Oh this is lovely! I’m facing the same questions as I speak a non-English language all together. At least I managed to say inshallah to everyone of my friends and they accept it now without batting an eye..
But I also have my community of Arabs where we sit and teach each other colloquial and informal phrases in each of our dialects.. It’s also why I always read in Arabic, specifically when I’m in New York, cause it’s one of the few avenues I keep engaging with my mother tongue..
Hah definitely not. When I’m in Kuwait I’d default to my Kuwaiti friends and won’t need to learn the other Arabic dialects. One of the weird ways being an expat can reinforce your sense of being in your own identity in a new expansive way..
Wow, this is kinda weirdly synschonicitous to read... I now live in the Netherlands and speak a lot of Dutch everyday... and yet, towards the end of the day when fatigue creeps in, I my Dutch broadens and dips into more Afrikaans sounds...
I don't know if my accent has changed after nearly 11 years of living here, but I have previous experience with this:
I moved from Johannesburg to London for nearly 2 years in the mid 90's. When I left SA, I sounded very much more British than I do now... It had always been important to me. But after 6-months of living in London, I knew I wasn't British... I didn't feel it, I didn't fit... and from that day on, the brit in my accent slipped decisively!
Its not like I decided to change my accent, it was more like it changed to reflect my new sense of identity... maybe that's what will eventually happen to me here too
Thanks for sharing this, Dave! I didn’t know about the London part of your journey — and how interesting that you tried that accent on for bit but it didn’t fit. I have really taken so much solace in the idea that accents can be shaped around where we are in our lives, not just physically, but who we are at that point. Will have to check in with you in a few years’ time to see what you sound like, haha!
Oh this is lovely! I’m facing the same questions as I speak a non-English language all together. At least I managed to say inshallah to everyone of my friends and they accept it now without batting an eye..
But I also have my community of Arabs where we sit and teach each other colloquial and informal phrases in each of our dialects.. It’s also why I always read in Arabic, specifically when I’m in New York, cause it’s one of the few avenues I keep engaging with my mother tongue..
That’s so great — would you still learn these phrases if you were back home or do you think being here makes it even more important for you?
Hah definitely not. When I’m in Kuwait I’d default to my Kuwaiti friends and won’t need to learn the other Arabic dialects. One of the weird ways being an expat can reinforce your sense of being in your own identity in a new expansive way..
Yes, totally. It’s quite an unexpected and nice side-effect of moving abroad.
Hey Nadia,
Wow, this is kinda weirdly synschonicitous to read... I now live in the Netherlands and speak a lot of Dutch everyday... and yet, towards the end of the day when fatigue creeps in, I my Dutch broadens and dips into more Afrikaans sounds...
I don't know if my accent has changed after nearly 11 years of living here, but I have previous experience with this:
I moved from Johannesburg to London for nearly 2 years in the mid 90's. When I left SA, I sounded very much more British than I do now... It had always been important to me. But after 6-months of living in London, I knew I wasn't British... I didn't feel it, I didn't fit... and from that day on, the brit in my accent slipped decisively!
Its not like I decided to change my accent, it was more like it changed to reflect my new sense of identity... maybe that's what will eventually happen to me here too
Thanks for sharing this, Dave! I didn’t know about the London part of your journey — and how interesting that you tried that accent on for bit but it didn’t fit. I have really taken so much solace in the idea that accents can be shaped around where we are in our lives, not just physically, but who we are at that point. Will have to check in with you in a few years’ time to see what you sound like, haha!