頭條日報 頭條網 - Carrie Lam speaks fluent English with a Hong Kong accent by Michael Chugani

It is often easy for me to detect (identify, notice) the accent of mainland Chinese who speak English. Most mainlanders speak English with the same accent. Indians and Pakistanis also speak English with an accent that is distinct (recognizably different) from other people. Singaporeans and Malaysians speak English with a similar accent. When I hear this accent, I often cannot tell if the person is from Singapore or Malaysia. The American and Canadian accents are very similar. Australians and New Zealanders also speak with a very similar accent. People from different parts of the United Kingdom have different accents.

        E xposure to different accents influences a person's own accent. The word "exposure" has many meanings but used this way it means being in contact with other things, such as a culture or a language. For example, mainland-born children who grow up in the US and, therefore, have exposure to the American accent will often acquire (develop, learn, pick up) an American accent too. Hong Kong-born children who grow up in Canada and are, therefore, exposed to the Canadian accent, will acquire it. I have heard many Indians speak English with a perfect British accent.

        Most Hong Kong people speak Chinglish, which is a mixture of Chinese and English with bad grammar. Many speak fluent English with a Hong Kong accent, such as Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the former chief secretary, Anson Chan Fang On-sang. Some speak fluent English with a perfect British accent, such as barristers Gladys Li Chi-hei and Audrey Eu Yuet-mee. As I said in my previous column, you don't necessarily have to be exposed to an accent from childhood to be able to acquire that accent. I pointed out in my previous column that Chai Ling, a university student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen protests, acquired an American accent after escaping to the US. She does not have a perfect American accent but it is good enough. What accent would you like to acquire?

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        我很輕易就辨別（detect）到內地人說英語時的口音。大部份內地人的英語口音都一樣。印度人與巴基斯坦人說英語時的口音，也與其他人有明顯區別（distinct）。新加坡人和馬來西亞人說英語時的口音很相近。當我聽到時，我常常難以知道他是來自新加坡抑或馬來西亞。美國人和加拿大人口音也非常相似；澳洲人和紐西蘭人的口音也相當類似。英國不同地區的人，就有很不一樣口音。

        常常接觸（exposure）不同口音，會影響一個人本身的口音。Exposure有許多不同意思，但這裏解作接觸其他事物，例如文化或語言。例如，在內地出生、美國長大的孩童，會因接觸到（exposure）美式口音，而學得（acquire）一口美式口音。因此，香港出生、加拿大長大的孩童，也會因長期接觸（exposed）到加拿大口音而學曉（acquire）。我就聽過許多印度人說英語時，帶着地道英式口音。

        大部份香港人都說Chinglish，就是中英夾雜兼文法差勁。許多人也會說帶香港口音的流利英語，例如政務司司長林鄭月娥和前政務司司長陳方安生；也有些說流利英語時還帶純正英式口音的，如大律師李志喜和余若薇。正如我上一篇專欄說過，你不必從小時候就接觸（exposed）口音，才能學懂那個口音。上一篇專欄中我就指出，一九八九年天安門示威的大學生領袖柴玲，逃往美國後就學得（acquire）一口美式口音。她沒有最純正的美式口音，但那已經很好了。你又想練成（acquire）哪一種口音？

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=289162§ion_name=wtt&kw=126