In message , Kreisleriana
writes
I have a friend from Spain, too, and he has a thick accent. He
pronounces "Hello" as "Khello." We used to work together, and it
became very hard not to say "Khello, Emilio!" back to him. Some of us
just gave up trying, and just always said "Khello, Emilio!" to him.
He knew we meant it fondly, so he did not mind.
He also would occasionally receive visits from his "uncles," by which
he meant his uncle and aunt. In Spanish, the word "tios" covers both.



I went as far as writing to one of those "Notes and Queries" columns you
find in newspapers to see if there were collective nouns in English for
"aunts and uncles" and "nieces and nephews". There aren't, as far as
anyone reading the paper knew, but lovely suggestions were "auntles" and
"niblings"

PS: Thanks for the earworm - I've just come back from the Isle of Wight
festival, and cannot get Travis "Flowers in the Window" out of my brain.
I think a dose of Duran Duran might cure it!
--
Cathi