Imagine you’re learning a language called Kwarben, with difficult pronunciation and complicated grammar, and you’re utterly dependent on people who speak only this language. You’re very hungry. You try your best to ask for scrambled eggs—kwazikrai—but the only response you get is, “F’wij troyk thwarpel, brigahzee par klafik” (which means, “I don’t understand you; speak more clearly”). Feeling frustrated, you try again, shouting “Kwazikrai!” Your host responds in Kwarben, saying, “I can’t hear you when you shout.” How long will it be before you give up, or cry, or throw a shoe at your host?
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