I have a helper from the Philippines, and her name is May. I often call her my "auntie". She is from the region of Iloilo, and as she joined us only last year in May 2011, she is relatively new in Singapore.
I remember that communicating with her at first was not easy, although she knew English. She often says the word "anor" in her sentences while speaking, and I found out from her that means "what". It's like how we use "mmm" in our sentences while talking: "You know that, mmm, that shirt over there?" So she would say it like: "You know that anor, that shirt over there?" And it needed much getting used to. It made me laugh now writing this as I realised that our overseas friends needed to get used to our Singlish in the same manner as well.
I was telling her about directions around the area we stay, and told her that she could take the lift to the first floor where she could find the nearby provision shops. As I was talking, I noticed that she was looking at me with a confused expression. After a while, she started murmuring, "Lift? Take the lift?" I finally realised and said, "Take the elevator," and her face melted into a look of understanding.
Even though both of us may speak English, one of us is not familiar with it as it is not her native language, while the other has been brought up in a culture that has distorted the language. As such, in order to communicate effectively with my auntie, I need to know how she is used to speaking English - like asking her what she means when she says "anor", and I also need to observe the way she communicates with her body language as Filipinos are quite expressive with their body language. I realised that I can tell alot from how she reacts, not just by what she says.
That day we were changing the bedsheets, and I reminded her to tie up the strings on the bolster covers. Again she was confused. So I held up the bolster and told her what we call it.
"What do you call this in the Philippines?" I asked.
"Oh that... Hot-dog pillow."
We both burst into peals of laughter.
PS. I asked John, and he does not call it a hot-dog pillow. So there are different cultures in the same country as well!
4 comments:
language isn't a barrier. HAHA
HAHA Hot dog pillow! Come to think of it, the bolster actually looks like a hot dog!I guess patience is required to understand a culture that is different from yours.
Well yea....see..now I think of hot dogs when I sleep...maybe that's why I'm always hungry =/ have hot-dog pillow next to me all the time!
I understand that ever individual must know the differences among cultures especially in a multicultural environment.
Hot dog pillow! haha
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