Kan jy Amerikaans praat? / Can you speak American?

(Scroll down further for English)

Dit was die jaar 2012 en vir die afgelope jaar het ek alreeds voorbereidings getref om in Suid Korea te gaan Engels gee. Ek het ’n TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) sertifikaat aanlyn verwerf en al my dokumentasie vir die Visum-aansoek gereed gehad. Nog net een ding het geskort, en dit was ’n werk in Suid Korea.

Ek het reeds in Augustus 2011 aansoek gedoen gehad by EPIK (English Program In Korea), maar toe die tyd aanbreek vir my Skype onderhoud was my Engelse aksent té Brits vir die onderhoudvoerder en was ek dus onverstaanbaar (vir haar). Dit het my werwer stomgeslaan dat ek nie loshande die pos gekry het nie. Hy verduidelik toe dat Koreane maar sukkel met Engels en slegs Amerikaanse Engelse aksente verstaan. Sy voorstel vir my volgende onderhoud was dus dat ek ’n Amerikaanse aksent moet namaak!

Ek het nog nooit eers gedink aan die verskil tussen Amerikaanse Engels en Britse Engels nie, ek verstaan mos albei ewegoed. Ek meen ons hoor albei op TV, studeer Britse Engels in skool, praat met hoeveel verskillende aksente in Suid-Afrika met mekaar Engels; Engels was vir my Engels, maak nie saak hoe dit verskillend klink nie. Dus moes ek bietjie navorsing doen.

Ek het my dadelik gewend na die ‘beste' platform vir linguistieke navorsing wat ek aan kon dink - YouTube. Ek het die soekfunksie gebruik en ingetik: “American English Accent.” Die resultate was legio, so ek het maar bo begin en op die boonste skakel gekliek. Die video het die verskil tussen die klank van die vokaal “a” in Britse en Amerikaanse Engels beklemtoon. O ja, “dênce" en nie “dance" nie, “cên’t" en nie “can’t" nie! Goed, “ê, ê, ê.”

Die tweede skakel was vir my seker die hulpvaardigste en by verre die vermaaklikste! Dit was ’n skets van Casper de Vries, waar hy verwys na “Americans”. In die video lug hy ’n paar maklike wyses uit om soos ’n Amerikaner te klink, en ek het hulle almal geoefen, dit lui soos volg:

Eerstens, moet nooit sê “Yes” of “Yah” nie, gebruik in stede “Yeah” soos “Jêê-ah!” Dit is ook nie “Awesome” nie, maar wel “Aah-sum”.

Tweedens het hy gesê dit sal ’n mens baat om hardlywig te klink wanneer mens woorde soos “problem” sê, dus “praaah-blem”.

Laastens moet mens nie vergeet om mens se lippe om te krul en die “r” te aksentueer nie, en dus “shurrrre” te sê vir “sure”.

Ek het aantekeninge gemaak en seker gemaak dat ek een van hierdie truuks in elkeen van my onderhoud vrae sou kon gebruik. My volgende onderhoud was reeds vir die volgende middag geskeduleer, en siende dat die internetkonneksie maar stadig is in die platteland waar ek gewoon het, sou die onderhoud oor die telefoon geskied.

Dit is min of meer hoe die gesprek (in kort) afgeloop het:

Koreaan: “Hi Egbert, are you doing well?”

Ek: “Yeah, I’m fine thanks, and yourself?”

Koreaan: “Also good. I want to check if you would be able to start working by March 1st?”

Ek: “Shurrre! I can do that.”

K: “The students at our school are low level students, would you be willing to teach low level students?”

Ek: “Of course, no praaah-blem!”

K: “The apartment we prepared for you was the previous teacher’s, and it is somewhat furnished, is that ok with you?”

Ek: “Yeah, thats aah-sum, thank you so much.”

K: “Thank you for the interview. The starting date is March 1st, and we will let you know soon if you got the job.”

Ek: ”Aaah-sum, thats grreat, I cênt wait to hearr back from you. Thank you for your time.”

Die truuks het gewerk, of hulle was dalk regtig desperaat om iemand betyds te kry, want 5 minute later het ’n e-pos met die kontrak, Visum-uitnodiging en ander besonderhede deurgekom.

Twee weke later was ek in Suid Korea, ek het wel vinnig geleer dat die lang pad van kommunikasie probleme nou aangebreek het. My eerste gesprek met my mede-onderwyser het nie so glad verloop nie. Sy’t byna glad nie verstaan wat ek vra nie. In stede van “ske-jewel” het ek “schedule” gesê, ek moes op die ou-end my sin herhaal en eerder die woord “timetable” gebruik. Na ek “classroom” gebruik het moes ek myself korrigeer met “clêssroom”. Na ek ’n paar keer met “Yah” geantwoord het, wou sy weet of dit dieselfde as “Yeah” beteken. 

Dit was maar net die begin, want die stryd van Amerikaanse spelling gebruik om die kinders in die klas te leer, en om woorde soos, “boot”, “bonnet”, en “coriander” te vervang met “trunk”, “hood”, en “cilantro” het nog vir my voorgelê. Vir 5 jaar het ek dit gedoen, en nou praat ek ’n Engels wat enigiemand sal verwar oor waar ek vandaan kom, maar ek dink amper enigiemand sal kan verstaan.
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The year is 2012 and I had already been preparing to teach English in South Korea. I had already acquired a TEFL (Teach English as Foreign Language) certificate, and prepared all my documentation for the Visa application. The only thing that was still missing was a teaching job in South Korea.

In August 2011 I had applied at EPIK (English Program in Korea), but after having the Skype interview I was informed that my English accent was too British and that the interviewer had a difficult time understanding me. It left my recruiter stunned, as he thought that I was a great candidate. He explained to me that Koreans are used to American pronunciations, and often find it really hard to understand other accents. So, he suggested that I should fake an American accent for my next interview.

I had never even thought about the difference between American and British English, I understand both equally well. Coming from South Africa we are immersed in both, you hear both on TV and radio, we study British English at school, and people speak in such a variety of accents across South Africa that to me it was all just English, didn’t matter how different they sounded I understood it all the same. That meant that I had to do some more research before attempting to fake an American accent.

Don’t be too impressed though. I immediately jumped to the first best platform for linguistic research that came to mind - YouTube. In the search bar I typed in the following: “American English Accent.” There were a plethora of results, so I started at the top and clicked on the first video link. It was quite helpful and focused on the difference of the short vowel sound “a” in American and British English. Oh yes, now I remember, It’s “dance” not “dahnce”, “can’t” and not “cahn’t”. Alright, take note and apply!

The second link was by far the most helpful, and definitely the most entertaining. It was a comedy sketch by a South African comedian named Casper de Vries titled “Americans”. In his video he referred to a couple of easy ways to ensure you sound American; and I practiced and used them all, as follows:

Firstly, never say “Yes” or “Yah”, use “Yeah” (with a thick drawl) in stead. For the word awesome don’t pronounce it as “Ossum” like the Brits do, but say “Aah-sum”.

Secondly, it would be to one’s benefit to sound constipated when pronouncing words like “problem”, eg. “praah-blem” (add thick drawl).

Lastly, don’t forget to push your lips out and apart and accentuate the “r”, as in “shurrre” for “sure”.

I wrote down all the notes and made sure that I would be able to use every little trick in my interview answers to sound American. My next interview had already been scheduled for the next afternoon, and seeing that the internet connection was too slow, it would be a phone interview, which would furthermore count in my favor, because no one would see how ridiculous I looked while trying to sound American.

In short, the interview went something like this:

Interviewer: “Hi Egbert, are you doing well?”

Me: “Yeah, I’m fine thanks, and yourself?”

Interviewer: “Also good. I want to check if you would be able to start working by March 1st?”

Me: “Shurrre! I can do that.”

I: “The students at our school are low level students, would you be willing to teach low level students?”

M: “Of courrse, no praaah-blem!”

I: “The apartment we prepared for you was the previous teacher’s, and it is somewhat furnished, is that ok with you?”

M: “Yeah, thats aah-sum, thank you so much.”

I: “Thank you for the interview. The starting date is March 1st, and we will let you know soon if you got the job.”

M: ”Aaah-sum, thats grreat, I can’t wait to hearr back from you. Thank you for your time.”

My methods must’ve worked - or they were just desperate to fill the position in time. 5 minutes after the interview I received an email with the contract, Visa-invitation and other details attached. I was finally going to South Korea.

Two weeks later I found myself in South Korea and, as I quickly found out, at the start of a long series of communication issues. My first conversation with my co-teacher didn’t go smoothly at all. She almost didn’t understand a single one of my questions. In stead of “ske-jewel” I pronounced it as “Shedual”, and I had to eventually rephrase my question asking for my timetable in stead. After asking about my “classroom” (British) I had to switch over to “classroom” (American) before she could produce an answer. After answering with a short “Yah” a couple of times, she enquired if “Yah” means the same as “Yeah” or “Yes”.

That was only the beginning, because the battle of American spelling in the classroom and substituting words like “boot”, “bonnet” and “coriander” with “trunk”, “hood” and “cilantro” all still lay ahead. I kept on going like this for 5 years, and now I speak a type of English that would confuse anyone as to where I’m from, but I’m rarely misunderstood!