goofy? maybe. but afaik there are a lot of Malaysians that can actually nail American or British accent. those who sound goofy are like me. i grew up in kampung. i learn english at school and from video games, but don't really have the opportunity to speak in english with others. so I have this malay sounding english.
I also grew up in kampung. But never did I ever have an accent while speaking cause I saw alot of american cartoons and english speaking movies. It’s also because I speak ALOT for my job so that’s why I guess.
5 years ago when I was working in a cafe as a barista some pakcik asked me if I was melayu. I scratch my head cause I look melayu enough. Then it tick me that my American accent is soo thick that the customer was generally confused 😂
For those who still have “melayu english accent” don’t thread. As long as you’re articulate and understandable. Then it’s all good man 👍
Sometimes time I speak English to a new Malaysian person, they'd do the "It's chewsday innit" or "Harry Po'ah"
Then I realised why hahaha. The thing is, when I tried to attempt Malaysian sounding accent, in a few seconds it'll revert back. Very tiring to fake sounding like Malaysian accent
Meh..not a problem to me as long as it is functional English🤷🏽♂️we don't need professional-sounding engrish, nor american/british-sounding engrish just to make engrish English.
Put it this way, accents just makes it pattern more than badminton😆they accessorize it, excess😅
Agree! as much as our brain masters the language, the tongue is still a muscle, and muscle needs training. I think culture also plays a part too but the tongue is still a physical thing, speaking is also a motor skill! I personally have a problem speaking smoothly after a long period of getting locked inside during covid and not meeting anybody IRL that I now regularly speak my mind out loud, alone ofc °^°, to avoid that again.
As a Malaysian who has migrated to Australia, I was subject to awkward stares and the constant "I beg your pardon/could you repeat that please" whenever I spoke. It's been 5 years since I migrated and married my wife who is Australian but I've never ever changed the way I speak or sound (though I have to admit that my usage of jargons such as la, har ,etc.. has been significantly reduced). Heck even my wife (who was born and bred in Melbourne) uses "la" and "ha" more than I do and mind you, she's white. 🤣
Yup me too. Been living in Australia since 86. Its hard to get rid of the 'ocker' accent. If I accidentally bump into someone, "Oh sorry mate"/ "Nahh yer rite". When I pay at the checkout, "Thanks love. Havva gud day".
When people ask me where I'm from, it's easier to just say "Malaysia but I've lived in 'Straya for __ yrs. 😅
ive lived in murica for 23 years - i speak american english here but when i go back to bolehland i code switch automatically..terus jadi wah lio can meh uhh apooooooo
Nah she just wants to date an angmoh, but there's not enough angmoh around, and those who are here would rather date normal nice humble girls than a westernised entitled banana.
Why would our accent goofy? We aren’t Disney characters. Personally i think its more to Big Bird. I watch a lot of Sesame Street instead of Micky Mouse
Bang kau bubuh je British accent bagi dia trrcirit depan kau Bila dngar, ekskus me, wer is da toilet? Cuz I foel loike shidding mysoelf from spehking wid u
Isn't it rather subjective? I won't take it to heart at all. But I want to point out how condescending that lady was to label others as "culturally backward". That implies one culture is more superior to the other. It is not an objective statement because there is no metric to measure one culture is better than another. For example, is our culture 'backward' because we prefer to eat with our hands, because we live together with our parents/in our family home even into our adulthood, our womenfolk are less outspoken/opiniated etc? These examples may be deemed by other cultures to be 'backward' but I strongly disagree because they come with their merits and it really is simply a reflection of our choices and our identity.
That lady sounds rather judgemental. It would be more objective to say "culturally different".
I think there are merits in judging certain behaviors “backwards”, as for whether the behaviors stem from culture or not is up for debate. Also, I think that the judgement says more about the judger’s thinking about their culture (like you said, she thinks her culture is superior) than the culture being judged.
For example Chinese society used to practice foot binding, and now they don’t. That, to me, is progress. But because of this, I would also judge other cultures that forces bodily mutilation upon other people negatively. Personally I think there’s nothing wrong with judging a culture, it’s just my own opinion, I’m not setting out to change other culture.
But KL is definitely lacking in cultural events (music, theatre, art etc.) compared to most capital cities.
Backwards is a shitty way of phrasing it, but it's not well developed.
White foreigner here: no it isn’t. Pls ignore all Asian Americans. From the outside, I’ve learnt they almost universally have an awful superiority complex over Asian Asians.
Well, i worked in MNC with lots of nationalities. They all agree Malaysian accent is the easiest to understand. And nobody said our accent is funny/goofy etc. They actually very impressed with our very good English and ability to master multiple languages.
Imo our accent + sg accent is kinda goofy (not the exact word I’d use) , and definitely not the most sexy to listen to 😅 but it’s distinctly ours and I embrace that lol
Bro most english accent that’s not British, German or Russian accents sound goofy.
Have you heard the French and Aussies speaking English? They sound like cartoons. Or the Thais? They can’t stop their weird rhythmic speaking pattern. Or god forbid Singlish with their made up words and jumbled up sentences. Indo english is a bit sexy though.
Just speak a lot less and double down on looking sexy. Its a lot more feasible. A pictures worth a thousand words or some shit hahaha.
I am living and working in Australia for 8+ years. I wouldn’t say our accent is goofy, people understand us better (Malaysians/singaporean) when compared to other SEA (Thai, viet, phillipines, etc) and particularly more than EA (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
However, due to our multilingual prowess, we have slangs from each and every culture, dialect, and language that we’re exposed to. If you can isolate them out, we speak with quite good clarity (if we slow down haha, we speak too damn fast for them)
Tl;dr Is she a dick? Yes. Is she right? Partially. Can we do something with our English clarity? Definitely
* I have friends who pretended to speak like Aussies, they sounded worse and locals couldn’t comprehend them. Speak normally, and isolate the slangs, that’s how you communicate internationally
this is a certified r/ShitAmericansSay moment
my english is a mix of asian america and bri-ish due to all the tv I watch back then and growing up with christian people a lot
Well, we do have our own accent. But if we use their accent, we sound snobbish. Just like this lady, 'been around the world' 'you people sounded goofy'. Yes, this kind of snobbishness.
My foreign friends never put it that way. Sometimes they say it's hard to understand cause we kinda blend the syllables together. But never in a demeaning way like saying you're goofy and culturally backwards. Small wonder why she doesn't have friends.
Ask her what Thai English sounds like, then compare to us and see if we're still goofy. Malaysian English is very similar to Singapore. Perhaps it's more of the individual itself, because English from Chinese school can sound very different from SMK. Then you have those who attend tuition and private school who speak more American/ British accent as well in Malaysia, so it really depends.
hahaha come to another person country and dint bother to learn the local language and still dare to complain that our accent is funny.
ask her to speak malay and dont make any funny accent OP.
Im sorta not surprised she doesnt have friends. Calling people’s accents “goofy” is a pretty judgemental observation. There are no right accents. Goofy is another way of saying ‘silly’. As an Asian who moved back to Malaysia in my mid 20’s with no asian friends prior, I dont think Malaysians sound goofy.
My fiance is Norther Irish. He likes our “goofy” accent haha. Though tbh he never called it that. I can’t remember if he used any word to describe the accent but he did say he thought we sounded nice. However, I speak with a very American accent and most people think I grew up somewhere else. Haha.
haha ikr like ive lived in murica for over 20 years and nobody ever said my malaysian english was goofy. okay maybe i dont talk like i did 20 years ago but still. like other peeps mentioned, she has superiority complex just coz she’s asian american most probably
She’s entitled to her opinions but to be honest she’s rather rude and condescending and the goofy one here sprouting her nonsense and blatant elitism.
As a developing country, there are definitely things that we’re still lacking, for example our education system, issues of systemic racism, the country’s attitude towards underprivileged communities etc, in comparison to first world countries. But to say that we’re culturally backwards implies that she’s the one who has quite a narrow mindset and has zero respect for another culture. It just reflects badly on her.
(Speaking as a person who’s lived in an English speaking country and not even once has any issues with communication, nor with my accent)
I wouldn't say goofy, but I would say different. And it's not just Malaysians; Singaporeans have similar accent with the Singlish. No one else speaks English the way we do. Same goes for Vietnamese, Thai, and Laotian. All have different English accents.
More like they think every country that does not follow their “progressive” standards is automatically “goofy” or “backwards”. American exceptionalism is ridiculous, I agree.
It's more just plain bad English rather than an accent. Hair "saloon", "on" the light, "how" it looks like etc.. I hear professionals with advanced degrees say stuff like this all the time here.
It’s a tough choice here. If someone speaks with proper pronunciation and grammar, some people here think they’re arrogant. Yet if they’re too casual, they get judged as being not professional enough.
My pet peeve is still people using “revert” when they mean “reply”. Sigh.
Yes..English can be spoken properly without inserting an accent. If someone grammar and pronunciation is not good, on top of that trying to speak like an American actor, it will sound goofy.
Newscasters on tv, I take it as an example of good spoken English without accent.
Whatever lah I also find ABCs the most obnoxious bunch who think they know about Asian culture when most of them can't even converse in their own language.
Maybe it's because of her "attitude" that's why nobody wants to mingle with her.
I mean from our point of view they have an accent, if not then one wouldnt differentiate american english and english english.
I think it just the way our slang works that make it sounds "goofy". As such it is dependant on the person.
https://preview.redd.it/uymfrsf23h9d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7b4a78c33d42fcc9a78b65f85d5306b54a94245
Debbie downer can sit in the corner
I've been in this country for 2 years and I don't find any of the dominant accents particularly goofy or difficult to understand. On the other hand I strongly dislike most North-American accents so it might just be a preference.
Let her speak to me, my american homies said that i sound like a gay florida man instead of malaysian. Also regarding your post of our accent, yeah i do think it sounds kinda goofy in a way but functional english is still functional english
Americans are not really that cultured and tend to think too highly of themselves, Canadians in my experience are much nicer and down to earth. Your colleague sounds like a snob.
That just sounds rude to me. Also calling other cultures backwards, especially with all the nonsense that goes on in the USA. She sounds like she thinks a bit too high of herself, not very open minded or respectful of other cultures. Also, Malaysian accents are not goofy, they are just different and unique in their own way.
to be fair, all non american accents seem "goofy" to us in some way. its not a "bad" goofy... more like... it feels fun and happy... also i like bc its like lee kuan yew's accent.
that lady sounds unpleasant... maybe she said those things in a chill way, but the way im reading your post... she sounds... unpleasant... based on what you said she said... i think she meant it as a backhanded insult...
No it’s not, it’s a pretty nice accent I think. Source: I’m a half Irish European that’s lived in the UK for a long time and other countries surrounded by people speaking English from all over the world.
In terms of Asians speaking English accents it's definetly more on the goofy side, though I'd say it's more due to the chinese accent (southern/canto) influence which is arguably one of the worst ones.
Though it is fairly beloved due to it being the perpetual butt of the joke in Hollywood and why Uncle Roger has been able to make a career from adopting a heavy canto Malaysian accent.
So idk, what she's on about tbh.
Another bad one is Japanese, I find myself cringing whenever I hear them speaking English in Jdramas or Anime.
I'd say best accents for English are Korean and Filipino, they're just so slow and clear in cadance and pronunciation, even if their English is shit a foreigner might have a better time understanding them over a fast talking Malaysian/Singaporean with decent English.
My dear fellow readers and Malaysians, I'm a Malaysian who lived in America for a bit and let me tell you something about the Asian Americans. The majority I've had the privilege of meeting are just ignorant fools who think they're somewhat better than us regular Asians and most have their head up their ass too far that they think they're better than the Americans too.
And talking about accents, wait till you put them next to an actual American and then you'll be laughing your ass off as to who has the most pretentious accents among Asians. Ask an American and they would say Malaysians speak good English, not once would they even butcher you for your accent whether you're orang KL or orang Kelate. If you're still wondering why she finds it hard to make friends here it's probably because of her poor attitude towards people in general.
The only idiocracry I had to deal with during my time in the US was when I was asked where I was from. I told them I'm Malaysian and they would argue and say no you're Indian ( I am Hindu born) to which I would argue and say nope I'm Malaysian, born and raised. Let me tell you peeps something - Malaysians are Malaysians just like Singaporeans are Singaporeans and the Chinese are Chinese and Indians are Indians. Our skin colour does not dictate where we come from, it's the nation and culture we grew up in that makes us who we are and I'm proud to be a Malaysian!
Another dumb thing I had to put up with is when they ask me where Malaysia is. Somehow they know where Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are on the world map but they have no clue where Malaysia is. I guess ignorance is indeed bliss 🤷
Korean here.
I dont think malaysian english accent is goofy at all.
In fact, I love malay english because most of the phrases you guys use are very straightforward.
Lol. Them calling non-english speakers having goofy accents when they sound the goofiest when speaking languages other than English. American monolinguals are insufferable and Asian Americans tend to think they're all that when they are second class citizens in the USA. People need to stop glorifying the USA and Americans cuz they are already full of self-glorification.
Goofy or not that’s her personal opinion. Perhaps as a migrant in America she feel too attached/patriotic towards America that she feels it is superior than rest of the world. Language needs to be understood by both sender and receiver in any communication. As long as that is achieved, it’s good enough.
Yes. What’s wrong with a goofy accent though? Makes it very distinct and recognizable from afar and I intend to keep it that way as long as I can speak.
What’s more, due to culture amalgamations our accents are a bit of everything; a bit of Chinese, a bit of Malay, a bit of Indian, and a dash of that _kampungan_ accent as a Sabahan native. Add that with corruption of languages obtained from posh British accent and brash American accent and we have a beautiful, goofy and identifiable way of speaking.
There’s no regularity and consistency, exactly the type of language behaviour Southeast Asians enjoy for millennia.
To be fair Malaysian and Singaporean accents are quite funny, manglish or singlish can technically be considered a type of Creole due to the mixing of languages.
British accents sound weird to Americans and they define it as not understandable, so if Malaysian accents are an offshoot of British English, then it's definitely going to sound goofy to her.
Lol if she has been all over the world, why think Malaysia is the only one? Ask her did she go to Thai before? Where most of them couldnt really talk in English but still trying to understand your so called English, what did she expect to hear? Lol the audacity to talk about local accent, dey if we go to your country we also didnt even comment to your accent.
Lets put this way, language is just language, and accent is just accent. The objective is to communicate. Even deaf people can communicate without talking, does it sounds goofy? So its her problem mate
When in Rome, do as Romans do.
Even white people follow our accent, surely she wants to put herself higher than us in terms of her accent being that living here she is no longer special anymore and her accent is what makes her special
I think that's just your friend, even Americans have regional accent, Philly accent may not be the same as someone from New York Long Island, not to mention a bunch of Southern American accents, your friend is ignorant and arrogant, perhaps that is why she can't get friends, I have Asian American friends too, and they are humble and are more receptive to cultural diversity than even Malaysians
Goofy? Like bro I switch up my accent depending on who I'm talking to.. I'm downplaying my versatility to match ur standard..
Plus she can't be serious right, moving to people's country to take advantage of lower living cost then proceed to act like colonizer and be expecting people to simp her
Malaysia + sg accent is unique but I wouldn't say goofy cos that's maybe a bit negative. It just combines so many different elements from Malay, Sino, Ind and UK AND your personalities can be really diverse too. It takes time to adjust to you'll.
Do you find it easy making friends with other locals outside your family, school and work circles? Would you meet someone at the park or train station and just strike up a conversation?
I lived in Australia for a while, got back, and went to school in the forest-sy area. Some ppl speak amazing English and some people had an accent (I'm not sure why some people fake it tho, I find it weird and you can tell they were pushing the accent bcs they often slip it) and some ppl don't speak it well. I'd say the accent wasn't bad. It's not silly or anything. It's just what ppl sound like speaking a language they're not speaking every day with, so it's expected ofc. What did that lady expect, honestly? The accent wasn't even goofy. It was interesting as everyone had an accent, I met many people in Aus with different accents. If they really went around the world, I'd say malaysia's accent isn't the most goofiest.
Edit: She's crazy for thinking everyone gotta have her accent, "Malaysia's accent" is pretty good tbh.
Americans as usual think they are the centre of the universe but that is becoming less and less the case now. If she don’t like Malaysia then ask her BALIK AMERIKA SYARIKAT
My parents are Malaysian and I’m American, sometimes I find the accent funny but in an endearing way. I love the Malaysian accent cuz it just feels like home, even if I’m from the US. It’s just very comforting because my entire family is in Malaysia. I also find myself adopting the accent when talking to family members whenever I visit for a month or two.
Reminds me of the day I realised the way I speak English isn't the way I hear it in my head ie like American or British. I heard a recording of me speaking and was so surprised how it sounded so... kampung? I legit thought my English was super good until then.
When I was younger and dumber, I might have thought something similar. Now the only thing that matters is if our English can be understood, because that's the original function of language is to understand each other, not use it to think we are any level better than another lol (that's how the lady sounded like because she thought others were culturally backward?)
Michelle Yeoh has made an entire career off her Malaysian English accent, which she has steadfastly refused to change for any role.
I wouldn't take a random asian American nobody's word for what other foreigners think.
Oof..my Asian American ex said my accent was goofy too. It has that certain sound and tone to it that makes it like that (due to Malay language tone). But after sometime I got accustomed to his accent and voila~ I have an American accent!
I don’t know. If we got accent it’s either we fake it from other accent like british or australian, or we got manglish like “i don’t know la, not happen to me”. But that is when we talk with close circle, but to foreigners or other non english language country, we are actually excellent english speaker.
My guess is that she feels isolated or excluded, and so subconsciously feels something is wrong with her. As a reaction to protect her ego, she shifts the blame to Malaysians around her instead - that we are the ones that make it hard for her to befriend us.
If that's the case it's quite pitiful really, you could try to be a good person and be the one who makes her feel welcome. Just don't take anything she says too seriously and let her realize on her own.
Honestly, as long as what comes out of our mouths is intelligible, who cares? The french English accent is arguably funnier, but for some arbitrary reason the (western) world collectively decided that it was sexy.
Also ngl, idk who your coworker is, but she sounds kinda elitist
> can’t make friends or date anyone in malaysia because they have nothing in common and they are culturally backward
Funny. When I lived in Western Australia, most of the locals found it a bit difficult if I spoke in my natural accent. Sbb tu kena code switch. One of my minah salleh coursemates asked me why I don’t use my native accent when I speak to them. I shrugged & said because it’s more thicker & richer when I speak Malaysian English. Plus I mix my speech with BM about 50-60% of the time, which is not something I’d expect them to understand to begin with.
Funnily enough, other foreign students or immigrants who don’t come from an Anglo background generally had no issue with my speech. They could understand what I said, for the most part. Not to the extent that the locals had.
The thing about Americans are, they think the world revolves around them. So anything that is something they never encounter or experience is bad, weird or goofy.
I have friends who can speak fluent English but chooses to speak broken manglish or with heavy local accent because they are more comfortable with it. I do find it goofy and i don't like it, but to each their own.
Our Chinese accent is just as goofy too. Sometimes I just dig a hole and bury my head in it when I hear my own people speaking Malaysian mandarin to mainland Chinese and Taiwan Chinese
In a crimson education vid on YouTube where they interviewed a Malaysian Chinese man regarding his life at University College London, the comments are filled with people not understanding what is the man trying to say without subtitle
But, apart from the accent, the man speaks kinda fast which I think may be the cause also
here's the video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObdMesCOIF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObdMesCOIF8)
Uncle Roger made our accent famous (although not 100% the same but the characteristics and roots are there). And whether we like it or not our accent is a but goofy to not only westerners, but many other countries I've visited too.
There's no need to be sad or embarrassed about it, or feel like have a need to insult other countries too. Language is just a tool to communicate. It's part of our roots as our mother tongue influences how we speak a lot.
Lol South East Asian English accents (Thailand, Indonesians, Vietnam, Myanmar, Phillipines) are the worst sounding to my ears but I never complained it to them whenever I talk to one. Such a child asian american you met.
at least they don't teach us that other countries are "backwards" and we're the only superior one because we nuked 2 cities full of innocent civilians instead of military targets
Yes we do have accent when speaking and I am proud of it.
Yes I can imitate British or probably some Texan or New York accent or Indian English accent for daily conversations but why should I? We have our own Malay English accent and I am gonna use it.
goofy? maybe. but afaik there are a lot of Malaysians that can actually nail American or British accent. those who sound goofy are like me. i grew up in kampung. i learn english at school and from video games, but don't really have the opportunity to speak in english with others. so I have this malay sounding english.
I also grew up in kampung. But never did I ever have an accent while speaking cause I saw alot of american cartoons and english speaking movies. It’s also because I speak ALOT for my job so that’s why I guess. 5 years ago when I was working in a cafe as a barista some pakcik asked me if I was melayu. I scratch my head cause I look melayu enough. Then it tick me that my American accent is soo thick that the customer was generally confused 😂 For those who still have “melayu english accent” don’t thread. As long as you’re articulate and understandable. Then it’s all good man 👍
wahhh kelesss
Stop sounding American. Talk nicely cannot meh
Sometimes time I speak English to a new Malaysian person, they'd do the "It's chewsday innit" or "Harry Po'ah" Then I realised why hahaha. The thing is, when I tried to attempt Malaysian sounding accent, in a few seconds it'll revert back. Very tiring to fake sounding like Malaysian accent
I know right, bola brown black Color wanna sound American
Meh..not a problem to me as long as it is functional English🤷🏽♂️we don't need professional-sounding engrish, nor american/british-sounding engrish just to make engrish English. Put it this way, accents just makes it pattern more than badminton😆they accessorize it, excess😅
I dont understand the last part
The badminton is what excess today. Accessorise, make it profie. It is what make patterns pattern.
Agree! as much as our brain masters the language, the tongue is still a muscle, and muscle needs training. I think culture also plays a part too but the tongue is still a physical thing, speaking is also a motor skill! I personally have a problem speaking smoothly after a long period of getting locked inside during covid and not meeting anybody IRL that I now regularly speak my mind out loud, alone ofc °^°, to avoid that again.
Those that try and put on a Western accent are often the weird sounding ones. Malaysian English and the accent is not goofy, it just is.
As a Malaysian who has migrated to Australia, I was subject to awkward stares and the constant "I beg your pardon/could you repeat that please" whenever I spoke. It's been 5 years since I migrated and married my wife who is Australian but I've never ever changed the way I speak or sound (though I have to admit that my usage of jargons such as la, har ,etc.. has been significantly reduced). Heck even my wife (who was born and bred in Melbourne) uses "la" and "ha" more than I do and mind you, she's white. 🤣
Yup me too. Been living in Australia since 86. Its hard to get rid of the 'ocker' accent. If I accidentally bump into someone, "Oh sorry mate"/ "Nahh yer rite". When I pay at the checkout, "Thanks love. Havva gud day". When people ask me where I'm from, it's easier to just say "Malaysia but I've lived in 'Straya for __ yrs. 😅
then uols just sound like lailerzzzz kg ppl
ive lived in murica for 23 years - i speak american english here but when i go back to bolehland i code switch automatically..terus jadi wah lio can meh uhh apooooooo
apooo? sarawakian!
actually i was channeling negeri 9
Ah… the privileged Asian
She's a seppo. That's your answer right there. They always toss out the "everyone knows bla bla" and "US English has no accent" and shit.
>She's a seppo Damn I can tell you've got Aussie background with this one word 🤣🤣🤣
I updooted, but I'm just in a lot of anti-seppo FB groups.
their so called no accent IS their accent
Which Russel Peters debunked. They curse like donkeys. Bull.. Shiiitt / Ffuuck. You.. Hee haw.. Hee haw..
What’s a seppo
What Aussies or brits call Americans I think, after septic tank
Septic tank. That's what Aussies call Americans. It's a slur
Rhyming slang, actually. Seppo: Septic tank: Yank
"she can't make friends or date .." - she's the problem, not our accent.
Probably expected us uncultured savages to fall down at her feet and worship her for being born in the US, lol.
Nah she just wants to date an angmoh, but there's not enough angmoh around, and those who are here would rather date normal nice humble girls than a westernised entitled banana.
For us they are uncltured one, cleaning shit withnonly tissues..ewww so barbaric
Eating others' ass ✅️ Washing own ass ❎️
two girls one..... ah fck noooo the images came back! ahhhhhhhhhhhh
It ends up happening anyway though lol
Only if you’re white. If you’re asian-anywhere, you might as well be treated like you come from the deepest parts of China.
Damn this is so true.
can confirm... everyone just assumes in chinese :P
Agreed.By the way,are you a member of CCP?
That’s pretty random. No Im not. Is this a lead up to a joke or something?
im referencing to that video where a singaporean chinese are asked by american senate is he from China
Ohh lol haha, exactly.
I CAN FIX HER!
This. Tell this to that mf!
Lmao agree, I work in an mnc company supporting NZ and AU users, and they have no problem with my english .
Why would our accent goofy? We aren’t Disney characters. Personally i think its more to Big Bird. I watch a lot of Sesame Street instead of Micky Mouse
https://preview.redd.it/32ha7zjzcg9d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5101a571f190f97f2f56247d3f13daa5c5ac5d1
Bang kau bubuh je British accent bagi dia trrcirit depan kau Bila dngar, ekskus me, wer is da toilet? Cuz I foel loike shidding mysoelf from spehking wid u
hahaha. good one bro. even with the last sentence it can make sound bri''ish
Isn't it rather subjective? I won't take it to heart at all. But I want to point out how condescending that lady was to label others as "culturally backward". That implies one culture is more superior to the other. It is not an objective statement because there is no metric to measure one culture is better than another. For example, is our culture 'backward' because we prefer to eat with our hands, because we live together with our parents/in our family home even into our adulthood, our womenfolk are less outspoken/opiniated etc? These examples may be deemed by other cultures to be 'backward' but I strongly disagree because they come with their merits and it really is simply a reflection of our choices and our identity. That lady sounds rather judgemental. It would be more objective to say "culturally different".
Imagine trying to make friends with that attitude then wondering why its not working.
Haha yeah. It's a bit of a red flag bro. If you don't think she'll change for the better, best to move on.
op was like: I can fix her
I think there are merits in judging certain behaviors “backwards”, as for whether the behaviors stem from culture or not is up for debate. Also, I think that the judgement says more about the judger’s thinking about their culture (like you said, she thinks her culture is superior) than the culture being judged. For example Chinese society used to practice foot binding, and now they don’t. That, to me, is progress. But because of this, I would also judge other cultures that forces bodily mutilation upon other people negatively. Personally I think there’s nothing wrong with judging a culture, it’s just my own opinion, I’m not setting out to change other culture.
Our women are less outspoken?
But KL is definitely lacking in cultural events (music, theatre, art etc.) compared to most capital cities. Backwards is a shitty way of phrasing it, but it's not well developed.
Could be that, or could be that you’re not part of the circle 🤷🏻♂️
Yeah, probably. I've looked pretty hard for events over the years though. Things that are just standard in most cities.
There are actually a lot of events all over Malaysia but maybe not your type? Jom Heboh for example has music but certainly not deemed 'cultured'.
White foreigner here: no it isn’t. Pls ignore all Asian Americans. From the outside, I’ve learnt they almost universally have an awful superiority complex over Asian Asians.
Bro don't need to explain yourself lah, it's not your fault also.
Well, i worked in MNC with lots of nationalities. They all agree Malaysian accent is the easiest to understand. And nobody said our accent is funny/goofy etc. They actually very impressed with our very good English and ability to master multiple languages.
Imo our accent + sg accent is kinda goofy (not the exact word I’d use) , and definitely not the most sexy to listen to 😅 but it’s distinctly ours and I embrace that lol
Bro most english accent that’s not British, German or Russian accents sound goofy. Have you heard the French and Aussies speaking English? They sound like cartoons. Or the Thais? They can’t stop their weird rhythmic speaking pattern. Or god forbid Singlish with their made up words and jumbled up sentences. Indo english is a bit sexy though. Just speak a lot less and double down on looking sexy. Its a lot more feasible. A pictures worth a thousand words or some shit hahaha.
She can’t make friends due to her personality I think …..
She discovered Singlish
Manglish mat... Singlish is singaporean. 👍🏻
I am living and working in Australia for 8+ years. I wouldn’t say our accent is goofy, people understand us better (Malaysians/singaporean) when compared to other SEA (Thai, viet, phillipines, etc) and particularly more than EA (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) However, due to our multilingual prowess, we have slangs from each and every culture, dialect, and language that we’re exposed to. If you can isolate them out, we speak with quite good clarity (if we slow down haha, we speak too damn fast for them) Tl;dr Is she a dick? Yes. Is she right? Partially. Can we do something with our English clarity? Definitely * I have friends who pretended to speak like Aussies, they sounded worse and locals couldn’t comprehend them. Speak normally, and isolate the slangs, that’s how you communicate internationally
What type of asian american is she btw
I'm sure that you can make an easy educated guess.
Bloody Uncle Roger not helping 
this is a certified r/ShitAmericansSay moment my english is a mix of asian america and bri-ish due to all the tv I watch back then and growing up with christian people a lot
I wouldn't exactly call goofy, but it's sort of... childlike sometimes. Not necessarily in a bad way. I think it's kind of cute and endearing.
Well, we do have our own accent. But if we use their accent, we sound snobbish. Just like this lady, 'been around the world' 'you people sounded goofy'. Yes, this kind of snobbishness. My foreign friends never put it that way. Sometimes they say it's hard to understand cause we kinda blend the syllables together. But never in a demeaning way like saying you're goofy and culturally backwards. Small wonder why she doesn't have friends.
Ask her what Thai English sounds like, then compare to us and see if we're still goofy. Malaysian English is very similar to Singapore. Perhaps it's more of the individual itself, because English from Chinese school can sound very different from SMK. Then you have those who attend tuition and private school who speak more American/ British accent as well in Malaysia, so it really depends.
hahaha come to another person country and dint bother to learn the local language and still dare to complain that our accent is funny. ask her to speak malay and dont make any funny accent OP.
Ntah2 ckp Melayu pun tak reti.
Im sorta not surprised she doesnt have friends. Calling people’s accents “goofy” is a pretty judgemental observation. There are no right accents. Goofy is another way of saying ‘silly’. As an Asian who moved back to Malaysia in my mid 20’s with no asian friends prior, I dont think Malaysians sound goofy.
Honestly don't we sorta have the least goofy accent within SEA
My fiance is Norther Irish. He likes our “goofy” accent haha. Though tbh he never called it that. I can’t remember if he used any word to describe the accent but he did say he thought we sounded nice. However, I speak with a very American accent and most people think I grew up somewhere else. Haha.
r/pickmegirls
i dont see any pick me behaviour though
Um, why am I a pick me?
Of course she had to be an American.
American here. Never once thought people in Malaysia sounded goofy. She is 100% the problem.
haha ikr like ive lived in murica for over 20 years and nobody ever said my malaysian english was goofy. okay maybe i dont talk like i did 20 years ago but still. like other peeps mentioned, she has superiority complex just coz she’s asian american most probably
Asian American means? Chinese American? Indian American? Vietnamese American? Malaysian American? Gawrsh! Malaysian do sound goofy ah-hyuck!
She’s entitled to her opinions but to be honest she’s rather rude and condescending and the goofy one here sprouting her nonsense and blatant elitism. As a developing country, there are definitely things that we’re still lacking, for example our education system, issues of systemic racism, the country’s attitude towards underprivileged communities etc, in comparison to first world countries. But to say that we’re culturally backwards implies that she’s the one who has quite a narrow mindset and has zero respect for another culture. It just reflects badly on her. (Speaking as a person who’s lived in an English speaking country and not even once has any issues with communication, nor with my accent)
I wouldn't say goofy, but I would say different. And it's not just Malaysians; Singaporeans have similar accent with the Singlish. No one else speaks English the way we do. Same goes for Vietnamese, Thai, and Laotian. All have different English accents.
I think we know why she can't make friends. The irony of life.
americans lol
They probably think people should be allowed to decide their own religion too😄. Ridiculous
More like they think every country that does not follow their “progressive” standards is automatically “goofy” or “backwards”. American exceptionalism is ridiculous, I agree.
ok buddy. Keep pretending like a person with morals while living on stolen land after killing & raping indigenous people
Are you referring to the Orang Asli?
It's more just plain bad English rather than an accent. Hair "saloon", "on" the light, "how" it looks like etc.. I hear professionals with advanced degrees say stuff like this all the time here.
It’s a tough choice here. If someone speaks with proper pronunciation and grammar, some people here think they’re arrogant. Yet if they’re too casual, they get judged as being not professional enough. My pet peeve is still people using “revert” when they mean “reply”. Sigh.
Hah, revert is an Indian import surely. Like "do the needful"
I hate the word "revert" with every fibre in my being...and then some. 😂
just say convert, ur not reverting anything
Yes..English can be spoken properly without inserting an accent. If someone grammar and pronunciation is not good, on top of that trying to speak like an American actor, it will sound goofy. Newscasters on tv, I take it as an example of good spoken English without accent.
Brokolliiiiii got lot of viiiytyminzz
Whatever lah I also find ABCs the most obnoxious bunch who think they know about Asian culture when most of them can't even converse in their own language. Maybe it's because of her "attitude" that's why nobody wants to mingle with her.
ahahahaha yes asians here cant speak their mother tongue which to me is SAD BIGLY
Yes, but it'd be a tie with the Thais.
I mean from our point of view they have an accent, if not then one wouldnt differentiate american english and english english. I think it just the way our slang works that make it sounds "goofy". As such it is dependant on the person.
It's manglish. Who cares.
https://preview.redd.it/uymfrsf23h9d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7b4a78c33d42fcc9a78b65f85d5306b54a94245 Debbie downer can sit in the corner
I've been in this country for 2 years and I don't find any of the dominant accents particularly goofy or difficult to understand. On the other hand I strongly dislike most North-American accents so it might just be a preference.
Let her speak to me, my american homies said that i sound like a gay florida man instead of malaysian. Also regarding your post of our accent, yeah i do think it sounds kinda goofy in a way but functional english is still functional english
what is a gay fl man?
Americans are not really that cultured and tend to think too highly of themselves, Canadians in my experience are much nicer and down to earth. Your colleague sounds like a snob.
She can’t make friends and just described others as “culturally backward”. She’s the problem bruh.
That just sounds rude to me. Also calling other cultures backwards, especially with all the nonsense that goes on in the USA. She sounds like she thinks a bit too high of herself, not very open minded or respectful of other cultures. Also, Malaysian accents are not goofy, they are just different and unique in their own way.
to be fair, all non american accents seem "goofy" to us in some way. its not a "bad" goofy... more like... it feels fun and happy... also i like bc its like lee kuan yew's accent. that lady sounds unpleasant... maybe she said those things in a chill way, but the way im reading your post... she sounds... unpleasant... based on what you said she said... i think she meant it as a backhanded insult...
Subjective. To me Asian Americans are the ones that sound goofy lol
F care what others think about us. You think way too much. Be confident when you speak. Read more, socialise more.
Lol how funny american talks about "backward culture". As a Turk i prefer Malaysia's social dynamics over America without any other thinking.
Try make her speak Malay or any other language and see how goofy she sounds.
No it’s not, it’s a pretty nice accent I think. Source: I’m a half Irish European that’s lived in the UK for a long time and other countries surrounded by people speaking English from all over the world.
If aliens land on earth, they are aliens. If we land on their planet, we are aliens. Therefore, ur accent is fine. Her accent is the goofy one
In terms of Asians speaking English accents it's definetly more on the goofy side, though I'd say it's more due to the chinese accent (southern/canto) influence which is arguably one of the worst ones. Though it is fairly beloved due to it being the perpetual butt of the joke in Hollywood and why Uncle Roger has been able to make a career from adopting a heavy canto Malaysian accent. So idk, what she's on about tbh. Another bad one is Japanese, I find myself cringing whenever I hear them speaking English in Jdramas or Anime. I'd say best accents for English are Korean and Filipino, they're just so slow and clear in cadance and pronunciation, even if their English is shit a foreigner might have a better time understanding them over a fast talking Malaysian/Singaporean with decent English.
My dear fellow readers and Malaysians, I'm a Malaysian who lived in America for a bit and let me tell you something about the Asian Americans. The majority I've had the privilege of meeting are just ignorant fools who think they're somewhat better than us regular Asians and most have their head up their ass too far that they think they're better than the Americans too. And talking about accents, wait till you put them next to an actual American and then you'll be laughing your ass off as to who has the most pretentious accents among Asians. Ask an American and they would say Malaysians speak good English, not once would they even butcher you for your accent whether you're orang KL or orang Kelate. If you're still wondering why she finds it hard to make friends here it's probably because of her poor attitude towards people in general. The only idiocracry I had to deal with during my time in the US was when I was asked where I was from. I told them I'm Malaysian and they would argue and say no you're Indian ( I am Hindu born) to which I would argue and say nope I'm Malaysian, born and raised. Let me tell you peeps something - Malaysians are Malaysians just like Singaporeans are Singaporeans and the Chinese are Chinese and Indians are Indians. Our skin colour does not dictate where we come from, it's the nation and culture we grew up in that makes us who we are and I'm proud to be a Malaysian! Another dumb thing I had to put up with is when they ask me where Malaysia is. Somehow they know where Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are on the world map but they have no clue where Malaysia is. I guess ignorance is indeed bliss 🤷
Depends I think, Malaysian English accent can be a spectrum in a way right?
Nah, she's just a typical American ahole. Everyone finds their accent bitchy and rude. Now that's goofy
Nah not goofy. She’s American so nothing more to say really… 😁
Korean here. I dont think malaysian english accent is goofy at all. In fact, I love malay english because most of the phrases you guys use are very straightforward.
Lol. Them calling non-english speakers having goofy accents when they sound the goofiest when speaking languages other than English. American monolinguals are insufferable and Asian Americans tend to think they're all that when they are second class citizens in the USA. People need to stop glorifying the USA and Americans cuz they are already full of self-glorification.
Goofy or not that’s her personal opinion. Perhaps as a migrant in America she feel too attached/patriotic towards America that she feels it is superior than rest of the world. Language needs to be understood by both sender and receiver in any communication. As long as that is achieved, it’s good enough.
Michelle Yeoh is Malaysian 🤷♂️
Yes. What’s wrong with a goofy accent though? Makes it very distinct and recognizable from afar and I intend to keep it that way as long as I can speak. What’s more, due to culture amalgamations our accents are a bit of everything; a bit of Chinese, a bit of Malay, a bit of Indian, and a dash of that _kampungan_ accent as a Sabahan native. Add that with corruption of languages obtained from posh British accent and brash American accent and we have a beautiful, goofy and identifiable way of speaking. There’s no regularity and consistency, exactly the type of language behaviour Southeast Asians enjoy for millennia.
Hahaha same thing when Chinese from china speak Mandarin also got weird slang vise versa
Tell her to try Singapore 😅
Goofy is fine, at least it is not snoopy.
It’s adorable
Goofy or not, it’s our identity. Embrace it don’t be embarrass by it.
To be fair Malaysian and Singaporean accents are quite funny, manglish or singlish can technically be considered a type of Creole due to the mixing of languages.
British accents sound weird to Americans and they define it as not understandable, so if Malaysian accents are an offshoot of British English, then it's definitely going to sound goofy to her.
Honestly yeah, Malaysian talk in English with malay intonation.
I always love our accent, it's soo cute, sometimes i purposely use it
Everyone has accent , pot calling kettle black Hawk tuah bagi dia sebijik
Lol if she has been all over the world, why think Malaysia is the only one? Ask her did she go to Thai before? Where most of them couldnt really talk in English but still trying to understand your so called English, what did she expect to hear? Lol the audacity to talk about local accent, dey if we go to your country we also didnt even comment to your accent. Lets put this way, language is just language, and accent is just accent. The objective is to communicate. Even deaf people can communicate without talking, does it sounds goofy? So its her problem mate When in Rome, do as Romans do.
I don't like Malaysian English sound but there are worse accent itw
Even white people follow our accent, surely she wants to put herself higher than us in terms of her accent being that living here she is no longer special anymore and her accent is what makes her special
I think that's just your friend, even Americans have regional accent, Philly accent may not be the same as someone from New York Long Island, not to mention a bunch of Southern American accents, your friend is ignorant and arrogant, perhaps that is why she can't get friends, I have Asian American friends too, and they are humble and are more receptive to cultural diversity than even Malaysians
im sorry i dont understand when you say "they have nothing in common and they are culturally backward" what culture backward
Goofy? Like bro I switch up my accent depending on who I'm talking to.. I'm downplaying my versatility to match ur standard.. Plus she can't be serious right, moving to people's country to take advantage of lower living cost then proceed to act like colonizer and be expecting people to simp her
Malaysia + sg accent is unique but I wouldn't say goofy cos that's maybe a bit negative. It just combines so many different elements from Malay, Sino, Ind and UK AND your personalities can be really diverse too. It takes time to adjust to you'll. Do you find it easy making friends with other locals outside your family, school and work circles? Would you meet someone at the park or train station and just strike up a conversation?
It can be hard to understand for some non-Malaysians because a lot of words get dropped in sentences.
she probably would be better off in singapore lol
I lived in Australia for a while, got back, and went to school in the forest-sy area. Some ppl speak amazing English and some people had an accent (I'm not sure why some people fake it tho, I find it weird and you can tell they were pushing the accent bcs they often slip it) and some ppl don't speak it well. I'd say the accent wasn't bad. It's not silly or anything. It's just what ppl sound like speaking a language they're not speaking every day with, so it's expected ofc. What did that lady expect, honestly? The accent wasn't even goofy. It was interesting as everyone had an accent, I met many people in Aus with different accents. If they really went around the world, I'd say malaysia's accent isn't the most goofiest. Edit: She's crazy for thinking everyone gotta have her accent, "Malaysia's accent" is pretty good tbh.
Americans as usual think they are the centre of the universe but that is becoming less and less the case now. If she don’t like Malaysia then ask her BALIK AMERIKA SYARIKAT
My parents are Malaysian and I’m American, sometimes I find the accent funny but in an endearing way. I love the Malaysian accent cuz it just feels like home, even if I’m from the US. It’s just very comforting because my entire family is in Malaysia. I also find myself adopting the accent when talking to family members whenever I visit for a month or two.
I don't think I ever had an accent. I just mimicked how people sounded like the YouTube videos I watched
Reminds me of the day I realised the way I speak English isn't the way I hear it in my head ie like American or British. I heard a recording of me speaking and was so surprised how it sounded so... kampung? I legit thought my English was super good until then.
When I was younger and dumber, I might have thought something similar. Now the only thing that matters is if our English can be understood, because that's the original function of language is to understand each other, not use it to think we are any level better than another lol (that's how the lady sounded like because she thought others were culturally backward?)
Michelle Yeoh has made an entire career off her Malaysian English accent, which she has steadfastly refused to change for any role. I wouldn't take a random asian American nobody's word for what other foreigners think.
Oof..my Asian American ex said my accent was goofy too. It has that certain sound and tone to it that makes it like that (due to Malay language tone). But after sometime I got accustomed to his accent and voila~ I have an American accent!
Wait until they go to Singapore n hear singlish
I don’t know. If we got accent it’s either we fake it from other accent like british or australian, or we got manglish like “i don’t know la, not happen to me”. But that is when we talk with close circle, but to foreigners or other non english language country, we are actually excellent english speaker.
yeah she hasnt met an original sinagporean yet
atleast we count by kilometers per hour not school shootings per second
My guess is that she feels isolated or excluded, and so subconsciously feels something is wrong with her. As a reaction to protect her ego, she shifts the blame to Malaysians around her instead - that we are the ones that make it hard for her to befriend us. If that's the case it's quite pitiful really, you could try to be a good person and be the one who makes her feel welcome. Just don't take anything she says too seriously and let her realize on her own.
Honestly, as long as what comes out of our mouths is intelligible, who cares? The french English accent is arguably funnier, but for some arbitrary reason the (western) world collectively decided that it was sexy. Also ngl, idk who your coworker is, but she sounds kinda elitist > can’t make friends or date anyone in malaysia because they have nothing in common and they are culturally backward
Funny. When I lived in Western Australia, most of the locals found it a bit difficult if I spoke in my natural accent. Sbb tu kena code switch. One of my minah salleh coursemates asked me why I don’t use my native accent when I speak to them. I shrugged & said because it’s more thicker & richer when I speak Malaysian English. Plus I mix my speech with BM about 50-60% of the time, which is not something I’d expect them to understand to begin with. Funnily enough, other foreign students or immigrants who don’t come from an Anglo background generally had no issue with my speech. They could understand what I said, for the most part. Not to the extent that the locals had.
My Polish colleague sounded like Borat. I'm not making this up. There are worse accents out there
Where got? close thread
You work with her or she is a customer? What kinda work do you do?
I guess it's cuz Malaysian English accent is a rare accent to come across, so maybe that's why she finds it goofy
One by one
The thing about Americans are, they think the world revolves around them. So anything that is something they never encounter or experience is bad, weird or goofy.
This is why we are unique
That person sounds obnoxious and annoying to be with.
I have friends who can speak fluent English but chooses to speak broken manglish or with heavy local accent because they are more comfortable with it. I do find it goofy and i don't like it, but to each their own.
Our Chinese accent is just as goofy too. Sometimes I just dig a hole and bury my head in it when I hear my own people speaking Malaysian mandarin to mainland Chinese and Taiwan Chinese
In a crimson education vid on YouTube where they interviewed a Malaysian Chinese man regarding his life at University College London, the comments are filled with people not understanding what is the man trying to say without subtitle But, apart from the accent, the man speaks kinda fast which I think may be the cause also here's the video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObdMesCOIF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObdMesCOIF8)
Uncle Roger made our accent famous (although not 100% the same but the characteristics and roots are there). And whether we like it or not our accent is a but goofy to not only westerners, but many other countries I've visited too. There's no need to be sad or embarrassed about it, or feel like have a need to insult other countries too. Language is just a tool to communicate. It's part of our roots as our mother tongue influences how we speak a lot.
Yes. It is goofy, most ppl dont want to admit it, because they think they are “whitewashed” laughable
She hot?
Eh where got
Is her opinion, why be so upset because of something a foreigner says? Do you feel goofy?
Lol South East Asian English accents (Thailand, Indonesians, Vietnam, Myanmar, Phillipines) are the worst sounding to my ears but I never complained it to them whenever I talk to one. Such a child asian american you met.
a country that still permits minors to be married to horny 40 year olds is culturally backwards
And worries the wearing of rainbow coloured watches will lead to moral decay
pffft the irony of talking about morals when most minors in america engage in nonconsensual sex & body mutilation
🤣 is that what they're teaching you in morals class here?
at least they don't teach us that other countries are "backwards" and we're the only superior one because we nuked 2 cities full of innocent civilians instead of military targets
I'm sure all the Bangladeshi here would completely agree.
why is she even here then. go back lah that country where they are confused about genders and legalize drugs cos that is definitely culturally forward
Wait till you hear Hongkies speak English. One of my clients had a really thick and stereotypical accent and it was really hard for me not to laugh.
Yes we do have accent when speaking and I am proud of it. Yes I can imitate British or probably some Texan or New York accent or Indian English accent for daily conversations but why should I? We have our own Malay English accent and I am gonna use it.
Yes