"Chocoholic! What happened to you? How come you're so singlish now???!?!Like this how? I was planning to ask you to be the emcee for my wedding next year since I thought your English was very good...."
This is one of the first few things my buddy, Mr Bunny, told me over the phone when I called him up just the other day. This after we lost contact for a few months.
Gosh....
If you're familiar with the hit TV series, Heroes, you would know what Peter Petrelli can do.
I think I have something comparable or at least somewhere within the line of his power, except that it has become one of my biggest weakness.
I am referring to my ability to "absorb" any accent or twang from people around me and mimic them. I definitely cannot do it at Peter's at-the-touch-your-hand kind of pace, but I think I can be quite good at it.
Within the first year of my stay here, I had already started receiving occassional comments from strangers, new acquaintances or cab drivers, that they thought I was local.
As time goes by, I do realize I'm getting better and better -- or worse and worse, depending on how you look at it.
I think the fact that in my current job I have to communicate with a large number of Singlish-speaking so-called prospects, clients rep or site staff doesn't help. Somehow speaking with the local twang I find closes the gap and any awkwardness. I dunno...
Bloody hell! (There you go... something else I've picked up from the past few months from work)
What the heck is happening to me? I don't want to be singlish, can or not?
It's not that I'm that crazy about the suggested idea to be an emcee at my friend's wedding, as I know for sure that I cannot handle it, but I sure did not spend so many years of learning English just to turn it into Singlish in less than 3 years!!!
So, I have made up my mind.
I will make the conscious effort from today onwards.
27 August 2008 is the first day of ......
"Chocoholic's Proper English Programme"
No, I'm not going to be over ambititious about the whole thing, and I don't intend to lose the ability to somewhat connect better with some of my local friends and colleagues.
My goal is to control, not to eliminate this weakness of mine (or power, as I tend to think on those days I feel HERO-ic).
So, help me God!
I think I'd take Chocoholic Nakamura as opposed to Chocoholic Petrelli, anytime anyday....
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I have just remembered that I did try to do something about this when I caught the earliest symptoms of my singlified-english. I went to the British Council and tried to enroll myself (in any class they would let me in). Took the placement test, and guess what? They didn't have any class for me. Out of curiousity, I suppose, the staff asked why I wanted to enroll myself, and I explained my predicament, how I was alarmed at how I seemed to have managed to pick up Singlish way too fast for my own good.
I'm quite sure they would have something for me now, but then again I remember the cost was probably enough to revamp a significant part of my wardrobe.
Hmmm.... (lightbulb moment!!!)
I suppose a cheaper way around this would be to find a native-speaker boyfriend huh?
But then of course, there is another stumbling block: How the hell am I supposed to turn myself into an SPG to catch my own angmoh?
Sigh.....I must say...there doesn't seem to be any easy way out of this dark tunnel at this point in time.
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