Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
    AK>  In English there are lots of similar sounding words   
    AK>  and word combinations.   
      
      
             Yes, and for exactly that reason many jokes in English are puns.  :-)   
      
      
      
    AK>  I suspect that a person should point his finger at,   
    AK>  before saying "gimme your knaki" ;=)   
      
      
             In such direct encounters we rely heavily on gestures & body   
   language at times, as you say.  In written communication we may use different   
   spellings. But it does help when people get to know one another too....  :-)   
      
      
      
    AH>  Dallas & I are often asked   
      
    AK>  "Dallas & I" == "Dallas & me"?   
      
      
             Passive voice:   
      
                   I am often asked (something).   
                   He is often asked (something).   
                   We are often asked (something).   
      
      
             Active voice:   
      
                   People often ask me (something).   
                   People often ask him (something).   
                   People often ask us (something).   
      
      
      
    AK>  Another story maybe is with the French speaking   
    AK>  Canadians.  I know that when a French says "heating   
    AK>  system" he says "eating system".  ;-)   
      
      
             In English we have a few limited choices WRT the initial /h/.  We   
   can say "a historic event" or "an historic event"... and the enunciation of   
   the /h/ in "herb" is optional.  At a quick glance through my French/English   
   dictionary, which says it includes Canadian usage, I found several pages of   
   words beginning with the letter "h"... but it seems "h" is what Anglophones   
   would refer to as a "silent letter" in French.  A person whose native language   
   is French may forget to say it aloud in English or have difficulty learning to   
   pronounce it....  :-)   
      
      
      
    AK>  Well, talking is a process when at least two person   
    AK>  speak. ;-)   
      
      
             Unless, of course, a person is thinking aloud & doesn't expect   
   anyone else to answer.  When I do this I often say I'm talking to myself.  :-))   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)