Giobunny

Sometimes I can't help but hear what people are talking about.  I heard a group of teens engaged in the following conversation- I came in after it had started.  

Girl: What do you know you don't know how it's supposed to be pronounced?!

Boy: It's supposed to be pronounced the American way because it's an American name.

Girl: What do you mean?

Boy: My mom spelled it like that so that it would be pronounced the American way.

Girl: So how does your mom say it?

Boy: She doesn't.  She doesn't speak English.

Girl: How can your mom not say it! What does she call you?

Boy: Oh, nobody at home calls me by my name.  Everyone calls me 'Bunny.'

Girl: 'Bunny?'  Why?

Boy: I don't know!  That's just what everyone has always called me.

I was trying to mind my own business, but sometimes people are too funny.

Bunny's name is Giovanni- which is the Italian form of John.  

In Spanish 'B' and 'V' are interchangeable in sound- the sound is slightly different from either the English /b/ or /v/.

Many bilingual students are blissfully unaware of the similarities and differences between English and Spanish.  They don't give any attention to cognates or near cognates, they have no recognition of similar and dissimilar sounds and spellings.  They recognize that Spanish is a far more transparent language, but that seems to be as far as it goes.