Thursday 19 April 2007

An accent mystery

I have always dread tele-conferences with London, which is quite frequent in my line of duty. First, it’s the timing of those calls. 7 or 8 hours ahead of them means I will have to wait till the end of my “office hour” before such calls take place aka unpaid-forced-overtime. Secondly, it’s the language. Communicating on a speaker phone with those Brits who carry over-loaded English accent always end up with me saying “Could you please repeat that?” one time too many.

But if you think that is bad, you’re wrong. My workplace has a hub in India where we outsource most of our processes. Tele-conferences with them are also pretty common. While timing is not exactly an issue since we are only 2.5 hours ahead of them, communication certainly is. Have you ever spoken to anyone from India before? I am not making fun of them but they do have a certain authentic ‘flair’ when it comes to their command of the English language.

Firstly, I have discovered that superman is not the only thing faster than a speeding bullet. In fact, when a native Indian reaches top speed in his speaking, even superman may have to give way. Of course, at top speed, the only thing you will hear probably goes something like “I-le think-le we-le think-le I-le I-le think-le we-le think-le”. Trying saying that at supersonic speed and you will know what I mean. So you will only know they are thinking something but will not know what they are thinking.


Secondly, when you ask them to slow down, the conversation will evolved from English to … “Indlish”. If you think our very own manglish is unique, please think again. One thing though, while we have our very own ‘la’, ‘ler’, ‘lor’, ‘mah’, etc as part of our manglish vocabulary, there is no additional words added in Indlish. Just that the way it is spoken, mimics very much of how Tamil or Hindi are spoken. Of course, the easiest way to describe it is… a-very-heavy-Indian-accent.

Indeed, I do find that all these make the Indian people rather unique. How so?

When I was in London, I was surprised that Indians dominates most of the stores in Totenham Courtroad, one of the shopping hearts of London. Having spoken to some of them, I realised that they too speak the way those native Indian speaks… at a rather super-sonic speed and a rather obvious ‘Indian accent’. What I find unique in these people is that no matter where they are or where they have been, they will always speak the way they do… well, most of them at least. No matter who they speak to… they will always carry that Indian spice in their English language. No matter where they are… they will always shake the heads gracefully when they speak.

Now, the same cannot be said of Chinese. Spending just a few months in America, England or Australia alone is enough for them to catch the ang-moh accent and forget about how manglish is spoken. Pretty amazing huh? Of course, I am not saying that one should speak manglish. But to actually lose the way you speak over the last 10 years in just a few months is quite out of this world. Don’t you think?

By the way, I mentioned before about a colleague being sent from UK on secondment here who sits right in front of me. He is a Chinese by the way, quite ‘leng-jai’ and of course, being born in the UK, he speaks with an English accent. This morning, there was girl who spent almost an hour talking to him in (I think) Australian English at its fullest glory. From the way I see it, she probably has got the hots for him as she was trying very hard to make an impression. Then, a colleague of her walked past and amidst those powerful Australian English… she replied to her colleague…

“hah? Em ho yi cho seong toi ka?” … in a rather… not so powerful figure of speech.
(Huh? Can't sit on the table?)

Typical huh? Just like the people I once bumped into here.

P/S: No, she was not wearing a mini skirt.
P/S/S: The templates that I quite fancy are here and here, but they're in html and not xml.

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had India Indian boss before, so I totally can understand what you are trying to say here.

When their english is getting very "indian", that's when we all have headache -- trying to figure out what he wants to say.

Anonymous said...

Some accents can't be help, but the ones that pisses me off are people putting on a fake western accent. Would like to shove a westerner up their arse if i get the chance one day.

Font looks better, but the tagline could possibly drop to the darker background which will make it easier to see. My opinion only. :-)

Anonymous said...

ahuh me freaking gonna post this comment in support of wud u have just commented 1stly 'tottenham crt road' init? hahahhaha =p

ohya le-le-le....indianish slang ....darn funny weih hahah good laugh in the office ...

had the bad experience just to explain to them what was wrong with the p/w....sigh pathetic shiat...

wohooo are u referring ur new colleague a BBC or wud? cunteD? ahuh....gonna visit u real soon lol*

ya london or rather england is flooded with alot of indians/pakis....surprisingly....most of them flooded heathrow...as u can see carrying babies in like a 'sarong' o sth....behind their back...meaning they are the village people...what amazed me was how they actually cross over the imigration officer...as they hardly speak proper english....

sigh....am so surprise.....hahahah but ur entry darn farneee cuz it juz reminds me of the accent thgy...kekeke

Weig said...

Wah! Zewt, didn't have lunch ah?

Perhaps the Aussie-accent girl was trying to show she's bilingual.

rainbow angeles said...

Previously I had an Austrialian boss.. my oh my... I felt so challenged when talking to him! Also felt a bit bodoh cos every now and then had to go, "Sorry? What is it? Huh? HAR??" LOL...

Ask you, when you are talking to a mat salleh, do you have the tendency to be 'terbawa-bawa' and speaketh in foreign slang?? I mean, it's not that u wanna show off, it it... it just happens? Or doesn't it?? :P

Anonymous said...

No wear miniskirt sit on table for what!
Muahahahahaha
What a put off
:P

baggie said...

abang oi... u can switch ur blogspot template to html lerh.. go to ur template, scroll down and click the button that says " switch to classic template"

Youre using the new version of blogspot, so tats y u tak boleh guna html.. so u need to change to the classic wan.. then u ma can use the either one on ur links lor, faham mah?

Calv said...

wow haha nice job on the tamplete. and indian accent? lol i was just talking to a friend last night about the indian accent as i can immitate them.

she cant stop laughing! till today when she go college, an indian lecturer was teaching, she cant stop laughing the whole 2 hours.

now that's what i'm talking about strong impression LOL...cheers, nice blog by the way

Raksha said...

Lol. I guess sometimes it depends on the person you're speaking to. Back in Perth, most of my Aussie friends get confused with Manglish. So the thing to do is to speak proper English.

But please, when I say PROPER English, I mean pronouncing the words properly and without our favourite 'lah' and Chinese/Malay words thrown in. Not ACCENTED English.

Like what Gallivanter said, it really irks me whenever I hear people affecting a fake accent. [Pause]. With WRONG GRAMMAR. That's when I feel like strangling them.

P/s. I have to admit though, I lapse in Jap-accented English to my Jap friends. It's easier. Like I said, adapting to the company you're speaking to. :)

Kenny Mah said...

I don't think the accent matters much in the long run (of course, if there is 0% comprehension, Houston, we do have a problem) as much as whether the other person communicates well. Does he/she come across as honest and sincere? I've met enough nasty people with Manglish and gwailo accents to give up caring about the superficial side of things, well, vocally anyway.

But there is a tendency here in Malaysia to go 'fu-yoh' when some pops up with a gwailo/gwaipo accent, right? I think it says more about us than them, really...

me said...

lost me on the last part. meaning what? from australian english, she swtiched to dialect cantonese? u mean ppl with australian english accent are not suppose to speak dialect?

p/s: if she was wearing mini skirt, bet you won't be noticing her australian english accent, her cantonese dialect, how long she was talking to him or even anything else...except for those sexxxxxxy thigh...and whatever else you can peek. ROFL.

pps: u n yr opinions on the indian accent....got me reading yr post in my mind with that indian accent also. *rolls eyes* now i can't seem to get the accent out of my head. i'm thinking everything in indian accent. heeeeellllp!

Anonymous said...

The only experience I have on "I simply can't understand what you say" english was conversation with a Scottish guy at work. Oh man, the accent is so thick (correct adjective or not ar?), it takes weeks to develop the hearing-understanding skill :P
India Indian's english still fine with me, aussie one, have to step up the antenna to understand them :)
Manglish or not, haha, depending on whom I am talking with lor. Buddy fren - manglish, work-normal english, gwailo- careful english :P

TingTitLei said...

I have a friend who used to speak in a damn cina accent coz he was from a chinese primary school. after he went to australia for 1 month, he came back with an australian accent. a very funny one haha

at least the indians arent ashamed of their own accent

Rabbit said...

I have an indian classmate now, and he speaks totally like what you've mentioned. Most of the time I can only hear "I think... I think". haha!

Anonymous said...

Hi Zewt

Another excellent post as usual. Hmm.. ever thought its because of a 'need-to-please' that we chinese seem to have been born with? Especially the malaysian chinese.. cause we're always thought from young that we are smarter than everyone else, but we must learn to blend in (or something like that.. not saying that's what i was thought and no, i'm not trying to stereotype here ok.. just providing example, don't shoot me!)

And changing our accents is one way of 'blending in'. So that's what we do pretty well.

Another point in ref to what ttl said. Indians aren't afraid of their own accents becaus at least their grammar is correct and their written english is perfect. Ours however.. if we write 100% the same way we speak... including add-ons like lah and all, i don't want to imagine the consequences.

I agree with raksha, accented BROKEN english is horrible to listen to. If you wanna speak the queen's english, at least make an effort to use the queen's grammar too.

Kenny Mah said...

Congratulations, Zewt!

You've just been awarded a Thinking Blogger award! Pick your award here at my blog.

Brother, yours is one of the blogs I read daily, even when you are not posting. Remember when I said my ideal blog had to be funny, informative and touching? Yours just made that list. :)

I don't normally do tags/memes (in fact, I rather dislike them) but this is a fantastic opportunity for me to highlight what's best about my favourite blogs. You don't have to award five more blogs if you don't want to, but don't forget to pick up your award! ;)

SuLee said...

I think i once heard the second largest populations in UK - particularly London besides caucasions is Indian!

I hear ya, I sometime have problem understanding one of my project team mates.

Anonymous said...

Hey...my previous workplace also used to outsource certain projects to their counterparts in India! I had weekly teleconferences with them, and apparently, I somehow understood their English alot better than the rest of my colleagues, so I was the unofficial *translator*...lol... =P

Melyong said...

Actually most of the Indians value their tradition than Chinese. Most of my indian friends have good knowledge of their tradition and practises them. I am obviously at shame. :D

Acrelaine said...

wth... sit on table...

little kids wudda know table is not for sitting.. -__-....

and i think the other leng chai wudda prayed for her to chao.. muahahahaha.. i'm evil...

Jazzi said...

I'd prefer proper english to manglish anyday, except in Malaysia, you get farnee stares or sarcastic remarks if you actually make an effort to be proper =).

Besides, language or accent can be a form of music really. Somehow I find Manglish accent very monotonous and boring, so is American really, tends to bore us to death. British and Aussie English is what i like to listen to.

But NOBODY, i repeat, NOBODY, beats the Indians when it comes to English.

narrowband said...

Actually I kind of like listening to typical/strong Indian-accented English. I like the way they roll the tongue. It's nothing bad, really. And I don't have problem understanding what they're saying so it's a joy communicating with them.

I know a number of Indian expats here in Cyberjaya.

Lil Daydreamer~ Make The Impossible Possible said...

Hahaa agreed with you in indish slang, sometimes when i talk to our indian customer when they speed up or scolding i can't really hear what are they talking!!If they scolding i just take them singing an indian song :P
Hey mind i ask, what u mean by your female colleague asked about can't sit on the table??

neno said...

kekeke..u shud meet some of the indians in scotland..reminds me when i was getting my grocery from an indian lady tat day..kekeke..

Anonymous said...

You think their accent is difficult to understand? Have you read their offical letters?? Fu-yoh, English so terror until have to read a few times before can understand! They can write a very nicely worded four-line sentence just to decline your request!! LOL

But I have to admit, I tend to speak more accented-English when I speak to native English speakers. Mostly because they cannot understand if I speak Manglish. But having said that, I find that I also speak Malay-accented English to Malays and Indian-accented English to Indians (I ended up speaking like a pakistani after the pakistani cabdriver didn't understand what I was saying!!). I guess I just speak the way I am spoken to?? :D

zewt said...

deisy - hahaha... yeah, tell me about it. but i respect them, they never put on any other accent... they are true to their breed.

gallivanter - couldnt agree more. those who try to fake it... it's just so obvious... should just shut up and dont speak... even better. yeah, am working to get a template with darker background.

anonymous aka jaezrel - hahahaha... when you go back to england, then u will have a good time enjoying conversation with them.

cirnelle - wrote this in about 15 minutes after eating my tah pau vegetarian lunch. sigh... let's not talk about that girl.

zeroimpact - hahahaha... maybe i was lying? since bloggers are liars... u know... :P

calvin's wife - yeah, i know that. but that will lose all the control via page elements. means all the links have to be done via html which i am totally blur...

calv - ahahaha, if i can record it... i will show how my indian colleague speak... it's really... unique... :P thanks bro.

raksha - well said, it's about speaking proper english, and not accented english. like what gallivanter said... as long as one doesnt fake it... it's fine.

zewt said...

kenny mah - hmmm.. going fu-yo to those who can put up a gwai-accent eh? that's pretty true... i have a friend... he said he is the only one who can speaks english in his chinaman company... and he said all the girls there treat him like a god... you wanna join kenny? :P oh... as for the thinking blogger award... it truly appreciate it. will pick up the award and see if i can also put up a similar post.

me - well, i wrote this in about 15 minutes plus the picture thingy so i guess certain things doesnt jive... if you read the link to my earlier post... then u will know why.

mich - oh yeah... scottish. i have always struggled trying to understand what alex ferguson is saying when he is being interviewed. often i can only understand "there's no doubt about it"..... so do you speak a lot of careful english?

TTL - precisely!!! go there one month come back and suddenly can put on an accent.... so hai betul!

rabbit - hahahahaha.... he goes 'i think i think'...your head got geling geling or not?

Theodwyn - thanks for your compliment. some points are off as i wrote this in about 15 minutes after lunch. well, i think we are always under the impression that anything western is good... we give them too much respect. amidst all that, we lose our identity, and we fail to appreciate the value of ourselves, which is sad. indeed, grammar is important. it's really weird if you put on an accent but your grammer all kaput... those ppl will only make a fool of themselves.

SuLee - ppl always say chinese are everywhere.... well, they have to look at the dark side to see them.

zewt said...

sooyin - hahahaha... i wonder how you speak then...

bubbly soda - not only you... many of us. now that my mom is gone, all the traditions... no longer in practice.

acrelaine - she was sitting there, leaning over... trying to show him stuff on the screen and all. what do you think?

Jazzi - that's true... when you speak properly... they will say you're showing off. i was once talking to someone on msn and i was using proper english... i was actually asked to speak 'properly'... wonder which is which. hahahaha... nobody beats the indians eh... hahahahaha

narrowband - oh, so you work in cyber eh? well, as long as i can understand the it's fine. but when they try to be like superman... that's when it becomes irrating. and they have a thing about always interrupting your speech.

fiona the confusing girl - she was sitting on the table and somewhat flirting with my colleague... get it?

neno - hey there! what happened there? :P

kat - yeah, that's true. when i am having telecon with london, i do have to speak a lil like them, else i will have to repeat myself quite a few times. woooahh... you are really multi-lingual eh?

rainbow angeles said...

ahem.... ahem... AHEM!

J.T. said...

Zewt, I know exactly what you mean about how some people who lived in Malaysia for so many years, can change their accents so quickly just by being overseas for a few months. I have nothing against those who pick up accents naturally. But you can tell when one puts on to impress. There is a huge difference.
I tend to agree with what Kat said. Like Kat, some speak the way they are spoken to. To some, it is a natural tendency.

kyh said...

I've nvr been overseas, nor hv i stayed in pg or kl or those 'international' Malaysian cities b4. but i can say that i can read englsh texts in an angmoh accent (if u consider so --- dunno which one, cos can get mixed up, but most probably the american, as i love american accent more than brits). aussie english is js so weird! not my cuppa.

as for the speaking part, well, i've not had the chance to engage in a proper english conversation b4 for as long as i live (cud u believe that? probably no), as i'd always been the mandarin-speaking type of person. even if someone tries to talk to me in dialects, i'll be rather hesitant and wud want to switch it back to mandarin as fast as possible simply bcos i'm not used to that. HEH.

kyh said...

lol seems like u missed out the reply to angel's comment. if it's like that, i hv to say u missed out mine last time! well nvm. :P

Acrelaine said...

prolly she's trying to 'show him some other stuff'....... in which i think would leave him with bad dreams the rest of his life.. *evilness to the max*

flaminglambo said...

'Sup zewt.

It's kinda' like the revelation of hip hop on kids nowadays (eg. some local DJs), especially students from the States. You see them going wassup, wassup, homie this, homie that.

Errr...wait, that sounds like me.LOL!

Ever hear an Aussie put on a Malaysian accent? My wife does, and it is hilarious! She only does it when she's speaking to people from Singapore/Malaysia though. When she's with her friends & family, she's back to normal. I think it's kinda' normal to want to blend in.

I must say I'm guilty of banging on the accent sometimes because you do get special treatment from some people when you're shopping in Msia/Singapore. I hate wearing jeans or shirts when I go shopping in K.L cos' it's too humid. If I go browsing into some of the exclusive boutiques dressed in singlet, shorts and flip-flops, I get the dagger eyes that splits a person in half. But as soon as you bang on the accent, you're cool.

Don't hate the player. Hate the game. Hahahaha!

Flame on!

PS: Nice looking blog but those birds circling at supersonic speed on your web header creeps me out! Are they demon vultures or something? LOL! Just playin' man.

Huei said...

one of my lecturer was an indian with a heavy indian accent...so..u cant blame me that i failed..twice!!! =P hehehehe

neno said...

i was paying at the counter and was packin my groceries..the poor indian lady was tryin her best tellin some scottish guys bout some barley drink o sth..she keep saying barley and pointing at the drink..the poor guy cant understand her..the whole thing was resolve when another cashier came in and help..

baggie said...

(=_=)" ...

SuLee said...

what do you mean look at the dark side to see chinese?

zewt said...

angel - ampun tuanku... beribu-ribu ampun... kesilapan hamba harap diampun... :) when i speak to those ppl in london.... i have to switch on the jame bond slang... otherwise they dont understand. jangan marah ya?

J.T. - Hey jacq, nice to see you here again. Kat is right in saying that ppl tend to speak according to the people they speak to. i think i am one of them too. well, agreed with what you said... as long as the accent is not forced, then i guess it's cool. when someone is forcing it... it can be quite... unpleasant.

kyh - oh oh ... ampun ampun my kyh, so sorry! trust me, i didnt mean it. perhaps it's due to the lack of sleep leh... which one i missed out... tell me, i go see it again.. :) well, i prefer brits accent, i think it's very clear... american accent is too casual. and what???? never had the chance to converse in full english conversation? wow... i find that hard to believe... but i am sure you will have the chance should you move to KL for studies or work.

Acrelaine - hmmm...makes me wonder... have you ever left anyone with such nightmare impression...

flaminglambo - yo mate! G'day! hahahaha... one thing, i think i have asked before... your wife aussie chinese or an aussie? as for your accent in getting special treatment... i couldnt agree more. i have to admit, sometimes, i use such tactic too. should u ever return to malaysia anytime soon... let's wear the crappiest clothes around and let those arrogant sales people have a taste of your aussie accent and my brit accent? how about that?
p/s: thanks... but i hope to find a more scary blog template... hehe...

huei - hahahahahahahahaha.... excuses lah you... i am sure the textbooks are all not in any accent right? :P

neno - the encounter of an indian and a scot.... hahaha... you should have recorded it. might just make its way to some funniest video awards or something...

calvin's wife - :)

SuLee - was quite a racist remark... looking at the "dark side".... means look at the existence of indians... are u getting it?

MissSHopaHolic said...

Like it or not everyone has an accent, even dudes who think that they have finally got rid of their accent got it wrong.. the whites.. my aunty married a white guy and he thinks no matter how long you've been in their country or other english speaking nation, if you are an Asian you still have an accent.. so in the eyes of a foreigner ur still stucked with ur native accent.. 2 bad!!!

By der way dude can be leng jai or watever, who cares about his accent, so you think u can woo ppl by your accent especially women.. thats the most shallowest and moronic reason to fall for a person, wait till you hear my Uncle Steve speaks english.. Vikram Akula's english is 100x better than BUsh...

Americans meaning pure bred white also have an accent,(they think they dont)being an Indian I agree my peope have a thick accent but if you visit INDIA EVEN THE BEGGARS on the street can speak perfect english, grammatically correct and you might be surprised that their english and love for the language is soooooooo much much better than a white boy..



So who cares about accent.. those who claim they speak english without any sort of accent are liars.. and you think other ppl's accent is funny and weird... wait.. wait.. someone from the other side of the world is also laughing at you for your accent...

Its not the accent thats important, its the matter of language, as long as you take pride in that particular language and dont kill em' i say screw the obessesion of some people with accents..

Someone commented about the difficulties in understanding an Indian guys English, x cuse me if you can put up with a Irish dude's english and try ur best to understand his accent why not this?? Is this another racist comment?? Why is that if he is white but even if he talks wif loads of grammar error ppl still look at him with awe ?? Is it the skin color??

When you call Microsoft in AMerica, you wouldnt even realise that ur speaking 2 and Indian.. they still have an accent but an American accent, and yet i think there is nothing 2 gloat, after all its only and accent......

kyh said...

*searching for that post*

HERE:
http://zewt.blogspot.com/2007/03/some-highlight-on-comments.html

and oh, i've noticed another one too:
http://zewt.blogspot.com/2007/03/lifestyle-of-smart-and-stupid-not-so.html

hehe! :P


Beta ampunkan Zewt! ;)

Brits accent... I used to think it's too formal, and seems a bit weird to be used in normal conversations. If for speeches, yes, it's absolutely suitable. Yet, I cant deny Brit accent sounds very elegant, and makes u think of the British Royals instantly.

American accent, while sounding casual, it's an ideal accent to be dealt with daily conversations. Who wants to speak with someone who sounds so serious? LOL. Not me. And the reason I love it --- it's pleasing to the ears, without being too 'stressed' in the intonations, if u get wat i mean.

erm... does a 30-sec to 1-min long chit-chat count as a 'proper eng conversation'? LOL!

Well, really lookin forward to make some frens who speak Eng in their everyday lives --- a chance to brush up my Eng oral skills.

Acrelaine said...

-_-....... how cud u???

do i look like her or wutt??

zewt said...

MissSHopaholic - well said... no matter how many years you spend in a foreign land, you will always be an asian, and we should never lose that identity!

and wow... are you a tag angry about ppl talking about the indian accent. if you read my post properly, i wasnt trying ot make fun of anyone... i was subtly talking about something else... can you see it?

kyh - terima kasih, tuanku sungguh baik hati... :)

based on your written english, i am sure you can make it in your oral... just need practise. as long as you're original, you can also be elegant, doesnt really need british or whatever not.

acrelaine - hahaha... well, i have actually forgotten how she looks like...

MissSHopaHolic said...

Yup I get where ur heading... its just that some of der comments that i read was pretty one sided and focusing on something else ,which is why I mentioned a few things..

Me angry?? Nah.... trust me its not that easy to irritate me u'll be amazed with how much I can put up wif.. hehehe

MissSHopaHolic said...

By der way In my earlier comment I kept mentioning "and accent..." sorry typo error.. its an accent.. lolz

flaminglambo said...

She's a Cina pek.

SuLee said...

ohhhh un un hehehe sorry bit slow..i got all offended when u said chinese, then look at dark side to see them..

im like hey hey ho, WTF!! haha =P

CharlemÂgne® said...

Hi Zewt,

I laughed when i read about the part of communicating with the Indians. My company outsource their IT Support services to India & I had called them a few times for some application trouble shootings, and like you - i could barely understood what they were saying. I have to press the phone so close to my ear that it hurts while repeating ' I'm sorry, could you please say that again?' Sometimes i could not even understood what they were repeating that i just decided to reply Yes for everything they asked. (-_-') but thank God, they are friendly and patient people, not to mention a genious when it comes to troubleshooting. The longest call i made took me almost an hour, but the person on the other line is just so helpful and generous when it comes to explaining the situation to me. Makes it up for the accent. =)

And regarding people who think those British and American accent is so 'kewl' and high class compared to ours, i am at loss of words. It is just sad that they think of it this way. I personally know of friends who are like this -telling me proudly 'My friends say i speak with an American accent!!'
Even the way they type on MSN or write e-mail have the American/Aussie/British slang to it.Sad.

Another point, about the 'Speak with the right tongue' entry in January. I come from Penang Island whereby locals speak Hokkien widely. I know of certain school mates from my national school who didnt even know how to speak and are ashamed to speak their own mother tongue cuz its either uncool or they just couldnt care less.It's sad that they fail to think the other way round.
Well, my parents dont speak English well and i only speak Hokkien at home. Outside, i still can speak and write English fluently.

On the other hand,coming from a national school,I myself already feel uneasy and slightly ashamed when my Malay friends ask me to translate stuffs written in Mandarin. I have to sheepishly grin and replied
'Sorry, i tak erti nak baca'. Well,I am still improving my Mandarin as of now despite being constantly called a 'banana'

Anyway, another great entry Zewt!
Keep it up!=)

zewt said...

MissSHopaholic - fair enough :) everyone has their own place to put input their opinion here. you can put a lot huh... interesting... ppl say one will only tick easily if things are mentioned by their loved one... true perhaps.

flaminglambo - ohhh... aussie cina eh... why dont go for blonde or brunette? haha! :P

SuLee - chinese no dark ler... hahaa. unless you are ..oppss...

Jermayne - Hi! Good to see you here again. Haha! another person who understands the predicament that i am in whenever i have to talk to native indians. but you're right, they are really genius when it comes to IT stuff, they are pretty good. have to say they are also very hardworking, so willing to go the extra mile...

MSN with slang? geee... like how???? very interested to know.

ohh... well, as long as you can speak a mother tongue, i think it's good enough. those bananas are those who cant even speak a word of canto, hokkien, hakka, teochew, mandarin... and proud of it... that's a bit too much.

thanks for your word of encouragement!

SuLee said...

*AHEM!*
yes i am "tanned"!!

when i said dark i was refering to the dark side, u know the negative aspects...

Anonymous said...

hahaha!! that was a good one. i was surprised when i came home after 6mths in sydney that ppl expected me to have an aussies accent. i told, aiyooo...just 6mths n u want me to forget my lors, lahs, mars??? lol :P funny....

you write nice - i like! :D

zewt said...

SuLee - oh... dark side is good. i was once with the dark side... :P tan is good... some say hitam manis.

yvy - hey there! welcome to As Zewt As It Gets.... i am so proud of you... still keeping those lahs after spending sooooo long in aussie land... hahaha!! but then again, like what many people said here... it's also equally important to speak properly, and not some broken english. i am glad you like my write up... and hope to see ya around...

www.badajoz-3d.com said...

It will not succeed in reality, that's exactly what I think.