Today, the parent of a student called to ask me about a homework assignment. At the end of the call, she told me that I seem to be losing my "Asian accent" from when she first talked to me in the summer. I was born in the US, grew up in NJ and speak perfect English. FML
Collection
Halloween
A failed costume, stolen candy and a very real scare: Halloween, the one night when fear is allowed.
Today, I went to see the school counselor to schedule my classes for school. She asked me if I knew how to speak English. My parents are Chinese and I don't even know how to speak Chinese. I've lived in America my whole life. Plus, I even spoke to her in English to ask about classes. FML
Today, my teacher, who's Irish, called me insensitive and stupid for imitating her accent. I'm Filipino and my parents immigrated to Ireland where I was born, and then we moved to Canada when I was 14. Her response to my explanation? "Bullshit." FML
Today, we had a substitute teacher. She was taking attendance and had trouble pronouncing my last name. When I corrected her, I heard her mutter under her breath about, “Goddamn Mexican immigrants…” I’m from Greek ancestry, born in the USA. FML
Today, at work, I was helping someone who really sounded like she had a Boston accent. So, I asked her where she was from. She has never been out of state. Turns out she has a speech impediment. FML
Today, my mom hit me in the face after an argument she didn't win. According to her, Mexican and American are languages, and not dialects or nationalities. She even argued with my teachers, and threatened to remove me "from a school full of uneducated people" after they told her I was correct. FML
Today, I was eating at a Chinese restaurant, when I stopped the waitress to tell her that even though I am of Chinese heritage, I can't understand a word of Chinese. After an awkward silence, she told me she was actually speaking English. FML
Today, my teenage daughter asked me if accents are hereditary. FML
Today, I called the Vietnamese teacher at my son's kindergarten by my Chinese colleague's name. Luckily, she didn't catch it. I'm not a racist, I was just tired after a long day. FML
Today, at a tutoring center, one of the tutors looked at my worksheet and laughed. She then showed all the other tutors my mistakes and they laughed along with her. The best part? They all speak Chinese and they think I can't understand them. I'm Chinese. FML
Today, I found out that my parents don't know the difference between a foreign person and a deaf person. They've been yelling at our exchange student for the past 2 days. FML
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Top comments
candisweets 10
You should have asked her when did she lose her manners and respect for others.
tazmanmike2013 17
Sorry to hear it OP, some people speak without thinking
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Comments (65)
HopeQTPi 2
Some people don't understand how in this country we're all descended from immigrants. Not everyone in this country had positive & "diverse" teachers like you maybe. Sorry for his/her ignorance.
Andoria 16
Something tells me she either hasn't heard a real "Asian accent" before or she's just an idiot. Sorry OP.
xx000o 27
Or both.
MurphyGallagher 18
Definitely both.
Blink_me26 21
Back in grade 8 my African teacher called my mum and she thought he was a telemarketer and hung up on him.
Rababco 29
@15 I've never been to Australia but I'd guess if he was born and raised in Australia that he'd have an Australian accent.
fooltemptress 36
It could be worse. You could be like me and pick up the accents of anyone you're talking to.
TheOnlyMizLiv 22
My mom does that, it's really awkward to be around because I feel like it comes off as patronizing or mockery.
RedPillSucks 33
I do that too. Quite often without realizing it.
LowExpectations 30
I do the same thing. Then again I watch a lot of BBC shows.
DanielleinDC 34
I do the same thing as well. When I have a cold, I've been asked if I'm British because of how I talk.
underthesea12 24
Good job loosing the accent!
Philintheblankz 14
Good job LOSING your thumbs up.
NashyzzleTheN 10
Good job not reading the FML carefully!!
peggersmum 14
Doubt you speak perfect English. Perfect American perhaps, but not English.
Dilwann 27
'American English', 'British English'. Both English.
lysx84 24
"American English" - like English but with all the spelling and pronunciation changed.
nightbirdblue 27
What about Canadian English and Australian English?
Autumnsbeing 9
British English is the source of Australian, American, Canadian, Hong Kong etc English. So perfect English is British English.
jujuthefroggy_fml 16
Please, don't split hairs! British English is indeed "original English" but, i don't understand why it is "perfect" compared to other English. It is just different. I guess you don't speak the same English in London and in Manchester so which one is perfect?
RedPillSucks 33
There is no perfect english. English is a bastardization of french and german and pieces of other languages thrown in. It's been changing for centuries. Nobody speaks english like in the King James bible. If you go to Britain, you will hear all different sorts english accents (Scottish, Irish, Welsh, etc.) Obviously none of these are "perfect" english either (Ok. Perhaps the Scots).
EmmaMK 35
I'm not even sure I know what perfect English is anymore. It is rarely used in every day communication e.g. text messages or Twitter.
arandomusernameaa 20
The only people who 'txt' like that are prepubescent teens who think they are amazing. No real person talks like that anymore :)
lightanddark 17
everyone has a bit of accent, so even if you speak "perfect English", you're bound to have some sort of accent. don't sweat it
Philintheblankz 14
The real FML here is the fact you were born in NJ.
peachychick 1
Jersey is an awesome place to live... we have Wawa. :)
kienenm14 3
yass Wawa
mrlopez 13
Had that happen to me before. Everybody told me to 'stop acting' when I had traces of the western accent. I was born in Asia but been in the 'States since I was a teen. Embracing foreign cultures can be exciting but somehow, my local hometown doesn't seem to think so.