Okay verbal vomit alert!
Actually, I always find it hard to find pictures to upload to my blog. If I can, my blog would be pretty much filled with words instead of pictures>words. But the cruel fact is that words are boring. A lot of people probably don't even have the patience to read through a lengthy post. So oh well I tried to take more.. "not blurry" photographs and share more pictures along with words. Heh
Anyway, so I had a small gathering with a bunch of friends whom I met during my A-levels days. It was a short one and a half year course and after A-levels everyone went to either UK or US to further their studies. When they come back every now and then, I try to make an effort to meet up with them. We were introduced to a new friend yesterday and one of my friend introduced me with..
Steph has a bad command of English so we always tease herand in the previous week, I was introduced as..
The one that sounds more Chinese.
Okay I won't deny that I am quite offended. Throughout my A-levels period, I understand from the endless teasing and jokes that my English is well.. bad. It's almost laughable cause I say the dumbest things with the most horrendous grammar. I tried to improve over the years through reading and taking mental notes whenever anyone corrects my English. So the saying of "be shameless and you'll learn" is totally applicable to me. Lol. My mentality was..
Okay, you can laugh at me now cause I really don't have a good command of English. But it's OKAY. I can LEARN!
But clearly, after 3 years my English is still laughable and joke worthy wtf.
It all started when I was 17, the year I enrolled into a pre-university course known as "Advanced Levels". The first thing I noticed when I went to the orientation is that the environment is very different from my high school days. I was a kid from the national school while 80% of the students there are either from private schools like Sri KDU or Sri Cempaka. Despite having mostly Chinese students, the main language used to communicate with each other is...
English
I am definitely not exaggerating when I say it's really hard to find Mandarin speakers in A-levels. Yes they exist. Some of them are hardcore Mandarin speakers who prefer to be grouped together with other hardcore Mandarin speakers while some of them just prefer to stick to English and speak minimum Mandarin. I think I'm more of the latter than former. Not because I am trying to be LCLY, but it was just by chance that most people I met are bananas. I also didn't deliberately go all out and find a group of Mandarin speakers cause I COMPLETELY DO NOT SEE A NEED TO.
I didn't consider my English as 'great' or 'perfect' cause I came from an environment where English is a need but you don't have to be a master in it. Whereas, most of my peers have an extremely good command of English! Sometimes, it feels like they're talking in a different language. My limited vocabulary totally rendered me speechless in countless occasions cause I don't even know what are they talking about. Imagine you've never heard of the word 'apple' and everyone there is discussing about an apple-oriented topic. It's really so hard to join the discussion cause you don't even know what is the core of the conversation.
Since their English is near perfect, they are somewhat grammar nazis cause well.. They can. Lol. Believe me, I've been laughed at so many times, I don't even remember them anymore. Also cause I, am quite forgetful haha.
Moving on, I've tried to improve. My university group of friends are also English speakers as well but a typo or a grammar mistake is not a crime with them. Haha. It's a much more comfortable environment cause yes you can speak. If you're wrong, you may or may not get corrected but you'll definitely not get laughed at. Or even if they did, it's not meant to be insulting. Or it just feels less insulting la. Lol. Environment too different to compare honestly. Like comparing the planet Mercury to Papaya.
BUT!!
Lately, I've been thinking, yes I don't have a bombastic command of English but I can speak quite a few languages fluently. It's because of my upbringing that I am trained to speak in multiple languages. My parents couldn't speak Mandarin at all! So my family communicated in Cantonese most of the time.
I learned Mandarin as part of my primary school education. My parents were actually quite hesitant to send us sisters to a Chinese primary school cause they're worried that if we don't understand some Chinese concept, then they can't offer us any help. Well I'm super glad they did cause I am always very proud of the fact that I can speak, read and write in Mandarin. I always have this mentality that as a Chinese, Mandarin is our mother tongue. Our root. Something that if our generation refuse to keep learning, it will diminish. Every stroke, every dot and every arch of a Chinese character is important. One dot missing and the word may have a different meaning.
I learned Mandarin as part of my primary school education. My parents were actually quite hesitant to send us sisters to a Chinese primary school cause they're worried that if we don't understand some Chinese concept, then they can't offer us any help. Well I'm super glad they did cause I am always very proud of the fact that I can speak, read and write in Mandarin. I always have this mentality that as a Chinese, Mandarin is our mother tongue. Our root. Something that if our generation refuse to keep learning, it will diminish. Every stroke, every dot and every arch of a Chinese character is important. One dot missing and the word may have a different meaning.
My Cantonese is alright la. Can understand TVB drama and speak on a daily basis. My Chinese is actually... quite good I think cause I survived the SPM Chinese paper and got a A-! Hahahah. Super proud of that until today.
Now, you see. My A-levels friends is marvellous with their English but super poor in other languages. BM aside cause I never used BM with them. Lol. But when it comes to like ordering Chinese dishes in a Chinese restaurant, it's a guessing game for them. But when I'm in a western restaurant, I know exactly what I'm ordering.
I recently discovered that language really set me apart from the rest of my peers in A-levels. I've never noticed it because back in A-levels time, my Mandarin or Cantonese are just not needed. Even if I'm master in both of them, it won't be value adding because it's not needed. Full stop. Just last night I was just telling my banana bf that I am the one improving English in this relationship rather than him learning Mandarin for me cause... he doesn't need to. Lol.
Until today, despite being proud that I can speak multiple languages, I am still super envious of my A-levels friends' flawless command of English. Yes I've improved. But to them, my English is still a laughing matter and I definitely have a lot of space for improvement.
But if given a choice, would you rather have a fluent and flawless command of English? Or! Being able to speak multiple languages but half assing at each of them. Lol.
I gave it a long and hard thought. Would I want my children to speak multiple languages or master a single language (which of course is not limited to English). I know a few people who can only speak Mandarin to save their lives. Anyway, I really can't come up with an answer. Because I really don't want he/she to be laughed at cause they are only half assing at every language but I really enjoyed the advantage of being able to speak multiple languages.
Ah well. I guess sorry future kids. You guys have to just be masters in every language you learn! Haha. Totally can sense myself being a tiger mom wtf.
I am sure that with effort, mastering a new language is not impossible. My English still needs to be polished and I'm not rushing into it. Just slowly learn and absorb even when the teaching comes in the form of insults. Maybe after that, I will pick up a new language! Tamil, Japanese or French! Hehe. (Yes I am very interested in Tamil cause it's like a whole different universe to me!)
Okay. Sorry for the lengthy post. I don't have a picture of a potato. Here's a selfie to make up for it instead... it's pretty close to a potato right?! Teehee
Now, you see. My A-levels friends is marvellous with their English but super poor in other languages. BM aside cause I never used BM with them. Lol. But when it comes to like ordering Chinese dishes in a Chinese restaurant, it's a guessing game for them. But when I'm in a western restaurant, I know exactly what I'm ordering.
I recently discovered that language really set me apart from the rest of my peers in A-levels. I've never noticed it because back in A-levels time, my Mandarin or Cantonese are just not needed. Even if I'm master in both of them, it won't be value adding because it's not needed. Full stop. Just last night I was just telling my banana bf that I am the one improving English in this relationship rather than him learning Mandarin for me cause... he doesn't need to. Lol.
Until today, despite being proud that I can speak multiple languages, I am still super envious of my A-levels friends' flawless command of English. Yes I've improved. But to them, my English is still a laughing matter and I definitely have a lot of space for improvement.
But if given a choice, would you rather have a fluent and flawless command of English? Or! Being able to speak multiple languages but half assing at each of them. Lol.
I gave it a long and hard thought. Would I want my children to speak multiple languages or master a single language (which of course is not limited to English). I know a few people who can only speak Mandarin to save their lives. Anyway, I really can't come up with an answer. Because I really don't want he/she to be laughed at cause they are only half assing at every language but I really enjoyed the advantage of being able to speak multiple languages.
Ah well. I guess sorry future kids. You guys have to just be masters in every language you learn! Haha. Totally can sense myself being a tiger mom wtf.
I am sure that with effort, mastering a new language is not impossible. My English still needs to be polished and I'm not rushing into it. Just slowly learn and absorb even when the teaching comes in the form of insults. Maybe after that, I will pick up a new language! Tamil, Japanese or French! Hehe. (Yes I am very interested in Tamil cause it's like a whole different universe to me!)
Okay. Sorry for the lengthy post. I don't have a picture of a potato. Here's a selfie to make up for it instead... it's pretty close to a potato right?! Teehee
