I was talking to my mom on the phone last night. We were speaking in Bisaya, our family’s dialect. Just then, she said something I didn’t quite hear. “Sorry?” I said. My roommates Cate and Cheryl looked at me and burst out laughing.
“Sorry?” is probably your average OFW’s (Overseas Filipino Worker) most used phrase. It’s what I say whenever I talk to non-Filipinos and I could not understand what they say, which happens quite a lot. It’s not that I don’t understand English, but that they have different accents. Now perhaps an OFW who has been in other countries can adjust quite easily, but Singapore is a melting pot of races. So we have to adjust to more than one type of accent here.
I think I’m doing well, though. A few months ago at my previous company, I once asked my teammate, “Can you please write that down?” after she had repeated herself three times and I still could not comprehend.
I think I’m doing so well in adjusting that I’ve began to absorb some Singlish terms in my vocabulary without realizing it. The chameleon strikes again.
Dinner, 7pm at Marche. Can?
Oh, you want me to tell you the difference, is it?
Aiyo!
Wait ah.
By right, it should flow out of the 001 bank account.
But he’s not here. So how?
Haiz.
I also abbreviate a lot now.
dun – don’t
wan – want
nvm – nevermind
v – very
ard – around
mom – moment
rem – remember
tks – thanks
urw – you’re welcome
tt – that
pvt – private
qn – question
recep – reception
All I need is lah.