Accents

Assalamualaikum peepers and stalkers

Today I want to talk about accents.

To everyone who know me out there;; there’s a question that had been running inside my mind since yesterday::

Do I have a weird accent?

This all came about because yesterday Shu-san said to me that my Tajweed teacher said that I have a weird accent and asked her if  all of us are from the same districts.

Hahahaha so maybe you’ll be like;; “What the hell is she walking about?!”

So let me explain;; for us first-year Malaysian students in Irbid;; Jordan;; it’s mandatory for us to take a semester-long Arabic language course. Well;; for those who did not pass the test in the beginning of the first semester that determine whether or not we got a place in the Language Centre in the University;; WE have free time in the mornings. Because we had only paid for two subjects for our first year;; and those two are both after Zuhr.

Most of us decided to attend outside classes to better our grip at the Arabic language;; because it’s such a hard language to master;; even more so when we don’t really use it among ourselves. We only use it with Arabs;; since they are very proud of their language;; and most of them don’t really have good English.

Apart from extra classes for my Arabic;; I also take classes to  better my Tajweed. 

Now what is Tajweed?

 Tajweed is basically the right way to read Quran.

The lessons were so interesting! You know how most languages have different alphabets and different pronounciations? Well in Tajweed we learn how to pronounce the alphabets;; since most foreigners find it hard to do that in the right way. There are alphabets that comes out from your nose;; or your mouth;; and … It’s actually quite hard to explain.

I love my Tajweed teacher. She always seems to notice me and never fails to look at me at every few minutes when she is in the middle of explaining things to us. I feel like I want to do better because she was so … dedicated to teaching us!

Yesterday we went to a kinda book sale after class;; and that’s when she asked Shu-san that question.

Shu-san was curious and had told me that she asked our teacher what kind of accent she was talking about;; or rather;; which one?

Is my Malay accent weird?

Or I just sound funny when I attempt to speak Arabic?

To both questions my teacher –ooooooh I forgot to tell you guys her name-;; Miss Reem;; (she gave us her facebook name a awhile before and I haven’t sent a request to her yet.) said no.

I had been bloody curious since yesterday! Though not really to the point that I would ask her myself;; I’m afraid I would come across as disrespectful.

….Which doesn’t makes sense but for some reason it’s logic to me.

But why???????

Because since I was little my parents had been teasing me about my accent.

“Just hear her say ‘r’.”

“Oooooh even when she speaks Malay she sounds awkward.”

I used to be embarrassed;; I don’t know what I used to sound like;; but at some point I started trying to speak English in a Malaysian Accent;; but some people still say that I sound British.

Even when I used ‘dude’ instead of ‘mate’;; and saying ‘I can’t find my pants’ instead of ‘have you seen my trousers?’;; and I use ‘corridors’ not ‘hallways’.

Like that girl I met when I was in Form 3 and working for my aunt at a kinda booth in a shopping mall (hardly classified information;; I just can’t remember which one);; she’s a foreigner and doesn’t look like she can speak any coherent Malay;; so I asked her in English;; “Anything I can help you with?’

And we ended up chatting and she told me about her school and we have had lunch together and yadda yadda yadda. Then she told me matter-of-factly;; “You have a British accent you know that?”

I was surprised since I was adopting American terms at the time.

There’s also this guy in my Accounts class that isn’t my friend at all;; but kept giving me glances as if saying “I’ve talked to you once or twice NOW should be your turn to say something to ME”. It’s pretty embarrassing and made me feel flustered;; and I kept avoiding sitting anywhere near him because I don’t want to feel his eyes burning holes into the side of my head.

Anyway there was this one day that I sat behind him;; and he suddenly turned around in his seat and asked me;; “Why do you have a British accent?”

Did I say that he makes me feel flustered? Yes? I’m gonna tell you again that I was feeling REALLY embarrassed at the time;; I mean who is he to treat me as a friend and suddenly talking to me like we talk everyday when we bump in the hallways??

My answer came out all messed-up;; “Uhh because- that’s-“ Here I shrugged my shoulders “-how we were taught… in Malaysia” I don’t know why I was nodding at the time;; and I pretended to look elsewhere and just ignored him after.

He turned back to the front eventually;; after staring at me to a close one minute.

Now;; not just strangers notice that;; apparently my friends do too.

“I hate how when you’re talking in Malay you sound like you’re speaking in English.”

Not just my English accent;; mind.

My Malay accent too.

“What you said again?”

“Why did you say that like that?”

“I can hardly understand what you’re saying.”

Annnddddd my Arabic.

“I noticed the way you said this alphabet is different.”

“You don’t have to say it like that!”

=,=;

I mean I have a perfect set of teeth;; and my throat doesn’t have any kind of imperfections that stop me from pronouncing certain alphabets;; for example some people can’t pronounce ‘r’ and ‘s’ right;; but I can! Splendidly well;; just like normal people.

So why when I speak people will often stare at me like I’m some kind of alien? And afterwards will come the comment about my accent and what not.

Gehh…

Next time somebody ask me about my accent;; I’ll say “It’s called a Damia accent because I’m the only one that have this accent. Case closed.”

The end.

This certainly is nothing like a fairytale ending;; but I hope my conclusion satisfies your needs.

Thank you for reading folks!