Learning a new language. Oh La La

English and French are the official languages of my country, Cameroon. However, depending on what region of the country you hail from, your first language is usually one and not both of them. My parents are English-speaking, thus, English was the first and only language I spoke for the first six to seven years of my life.

How I learned French is however not my focus in this post. Instead, I am writing about my transition from British English to American English. See folks, culture shock is real!  I am used to saying things like: boot and not trunk; biscuits and not crackers and my “Ts” make a sound when I use them. Imagine my four-year-old nephew once corrected me; “Aunty, it is water (transcribed: /ˈwɔtər/) and not water (transcribed: /ˈwôtər’/. 

In the US, I learned pretty quickly that I had to change the way I speak and write English or risk being misunderstood. The saying; “when you go to Rome do what the Romans do” is certainly good advice.

It is very upsetting when people do not understand you even though you speak the same language. I had to learn how to speak and write American English or take the risk of repeating myself numerous times. I read my papers searching for “misspelled” words like neighbour, parlour and labour instead of neighbor, parlor and labor. 

 Thanks for telling & showing us how international students feel Buzzfeed!

I have to say it was and still is a frustrating experience as I have to force myself to fight back from that voice in my head that tells me that I already know English, and that British English is the proper English. Sometimes, it is easier to learn a subject when you approach it with a fresh mind, and that has been my biggest challenge as I work each day toward learning American spellings, figures of speech among other things.

While I may never speak or write American English perfectly, I now find myself in a tough position. To my American friends, I speak English with a foreign flavored accent and to my Cameroonian friends, I don’t sound African anymore. I suppose language has made me a hybrid and most people have a hard time identifying where I come from.