Some Asians Educated in Asia Can Speak and Write English Well, Too
Seventeen Saloon
White Person: You're a Filipino. Are you a member of the band here?
Me: No. I'm here because I'm writing a review of the bar. And I also need some pictures.
White Person: Really? You? Write? (from what I remember with a smirk)
Me: Yes, but I sense the question marks there.(laughter not because I found it funny but because I was already drunk I could laugh at everything)
(White Person proceeded to quizzing me thereafter, i.e. how would you rate the band, how would you rate the bar. My reaction: Go ahead, I always ace quizzes.)
Vasco's
American Guy: (when I mentioned I have 2 blogs) So, what language do you write in?
Me: Uh, English sometimes. Sometimes Filipino.
American Guy: I meant, what language are you more comfortable writing in?
Me: Uh, both.
Still in Vasco's
Same American Guy: Have you been to any country outside of Asia?
Me: No, why do you ask?
American Guy: Because you speak English with a barely noticeable accent. Did you speak English at home?
Me: No,mmm, in fact, we don't even speak Filipino at home. We speak Ilokano which is another language altogether. I learned both Filipino and English in school. I was smart, I guess (note the past tense).
American Guy: (I-can't-believe-the-gall-of-this-small-woman-laughter)
I find it ridiculous at times when some White people in Vietnam are dubious that some Asians educated in Asia do speak and write English well. It's not like all Whites can speak and write English well. Not even some of the supposedly educated ones do. (Enough, Cheryl.)
"...(I)t's odd that English is a language that, for somebody like me, is a choice that is made for me before I'm old enough to choose. It is the only language that you can (I prefer the term must) speak if you want to get a good job or you want to go to a university. All the big newspapers are in English."
Arundhati Roy said this of the English language in India. (Please sell Arundhati Roy books in Vietnam.) It's true in my country and in other parts of Asia, as well.
(American Guy, hi! I don't hate you. You have to admit you're full of crap sometimes.)
6 comments:
The "he can speak english" look - I've gotten that look!
The fun part is when I get to outclassing them.
hahahaha...that's mean girls/boys "geek" style, slamming others' cultural/intellectual capital....reminds me of another anecdote.
when a friend said that M.(an acquaintance) wants to be the next R.T. (a writer,poet, prof), my friend R.C. ( one of his ex-teacher once said, "this guy was once my student, now i should be his student." RC was not a teacher then , but he should've been), retorted, SOME PEOPLE AIM FOR THE SKY, OTHERS AIM FOR THE ROOF, BUT M., HE'S AIMING FOR THE SALA TABLE (coffee table).
Well it gets even crazier when you're American and you're asked by Americans why your English is so good. I always say thanks, just started studying it last month, haha, you should see their reactions.
It was flattering during the first few times that a Westerner asked me where I learned my English because most of the time they said that I didn't have any noticeable accent. Uma-accent kumbaga. But it got annoying to the point that I found it ignorant. So whenever someone asks me where I learned my English, I answer them, "The same place where you learned English." Or "Well, Filipinos start learning English AND Tagalog at the same time we learn to talk."
speak for yourself, kugs or baray or bryan?,learned tagalog in school, when I was six or seven:)i did some research, saw your pic in pao's blog. i met him during the blog summit.
Hey! Pinay here! I so agree with you guys. I get that all the time too.
Viet-kieu: You from the States?
Me: Nope.
Viet-kieu: Your accent sounds American.
Me: Maybe because PH was an American colony? *weird innocent smile*
Viet-kieu: You speak like that in your country?
Me: Yeah... We watched a lot of Sesame Street when we were kids. Hehe. *weird pouty smile*
Korean: Where did you learn how to speak English?
Me: Uhh... School. Home. TV... everywhere.
Korean: All Filipinos speak English?
Me: Uhmn... yeah.
Korean: Everyone?
Me: Yeah we use it alot. We use it so much we have one special holiday that encourages people to speak in Filipino. Hehe. (shit! that sounds negative. my bad.)
I started speaking English even before I learned how to walk. I had a Video (betamax lol) of myself in my crib (not house) singing "My Sharona" (did I spell it right?). I was 1 year and a half old.
Gosh... I just realized we're so cool.
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