[yazetaw]

If you put your knife down, you can turn your fork over. It's correct to change hands when you do this, too, so if you are right handed you would switch and eat with the fork in your right hand I also find it ironic that it is considered polite to "squash" your peas onto your fork. I would find that rather childish.....

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/water

Water.

Look at the pronunciation symbols at the bottom.

So fab, tell me, what English dialect has Water being pronounced as Wood-er?

As for Chinese being a world language, I don't know. It is not easily adaptable to teh information age (since typesets and other things are not condusive to an individual word based linguistic system). I think that is the only big thing holding it back.

I am not saying that I do not think it will be, but I am wondering if is can jump that hurdle to make it so everyone speaks Mandarin (not Cantonese or any other dialect)....