I’ve always thought that if you have good command of the English language, it will be enough to make you “global”. Hence, I did everything within my mighty power to learn English even though I abhor the intricacies of its “technical” aspect.
A lot of people say I speak and write English well… Hmm.… I might have succeeded in a certain way but I know in my heart that I still have a long way to go.
My accent turned topsy-turvy after communicating with people having various mother tongue such as:
- Filipino (Ilokano, Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilonggo, etc)
- Dutch
- German
- French
- Singaporean Mandarin
- Chinese Mandarin
- Cantonese
- Hokien
- Bhurmese
- Bhutanese
- Nepalese
- Indonesian
- Malay
- Arabic
- Ethiopian Language
- Hindi
- Tamil
I usually adapt the most prominent accent but my tongue seemed be confused on what accent to follow. Strange huh? Even so, I did manage to improve my accent slowly and it got better when I worked at HSBC. We were dealing with American clients, so, we were taught to neutralize our accent to minimize communication barrier. After a few months, I can already speak English with that American twang.
However, when I went to work in Singapore, I needed to unlearn that American twang and speak English the “local” way inorder to get the message across and minimize receiving blank stares. (See related article -> Singlish).
Now, I need to unlearn the Singlish and bring back the North American way of speaking English. It’s a work in progress and it’s a bit difficult because I’ve also adapted the unresponsive nature of Singaporeans. It’s a total struggle!
Looking at the brighter side of things, I know things will work well in the next couple of months. The naturally bubbly, giggly. and chatty me will soon surface.
How to think English is also added in my to do list. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not removing Ilokano and Tagalog in my system. I’m a Filipino and will always be. I just want to improve myself and make my Mama proud (wherever she is now). (Note: Writing is given. :p)
Thus, my mantra now is:
“I must speak English and think English.”
Why don’t we do this together? Aja! 🙂
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