_24
Scripto
Transcription
pleasant
I have commenced writing an article on “The electric current in the Determination of Longitude + apparatus used.” I never go to bed till near morning + sleep then till noon. As it is generally too cool to sit in my observatory at night I go to the station close by, but arm myself with my [hop] of insect powder strewing a semicircle on on each of the two tables between which I sit and [think] “insulate” myself from things [_______]. For the night operator a Frenchman they seem to have a peculiar predisposition, for frequently he puts his hand to his neck and says “anudder one” and [_______] it to the flame of the lamp. For recreation I sometimes speak French with him, he correcting me in any mistakes I may make. It is a peculiarity that man finds difficulty in pronouncing certain sounds of a foreign language. Neither the Chinaman nor Pacific Gray indian can pronounce the letters for r, for the formen they use p, for the latter l if it is at the beginning of a word and when final -ah-. The Frenchman + German have difficulty in giving the English th sound, using therefore d or t; again the French + English stumble at the German ch. I had some amusing experiments with Arthur the night operator. I requested him to say “wasp’s nest” but his effort invariably resulted in “waspis nest” or “wappis nest.” When he attempted to say “[__ ___ ____]” he at first failed completely in the ch sound, finally he could say ich passably well but could not immediately after say Dich, so that the nearest approach he made to the above sentence was “[____ ___ ____]” in meaning “somewhat” different from that intended.
I received several letters from home tonight + felt happy. My mail service is very irregular.
I have commenced writing an article on “The electric current in the Determination of Longitude + apparatus used.” I never go to bed till near morning + sleep then till noon. As it is generally too cool to sit in my observatory at night I go to the station close by, but arm myself with my [hop] of insect powder strewing a semicircle on on each of the two tables between which I sit and [think] “insulate” myself from things [_______]. For the night operator a Frenchman they seem to have a peculiar predisposition, for frequently he puts his hand to his neck and says “anudder one” and [_______] it to the flame of the lamp. For recreation I sometimes speak French with him, he correcting me in any mistakes I may make. It is a peculiarity that man finds difficulty in pronouncing certain sounds of a foreign language. Neither the Chinaman nor Pacific Gray indian can pronounce the letters for r, for the formen they use p, for the latter l if it is at the beginning of a word and when final -ah-. The Frenchman + German have difficulty in giving the English th sound, using therefore d or t; again the French + English stumble at the German ch. I had some amusing experiments with Arthur the night operator. I requested him to say “wasp’s nest” but his effort invariably resulted in “waspis nest” or “wappis nest.” When he attempted to say “[__ ___ ____]” he at first failed completely in the ch sound, finally he could say ich passably well but could not immediately after say Dich, so that the nearest approach he made to the above sentence was “[____ ___ ____]” in meaning “somewhat” different from that intended.
I received several letters from home tonight + felt happy. My mail service is very irregular.
Text Item Type Metadata
Filename
Klotz_Vol10_1887_09_24.pdf
Files
Collection
Citation
Klotz, Otto, 1852-1923., “Otto Klotz Diary - September 24, 1887 (Vol 10),” stakeholders, accessed September 20, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/stakeholders/items/show/497.