They can't say "L" (My Traver Size Rife)

This post was inspired by The Not-So-Travel-Size Sister-in-Law (Future) latest blog "Someone's About to Get Shanked". She laments over her cognitive psychology professor who is Japanese and apparently has trouble with his Engrish (that's right). Now don't get me wrong. I am not trying to be racist or eritest (elitest) but it is a fact that when certain curtures (cultures) rearn (learn) Engrish they have a difficult if not impossible time using certain letters in our alphabet. Basically they can't say "L". This phenomenon has really puzzled me recently.

Everyone know's the joke

"What do you call a woman with one leg shorter than the other?" Answer: Ilene!

"What do you call a Japanese woman with one leg shorter than the other?" Answer: Irene!

Think about it if you use it in common language every day it would be maddening! There is a street in The City that is named Stella Link. Everytime I drive by it I think "Sterra Rink". Often times I will call the Travel Size Bride-to-be and say "Herro"! (Always good for a chuckle) The Title of my blog would be "My Traver Size Rife". Basically any word that the "eL" pronunciation is evident then this is applicable. Take the last word in my last sentence (applicable), I was on a call for The Company with a team in South East Asia and this lady kept referring to something as not being "appricable". I was like a 5 year old who just heard his first poopie joke! I couldn't stop laughing. I actually had to mute my phone and duck my head down in my cube. I was laughing so hard I snarfed (sneeze + barf + past tense = Snarfed) Diet Coke through my nose. The unintentional comedy was so high that it was immeasurable.

Overall, my question is this: Why? Why do certain ethnic groups have this quirk? Which groups are incruded? Is there some strand of DNA that is missing that geneticarry cause dis issue (I have also noticed that "Th" becomes "D" and plural words become singular)? Is it contagious? Would people be offended if I just started speaking as so and then claim my father's, brother's, cousin's, step-brother was Asian? These are the things I think about.