much　too　neatly　into　our　lap　–　liar；　mole…yay。　It’s　a　setup。　It’s　not　real。　Very　few　words
  will　cooperate　with　the　system　once　you　tackle　the　real　world！”
  And　he’s　right！　The　words　we’ve　been　subjecting　to　the　memory　system　so　far　are
  automatics。　They　fall　right　into　your　lap　with　self　suggesting　images。　Only　a　small
  percentage　of　words　will　fall　into　the　system　as　facilely　as　the　automatics。　More；　many
  more　than　you　imagine；　will　fit　automatically　into　the　system；　but　far　from　enough　to
  conquer　another　language。　Never　mind！　Behind　the　words　that　fit　neatly　into　the　system
  are　many　times　that　number　of　words　that；　while　fitting　nowhere　nearly　as　neatly；　can
  nonetheless　take　you　so　close　to　the　target　word　that　true　memory　can　easily　complete　the
  job。　We　call　those　words　almosters。　Of　our　four　groups　–　automatics；　almosters；
  toughies；　and　impossibles　–　the　almosters　make　up　by　far　the　single　biggest　category。
  Let’s　demonstrate。
  The　Chinese　word　for　“lobster”　is　transliterated　as　low…shah；　pronounced　very
  much　like　LOAN…shark。　If　you　imagine　that　lobster　is　so　expensive　you　need　a　loan　shark
  to　negotiate　a　lobster　lunch；　true　memory　will　easily　putt　you　from　loan…shark　to　low…
  shah。
  Shrimp　in　Indonesian　is　gambiri；　pronounced　gam　to　rhyme　with　“Tom”　followed
  by　“beery”　（gam…BI…ri）。　You　complain　to　your　waiter　in　Indonesia　that　the　chewing　gum
  he　served　you　tastes　awfully　beery。　He　advises　you　it’s　not　chewing　gum；　it’s　shrimp。
  Your　putt　will　take　you　from　GUM…beery　to　GAM…beery。
  The　Serbo…Croatian　word　for　“spoon”　is　kasika；　pronounced　KASH　（to　rhyme　with
  “gosh”）…ee…kah。
  You　want　to　get　a　spoon　in　Belgrade。　They　send　you　outside　the　hotel　to　a　cash…
  and…carry　to　get　a　spoon　if　you　want　one。
  Or　if　you’re　familiar　with　the　Eastern　grain　called　kasha　（buckwheat　groats）；　you
  can　imagine　dipping　you　spoon　into　a　bowl　of　kasha　in　the　back　seat　of　your　car。　True
  memory　will　carry　you　from　kasha…car　to　KASH…ee…ka。
  “Spoon；”　then；　equals　KASH…ee…ka。
  The　Italian　word　for　“day”　is　giorno；　pronounced　JUR　（as　in　“jury”）…no。　You’re
  eagerly　awaiting　the　outcome　of　a　legal　action；　but　the　jury　has　been　tied　up　all　day　with
  no　verdict。　Even　stronger　would　be　the　notion　of　eagerly　awaiting　the　outcome　of　the　trial
  and　learning　that　the　whole　day　went　by　without　the　jury　even　showing　up！　All　day　and
  jury　no。
  “Day”　equals　JUR…no。
  “Humid”　in　Farsi　is　martoob；　pronounced　mar　（as　in　“marshal”）…TOOB　（as　in
  “tube”）。　It’s　so　dry　in　Central　Iran　that　in　order　to　provide　comfortable　humidity　in　your
  room；　the　maritime　authorities　arranged　to　bring　water　in　through　a　tube。
  True　memory　will　easily　let　you　lop　off　all　but　the　first　syllable　of　“maritime”　and
  change　the　vowel　from　the　a　as　in　“maritime”　to　a　as　in　“marshal”　so　that　humidity　equals
  mar…TOOB。
  “Banana”　in　Indonesian　is　pisang；　pronounced　PEA…song；　the　second　syllable
  rhyming　with　the　cong　in　“conga”。　You’d　long　heard　of　jungle　magic　in　the　outer　islands
  of　Indonesia；　but　you　never　really　believed　it　until　you　went　to　the　local　grocer　looking
  for　bananas。　You　don’t　see　bananas　anywhere。　You　ask　if　he　has　any　bananas。　Sure；　he
  says；　plenty。　“Excuse　me；”　you　say；　“I　don’t　see　any。”　Be　patient；　he　begs　you；　until　he
  finishes　with　a　customer。
  When　it’s　your　turn　he　asks　you　how　many　bananas　you　want。　You　reply；　half　a
  dozen。　He　then　takes　six　peas　and　sings　them　a　mysterious　little　song。　Before　your
  bewildered　eyes；　they　turn　into　bananas！　The　peas　that　were　sung　to　became　bananas。
  Your　only　putt　is　to　make　the　final　vowel　sound　like　the　o　in　“conga。”
  So　“banana”　equals　PEA…song。
  The　Spanish　word　for　“to　iron”　is　planchar；　pronounced　plan　（to　rhyme　with
  “Don”）…CHAR　（as　in　“charcoal”）。　The　hotel　in　Madrid　has　an　excellent　reputation；　with
  only　a　single　and　rather　bizarre　lapse。　Apparently　a　maid　with　too　much　seniority　to　be
  fired　has　a　habit　of　leaving　the　iron　on　the　backside　of　the　trousers　so　long　it　leaves　burn
  marks　the　size　of　the　iron　itself　smack　across　both　buttocks。
  You　have　no　choice。　Your　pants　need　ironing　and　you’ve　got　to　take　your　chances。
  To　improve　your　odds　you　gingerly　approach　the　concierge　and　say；　“　Excuse　me；　sir。
  Could　you　please　find　out　if　the　maid　plans　to　iron　these　pants　correctly　or　if　she　plans　to
  char　them？”　Your　putt　is　to　carry　the　plan　sound　from　one　rhyming　with　“tan”　over　to
  one　rhyming　with　“Don。”
  “To　iron”　equals　plan…CHAR。
  The　Indonesian　word　for　“donkey”　is　keledai；　pronounced　almost　exactly　like　“call
  it　a　day”　without　the　it。　That’s　what　donkeys　in　hot　climates　are　reputed　to　want　to　do
  after　carrying　their　loads；　and　that’s　what　we’ll　do　now　with　this　particular　series　of
  examples。
  Un…American　Sounds
  So　far　we’ve　shied　away　from　words　containing　sounds　that　don’t　exist　in　English。　The
  real　world　won’t　be　so　protective。
  “Un…American”　sounds　are　exaggerated　as　an　obstacle　to　progress　in　most
  languages。　I　say　that　not　because　it’s　unimportant　to　master　the　sounds　correctly；　but
  because　most　of　them　will　enter　your　repertoire　automatically　with　practice。　The　trilled　r
  in　Spanish；　the　French　r　that　sounds　as　though　it　issues　from　inside　the　pituitary　gland；
  the　half…sh　half…guttural　in　German；　the　double　consonant　in　Finnish；　the　many　umlauted
  u’s　and　a’s　and　o’s　in　the　various　European　languages　will　all　be　explained　in　your
  grammars；　and　better　than　explained　on　your　cassettes：　they’ll　be　pronounced。
  Many　languages　carry　so　many　markings　and　so　many　different　kinds　of　markings
  over　and　under　certain　of　their　letters　you　may　be　intimidated。　Almost　all　of　them　are
  empty　threats；　despite　their　sinister　looking　foreignness；　they　don’t　convey　any　sounds
  we　don’t　have　in　English。
  The　two　dots　over　certain　a’s　in　Swedish　simply　tell　you　that　particular　letter　is
  pronounced　as　the　first　a　in　“accurate。”　Without　the　dots；　it’s　the　a　in　“father。”　There’s　no
  need　to　run　from　the　Norwegian　o　with　a　line　slicing　diagonally　down　through　it：　the　first
  e　sound　in　“Gertrude”　is　close　enough。　Languages　with　the　double　consonant　spend　far
  too　much　time　warning　us　Americans　that　this　is　something　strange　to　us。　It　is　not
  strange。　We　have　double　consonants　too；　maybe　not　inside　the　same　word；　but　definitely
  inside　the　same　phrase。
  We　pronounce　the　last　sound　of　the　first　word　and　the　first　sound　of　the　last　word　in
  “late　train。”　We　don’t　say　“lay　train。”　So　much　for　the　frightening　double　consonant。
  We’ll　make　no　attempt　here　to　teach　you　the　“click”　sounds　of　some　of　the
  languages　in　South　Africa　or　the　larynx　twisting　sounds　of　the　Georgian　language　spoken
  in　Soviet　Georgia　that　actually　sounds　like　paper　ripping　inside　the　speaker’s　throat。
  Those　sounds　are　unrepeatable　for　most　Americans　and　the　languages　in　which　they
  appear　are　mercifully　obscure。
  There　is　really　only　one　sound　that　doesn’t　exist　in　English　that　we’re　obliged　to
  learn　well；　and　that’s　the　guttural　common　in　Hebrew；　Arabic；　Russian；　Dutch；　and
  several　other　languages。
  Most　textbooks　are　notoriously　weak　in　conveying　that　sound。　They　know　they’re
  committing　consumer　fraud　when；　as　they　frequently　do；　they　merely　advise　the
  American　student　to　“approximate　the　ch　sound　in　the　German　name　‘Bach’　or　the　final
  sound　in　the　Scottish　word　‘Loch。’”
  However；　“Bach”　is　not　pronounced　bak。　“Loch”　is　not　pronounced　lock。
  “Chanukah”　is　not　pronounced　Ha…na…ka。　The　trick　is　to　learn　how　to　make　the　real
  sound。
  The　best　method；　though　perhaps　inelegant；　is　to　imagine　that　you’re　about　to　say
  the　plain　old　h　sound；　and　suddenly　you　feel　a　terrible　tickle　in　the　middle　of　your　throat。
  The　original　h　sound　then　becomes　lost　in　all　the　other　powerful　things　you　now　do。
  Clear　your　throat　violently　to　eject　the　irritant　causing　that　tickle。　You　will　then　have　the
  “Chanukah”　sound；　the　“Bach”　sound；　the　“Loch”　sound；　the　“chutzpah”　sound。
  That　sound　has　no　natural　parents　in　the　English　language。　It’s　up　for　adoption。
  Stop　and　think　what　image　comes　easily　to　your　mind　that　can　make　you　hear　that　sound。
  Don’t　be　afraid　to　exaggerate　it。　Then　tone　it　down。　Dry　it　out。　It　will　soon　be　as
  serviceable　and　comfortable　as　the　sounds　you　grew　up　with。
  Gender
  The　Harry　Lorayne　method　of　remembering　the　gender　of　nouns　in　foreign　languages
  makes　you　feel　downright　foolish　for　not　having　thought　of　it　yourself！
  In　some　languages　you　have　to　remember　the　gender　of　nouns　in　order　to　adjust　the
  articles　or　the　endings　of　the　adjectives　that　go　with　them。　All　the　Romance　languages　–
  Spanish；　French；　Italian；　Protugese；　Romanian；　etc。　–　have　masculine　and　feminine
  gender。　Usually；　but　far　from　always；　you　can　figure　which　is　which　by　the　word’s
  ending：　o　for　masculine；　a　for　feminine。　French；　however；　conceals　gender　clues　with
  noun　endings　as　unrevealing　as　bat