You'd be entirely lost in Thailand.

Thai language is tonal. That means, like Chinese, the same word can have entirely different meanings, if spoken in different tones. Thai has 5 (I know because I studied it years ago when we lived in Thailand). And I have absolutely no ear for tones.

So one day I needed to buy a plotter for my office. So I called a company whose ad in the yellow pages identified them as the local plotter supplier.

Then, summoning all my Thai language skills I told them that I would like to purchase a plotter. "What?" was the question in response (all in Thai of course). I thought "what the hell" how difficult can it be to understand the word plotter: There is no Thai word for it, just "plotter". So, I knew it is my pronunciation and the probably not so high IQ of the girl on the other end of the line. So what did I do? I asked her in Thai, do you recognize any of the following items, and then I sang the word plotter in 20 different voices to her, until she suddenly said (in Thai) "Oh, a ploTTER" the plo with a very low voice, followed by a high-pitched drawn-ou TTER "Yes," I said (still in Thai) "exactly".

In the meantime my wife had walked in, asking me why I was singing the same word over and over again into the phone. "I'm applying for the European Song Contest of course."

I swear, I can't pronounce plotter in proper English anymore.