I pronounce Edinburgh as 'Edin-bra'. Yup, my Edinburgh rhymes with bra. However, that's not the case to everyone in this region. For some, Edinburgh rhymes with an iceberg. So 'Edin-berg'.
On day I was asking a colleague of mine, how would they spend their time in the scariest city for their elective posting. I tease them that Edinburgh is notorious for their ghosts and haunted castle. An 'amoi' overheard our conversation and started to yell at me in a high pitched voice. "IT'S EDIN-BERG NOT EDIN-BRA...". I defended myself that that's how it is pronounced. And even asked her to find the correct pronunciation in Forvo if she still insist that her pronunciation is correct. Had she not yelled at me, I would not sound condescending. Typical ah mois and ah liens looking down on shabbily dressed person like me. I may not wear a Rolex or Zegna shirt or whatever brand is the most expensive or classier but at least I'm not a hello kitty fanatic like you. Everything is HELLO KITTY, grow up! (actually I wore my Renoma shirt that day... but the fact that I don't mingle with the upper crust makes her think I'm a simpleton). My colleague then verify and agrees with me.
One time, I pronounced Framingham Score as Framing-um. Like Buckingham or Birmingham, the H is not pronounced. H-dropping. I got the whole class confused. Well, that's my bad. Framingham score is indeed pronounced with a H. It's in Massachusetts, so no H-dropping. I'm not sure about New England pronunciation though. Do New Englander drop their H?
Well, in my defense, my colleague do make me confused too. They pronounced McIsaac score as MOSAIC score.
Scottish names are not pronounced as an English name. Another Scottish/Irish name that most medical student mispronounce is McLeod. Yup, Mac-Lee-Odd. Until a neurologist rectified us on the correct pronunciation. It rhyme with Cloud. So McCloud. Then I realized that's why is the Oz TV series pronounced that way. McLeod's daughters.
If in doubt, ask Forvo
*McLeod is one of the recommended book for physical/clinical examination.
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Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Thursday, 6 November 2014
Oh my English! (is it considered double standard?)
Now I am at the Ford auto dealer to service my mother's car. It will take approximately 2 hours to service the car. As usual, when dealing with the front desk/sales rep/cashier I initiate the conversation in English. Not that I am a snob, it's my second nature to speak English in an 'air-conditioned establishment' like hotels, supermarkets or offices. I'm conditioned like a Pavlov dog in any air-conditioned building... how is that for today's pun?
Earlier, I test drive the new Ford car, Ford Eco Sport. It's a mini SUV. Officially, that's the first automatic car I drive in here... All this while I drive manual car here and automatic in the capital city. It's like driving a sedan car. Key-less entry, sun-roof. Wow! So I drive to the nearest drive-thru McDonald's as the sales rep accompanying haven had his breakfast. Poor him. I wish my best friend is with me. The last time I really test-drive a car was with my best friend. We drove a BMW. So, no, I am not a test drive virgin.
Upon reaching the sales centre cum service centre/ car dealer. The receptionist needs to verify something with me. As I initiated the conversation in English earlier, she asked me: "Sir, these are the things that we need to change...." We continued our conversation in English until a mechanic entered the reception area. He's the one servicing my mother's car. He wants to confirm what needs to be changed. Speaking in our regional dialect. The receptionist got shocked as I spoke to the mechanic in our regional dialect. She kinda scolded me for not speaking our regional dialect because she struggled earlier. I speak in our regional dialect to most blue collared worker. (It is considered double standard to do such thing?)
Speaking English here can change other people's perception towards you. Some would treat you better i.e. white collared worker. Some would not be pleased, they would think of you as a snob i.e. blue collared worker. My primary reason why I speak English is to improve my English. As you can see, my English is not that perfect. As the adage goes, Practice makes perfect. It's a self improvement act. Not an act to show off superiority (as some might see)
I've been called a banana* in the past. With my Eastern Asian feature i.e. my hooded (slightly slit) eye, and my parentage. An 'auntie' called me banana* for trying hard to speak English, not Mandarin or Hokkien or Hakka... Honestly, despite my parentage, I only know a meager amount of Mandarin. Thanks to a year posting in a town by the river with high Chinese concentration. I only know my Yi kwai, liang kwai, pu yao, mei yo, and pu huis. As basic as that.
In this region, speaking in English is quite bothersome. However, I really admire the receptionist's effort to speak English. Her English is not that bad. She should keep on practicing her English. Kudos! I hope everyone here are comfortable when speaking English and take the opportunity to speak in everyday conversation. And by doing that, we can improve our English command.
p/s
As I said earlier, I don't speak perfect English. I don't speak RP/BBC English. But I tried and tried... and keep an open mind to criticism. Never give up when somebody correct you. Thank them.
English is not my first language. Nobody, even native speaker speaks English right after the come out of their mother's womb.
*banana = Chinese looking person who doesn't speak Chinese, trying hard to speak English. Not just speaking English, trying hard to be English (Ang mo)... Like banana, Yellow outside, white inside.
It's Native American/First Nation equivalent to Apple. Red outside, white inside.
Earlier, I test drive the new Ford car, Ford Eco Sport. It's a mini SUV. Officially, that's the first automatic car I drive in here... All this while I drive manual car here and automatic in the capital city. It's like driving a sedan car. Key-less entry, sun-roof. Wow! So I drive to the nearest drive-thru McDonald's as the sales rep accompanying haven had his breakfast. Poor him. I wish my best friend is with me. The last time I really test-drive a car was with my best friend. We drove a BMW. So, no, I am not a test drive virgin.
Upon reaching the sales centre cum service centre/ car dealer. The receptionist needs to verify something with me. As I initiated the conversation in English earlier, she asked me: "Sir, these are the things that we need to change...." We continued our conversation in English until a mechanic entered the reception area. He's the one servicing my mother's car. He wants to confirm what needs to be changed. Speaking in our regional dialect. The receptionist got shocked as I spoke to the mechanic in our regional dialect. She kinda scolded me for not speaking our regional dialect because she struggled earlier. I speak in our regional dialect to most blue collared worker. (It is considered double standard to do such thing?)
Speaking English here can change other people's perception towards you. Some would treat you better i.e. white collared worker. Some would not be pleased, they would think of you as a snob i.e. blue collared worker. My primary reason why I speak English is to improve my English. As you can see, my English is not that perfect. As the adage goes, Practice makes perfect. It's a self improvement act. Not an act to show off superiority (as some might see)
I've been called a banana* in the past. With my Eastern Asian feature i.e. my hooded (slightly slit) eye, and my parentage. An 'auntie' called me banana* for trying hard to speak English, not Mandarin or Hokkien or Hakka... Honestly, despite my parentage, I only know a meager amount of Mandarin. Thanks to a year posting in a town by the river with high Chinese concentration. I only know my Yi kwai, liang kwai, pu yao, mei yo, and pu huis. As basic as that.
In this region, speaking in English is quite bothersome. However, I really admire the receptionist's effort to speak English. Her English is not that bad. She should keep on practicing her English. Kudos! I hope everyone here are comfortable when speaking English and take the opportunity to speak in everyday conversation. And by doing that, we can improve our English command.
p/s
As I said earlier, I don't speak perfect English. I don't speak RP/BBC English. But I tried and tried... and keep an open mind to criticism. Never give up when somebody correct you. Thank them.
English is not my first language. Nobody, even native speaker speaks English right after the come out of their mother's womb.
*banana = Chinese looking person who doesn't speak Chinese, trying hard to speak English. Not just speaking English, trying hard to be English (Ang mo)... Like banana, Yellow outside, white inside.
It's Native American/First Nation equivalent to Apple. Red outside, white inside.
Monday, 27 October 2014
English (UK) or English (American)
I am not a native speaker. English is not my first language. But I'll try to keep my blog in English. You'll might find some grammatical error, but I'll try to keep it minimum. Grammar Nazi.
In the language setting, there are 2 option English (UK) and English (American). I'm indecisive. I speak and write neither. But spell with -our instead of -or. Zed instead of Zee.
Eventually, I chose BrE. Can English just be English?
parlez vous anglais? (my habit of butchering French... what can I say, the only French song I sing well is a song with "terre de nos aieux" as it's second line.
hugs and kisses...
the ugly.
In the language setting, there are 2 option English (UK) and English (American). I'm indecisive. I speak and write neither. But spell with -our instead of -or. Zed instead of Zee.
Eventually, I chose BrE. Can English just be English?
parlez vous anglais? (my habit of butchering French... what can I say, the only French song I sing well is a song with "terre de nos aieux" as it's second line.
hugs and kisses...
the ugly.
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