Many languages have different sounds for letters than in English which is a harsh and gutteral sounding language at best. The j in Spanish and also Serbo-Croatian is a y sound. My sil's name is Sejo pronounced Se-yo, but few say it properly unless spelt Seyo. Language is a complex study, as even in what is considered the English language, which has become the language of commerce in much of the world is not the same language as spoken in Australia or or the UK. It can be fun learning the variances even in English. We in the US do not have the finite tonal differences that occur in many Asian languages. So many languages to me are melodic like Malayalam which is a very quickly spoken language. I also think many variances in transliterating to English occur both from the speaker and the listener. So many variables and thus confusions which most likely are quite innocent and never meant to be an affront. Communication is always about what the other person hears and at best we often error on our end. I know I certainly am not a linguist, just a foodie who loves to learn of other cultures via their cuisines. I always try to learn some words in every language of countries we travel in. Do I pronouce them properly? Of course not, but I do try and I feel that honours the culture that I care enough to try and learn. Our western ears are not tuned to the tonality of many languages. Anyway, I still want to know if anyone knows of a US source for fermented tea leaves. I am all about good eats, as they say!