>One of the somewhat useful skills I was born with is a decent ear for languages. So I can read all three of the languages other than English I've studied out loud and sound pretty good, even if I barely understand what I'm reading (which is usually the case <g>). I'm also pretty good at looking at a name and coming up with something in the ballpark for how to pronounce. I think I got Dragan just about right when we met.

You sure did. And I know the feeling - it's a gift, even though you have to invest effort, there still are people who just can't break their tongue.

One of the times I felt good about knowing how to make these funny sounds was when I was in the NY office of my then employer, and there was their Italian designer. About halfway to the beer after work, he said I was the only one in the office who got his name, name of his place and a few other terms right. Well, I should know the neighbor's speech (if not meanings of everything), shouldn't I?