I can be such an elitist.
Earlier I'd gone for this Psychology social but was feeling quite tired so ended up hanging around a small group of Asians somehow. With people from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan speaking in their weird (to me) accents, I just wasn't very comfortable somehow.
It's like I actually look down on them for their 'poor speech'. But later I thought about it awhile and decided, who am I to judge, when the locals probably think the same about my Singaporean accent?
As though to illustrate this point, when I got back home (nearly ten) I saw a couple of housemates having dinner. "Late dinner, huh?" I asked, pointing at one of their dishes. The owner of that dish looked quite offended and replied, "Yeah, fish and cheese fries, why?"
I was rather confused for awhile (had I made a cultural boo-boo by gesturing at his food or something?) when another housemate helped clarify the issue - I'd said late dinner, not lame dinner. The offended party relaxed almost immediately.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Pride and Prejudice
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2 comments:
well people tell me that if you adopt the local accent, locals find it easier to understand you, don't ask me why. but you're not really having serious problems so i guess it isn't important.
just be sure not to make the same mistake in the presence of beefy strangers who would like nothing better than a punch-up. haha.
oh no!!! tt sounds terrible!!! tsk. poor u. haha never mind just pick up their accent lor. lucky u got off unscathed. hee.
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