First, let me say that English is my second language. Second, let me tell you how I learned to speak, write & understand this language.1.) I studied in a school where the language of instruction is English (except for 2 or 3 subjects).
2.) I watched a lot of American TV shows growing up.
3.) I read a lot of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew & Sweet Valley High books.
Which now brings me to my third point, when I moved to the US in 2003, I found out there is more to the english language than meets the eye. The Americans use idiomatic expressions and they pronounce/enunciate words differently. So imagine the confusion on my face when I first heard the words/phrases "hit the sack", "dark horse", "kissing cousin", etc. Fast forward to 2009, I am now married. My husband is white. He is from Michigan. He is smart. Except for a little spanish, he can only speak English. Living with him is full of "Huh?!" and "What???" moments. Of course, all referring to how I pronounce words.
One time I asked him to bring me to a Filipino store. He asked: "Do you know where it is?" To which I replied: "It's on Sunset, right by Denny's." I pronounced it as "Den-kneees". Then he asks again: "Where? What?" To which I replied again: "Den-knees!!! We went there before!!! Remember our waiter Nazareth?" At this point I was already pissed & wondering if I married a deaf guy. Then he says: "Oh Denny's!" (and he laughs)
I can remember a hundred more of these type of conversations but this one stands out because it was pretty funny.
Even though he makes fun of my english (in a funny way), he also admits that my english is better than his Tagalog.
