Tongue-twisted. Yes, it is what I get everyday for using three different languages. I speak English to my colleagues and clients at work, Filipino when I'm with friends back home, and Ilocano with my family back in the Philippines. I often have the words jumbled and the enunciation mixed up. Sometimes, I find it difficult to speak everything perfectly. And you know what's worse? Back in the Philippines I was trained with American accent. I have dealt with this type of clients for almost 5 years and eventually acquired it. Unfortunately, when I moved to Singapore, I have to twist my tongue for Aussies and Kiwis because they have a totally different accent. And for 6 months, I am still in the process of "twisting" my tongue for them. hehe It's quite a challenge to be caught in the middle of two different accents. Let me share some distinctions to you:

Word Example	American	Australian
Printer	Prinner (silent letter "T")	Printa' (silent letter "R")
Cotton	Cott'n (short letter "T")	Cotton (as is)
Getting	Gedding ("T" changed to "D" sound)	Getting (as is)

See the picture? I am more used to the American accent, sometimes I wonder if I am still saying the words correctly. I think the American influence had greatly impacted us Filipinos. Majority of our culture and traditions are quite similar with them. So I guess that explains a little about my familiarity with it. But If I were to compare accents with my local friends here in Singapore, their foreign influence is more of the British as they were once colonized.

The good thing about this is that we get to learn new stuffs. We get to flex and blend to a new culture that is beneficial to us somehow. So, are you ready to get tongue-twisted?