Monday, May 21, 2007

accent extreme

Living in a place that has 90% of it's population from several foreign countries have exposed me to different versions of the english language.
Most of the time I have to use my extra sensories to understand what a person is saying, and could not rely on my hearing alone. I would have to take into account where I am, what I am doing, what that person is doing, what he/she is holding, what I'm holding, what I'm wearing and sometimes even what my kids are doing, in order to decipher what a less eloquent person is trying to say to me.
The worse experience I've ever had , had to be when we were trying to get up to the service apartment in Bahrain.

A group of us walks past the receptionist (a guy of i'm not sure what origin.. generally south-east-asian, but not distinct enough to be of any specific country).

Receptionist: Hello? Hello? Wish Plor?
Me: Sorry? I don't speak arabic.
Rec: Wish Plor?
Me: *thinks: he looks filipino* Urm.. excuse me? I am not filipino, i don't understand.
Rec: Wish Plor?!
Me: *thinks: maybe he's siamese?* Sorry? Say that again?
Rec: Wish plor yew goin?
Me: *thinks: receptionist, me going to elevator with a bunch of other folks* Which floor am I going to?
Rec: ya ya, wish plor you goin?
Me: Oh.. Fifth floor. I am going to the fifth floor.
Rec: Pip plor? watcho comney?
Me: yes, fifth floor *instinctly emphasizing the Fs* sorry, what was that again?
Rec: watcho comney? wish comney u wit?
Me: *thinks* what's the name of my company?
Rec: Yes, watcho comney?
Me: oh, we're with Smith, we're in apartment 5X.
Rec: Okay. hep kee?
Me: I'm realy sorry.. whatt??
Rec: yew hep kee?
Me: hep kee?? sorry? *my eyebrows were starting to hurt by then, from wrinkling them so much*
Rec: yew hep kee por it? kee. keeeee. *makes turning motions with his hand*
Me: oh! yes. I do have the key.
Rec: okay. sum polks no kee.
Me: okie doke.... Thankyou! *grin* *thinking: whatever. I have to stop talking to you before i get a headache, and quickly walks away to the elevator.*

We walk into the elevtor and i tell my kids to press "Pip Plor".



:laugh:

1 comment:

  1. Hi there Elisa,

    This conversation is hilarious!!!

    ReplyDelete