MERGED: Modern Education, Literacy and English Proficiency

[lindsay]

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OT: sorry magbisaya ko ha

tinood baya nga maski unsa nato ka dugay sa states lahi gyud atong accent. maklaro gyud. i know a lot of people who are here for more than 20 yrs and still have a different accent. if you are not born and raised here, or if none of your parents are speaking american english at home, or ug niari lang ka nga dako naka labi na if your in your 20's di na gyud ma deny nga lahi ang atong accent maski unsa pa nimo ka expose sa american language and culture.
ok ra ug lahi accent basta masabtan lang. ako grateful lang ko nga kamao ko mo english, mao na ang importante para nako.

[vern]

I'm with lindsay. There is nothing wrong with an accent. Lots of people especially those with European heritage wear it like a badge. It is terrible that many Filipinos for one reason or another concentrate on sounding American (or what they think American English sounds like) instead of speaking plain, good and correct English. That is the only way we are going to keep our supposed "advantage" if any ... speaking good correct English. The goal is not to sound like the people you are in business with ... but communication between you and them.

[maling]

Now maybe you didn't understand me so I'll say it clearer this time. An ADULT that was born, raised, and lived in a different region and then transplanted to a foreign land whether within the same country or not will ALWAYS have tendencies (no matter how subtle) of the language he/she grew up with. ?

thanks for clarifying that out. Because you failed to mention which part in a person's life was he/she transplanted, and that led to many ambiguous contexts.

i guess everyone should clarify how old they were when they lived where and for how long...

because if ur like born here and then lived here for oh i dont know... 2 minutes and then u went to the states...there shouldnt be a shred of cebuano accent in u.

[Pedrocar41]

I'm with lindsay. There is nothing wrong with an accent. Lots of people especially those with European heritage wear it like a badge. It is terrible that many Filipinos for one reason or another concentrate on sounding American (or what they think American English sounds like) instead of speaking plain, good and correct English. That is the only way we are going to keep our supposed "advantage" if any ... speaking good correct English. The goal is not to sound like the people you are in business with ... but communication between you and them.

I agree with you. Filipinos should focus on speaking plain, good and correct English rather than concentrating on sounding American.

[cyclops]

say "yes" instead of "yeah" and use "did not" instead of didn't... thats one proper way of conversation at corporate workplace. People will not understand you if you have accent.

[annais]

i beg to disagree with you, cyclops. what's the matter with using "yeah" or "didn't" even "dunno" or "wanna" in workplace? certainly, principles on business reports and correspondence forbid the usage of slang in written communication but conversing with a coworker? using slang should never be mistaken as putting on an accent. slang is not accent and vice versa.

however, there are a coupla things i would wanna stress out for non-native speakers of english: good pronunciation and proper diction.

[PissKhanXXX]

i don't see any point in arguing about accents. what's important is that people understand each other in communicating.

[crinkle]

^absolutely.

[dessay]

Actually the other night my boyfriend and I were discussing about the English language. Unya kay permi man nako siya sungogon sa iyang pag pronounce ug TOYOTA. He makes his accent sound as if he came from America. So ako pud siya barahon na ang pag pronounce sa Toyota in bisayan slang which is TU-YU-TA (kanang dala bang pinabundak gyud ang TA)..

Ambot lang ba pud ang uban try-hard man pud kaayo na ilang accent will sound like Americans..Sa tinood lang hilasan ko mamati.

[cyclops]

that's my point.. people sometimes can not hear silent vowels and they will verify what you've just said. If you speak through your nose for example...like if you say "car" and slang people say's " kha" with silent "r"... or say "yes' and you say "ya^".. You will sound unprofessional during corporate meetings. Most of my boss will say proper english terms while talking to me, just like when they write formal business letters.