And So You Speak

I'm a bitch! Yeah, that's what I always tell one of my colleague, my ex-colleague actually. Apparently she "hopped" into another company recently due to don't know what reason. As if I give a damn. Anyway, I guess only both of us speaking English to each other in the office. Maybe that's what make her different. And yeah, she has this unique accent in speaking English, British accent? I'm not sure. But when talking to her in English, I myself will start to imitate her accent and talk to her in that particular accent. Funny as it may seem, but I kinda like it.

Speak to me, bitch!

Anyway, due to our strong accent, no doubt the other colleagues around us will look at us in one kind as if we're aliens from MARS communicating in a language only we know. How pathetic! I also find some of them give us that "urgh" look as if we're pretending to speak like a British. I can already predict the following conversation.

Lady A : Do they have to speak like that?
Lady B : Cheh, they just want to show off only ma. So what?!
Lady A : Ya lor. Speak so good for what? I speak manglish also can survive ler...
Lady B : Ya la. Speak until like a banana! So men-siasui-kan. I doubt they being chinese know how to speak chinese or not.

Bi-a-tches! Never mind. But I do have to admit that when we both speak, we really try to speak good english with some bad words such as ass, bullshit... ok not so bad after all. And it makes me feel good. Cause not many people speak good English with me in the office. And I don't like that. Not that I don't like to speak mandarin or Cantonese with colleagues, but they don't speak proper mandarin (Pu Tong Hua) nor accurate Cantonese. And that just make everything seem so unprofessional.

Don't talk to me!

Well, that's just me. Now that she's gone, and I have no one to speak English with in the office. Only with customers. How pathetic?! Oh did I mention most of my customers don't speak good English as well?! They would mix some words with their own native language which make everything seem, again, so unprofessional! And to be more "down-to-earth", I have to speak their language with extra words like "la", "hor", "meh", "ya" at the beginning or right at the end of each phrase. And so I have to follow them "lo", just in case they don't understand.

In fact, I am not so good in English neither. I am not the one who got an A for 1119 English or a debater who can speak English so fluently that they can use their mouth and shoot people off. But at least I try to be more professional and speak good English. Else, how would people wanna respect you when your sentences are full with "Arr", "la","hor","lo"... Maybe that's just them.

Huh?! What's with the "la" and the "ha"?

So now I vow to read more, speak more good English with customers and even write more (yeah lotsa emails and meeting minutes will certainly help). That's one skill I should acquire and master!