David & Mates - Training Days

I’ve been a medical transcriptionist since 2008 and I am lucky enough that I wasn’t just boxed doing American-English files or listening to voice files that are being dictated by American doctors. I’ve encountered American-Spanish doctors, Russian doctors, Chinese-American, Indian doctors, Muslim doctors, and of course, British doctors as well; the latter, the accent I mean, is kinda easy yet challenging to decipher. My ears are loving the accent, it’s my guilty pleasure to mimic the way Britain is doing it but apparently watching British films is like - my brain cells are argy bargy-ing just to catch up with the story. I think the key is getting used to their accent, and apparently the British don’t have this one standard accent - there are a lot – like David, that bloke, our Brit instructor, what have just said, the most difficult kind of British accent is just lurking in the area of Scotland, the northern part of UK. And I’ve just forgotten to say that I’ve done or encountered Scottish dictators! Cor blimey!


Having this difficult UK voice files together with our transcription company’s enthusiasm to push its limit to really penetrate more into UK or lay into Scotland, our big cheese, our boss, have put its manpower – or should I say, its bestest, finest, and cream of the crop medical transcriptionists into training hehehe. Headed by David – he made a customised programme/modules for us to make us fully equipped and really to have a keen ear if the Englishmen are starting to articulate.


So for the last 6 Saturdays, David just presented to our eager auditory canal the various kinds of British-English accents; we’ve ausculted the voice of Prince William, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliff, Hugh Laurie, Rowan Atkinson, John Lenon, my favorite Simon Cowell, John Cleese, Sean Connery, Maggie Smith, Ewan McGregor, and mixed bags. We’ve also listened to one interesting song from Oasis and some news from BBC .


We’ve also get a load of one of UK’s old famou
s comedy TV series The Fawlty Towers, some clips from Love Actually, Austin Powers, Borat, and the Flatmates.



David also taught us the UK geography – its counties; some Brit idiom/slangs which I’ve managed to fit in this post :-D


Our team has tried to teach David a Filipino slang and that is “ECHOS!” (ano nga meaning nito? I’m just pulling you legs or I’m just joking!”



The 6 Saturdays were like banquet of information, we have absorbed enough – but I want more! Our boss should have bought us a return trip ticket to Scotland, to London, or to David’s county, Gloucestershire as part of the training! Hahaha! Those Saturdays have just become part of my habitual Saturday life – and the last training day was a heavyhearted parting, bittersweet actually.


Just to cap this thing off, “Salamat David” from me, my mates, and from our top banana, we had acquired so much from you – we’ve actually interacted to a cool British! - a two-way thing you know. Your lessons are well appreciated indeed, it’s not an ECHOS! Thanks also to AE and to our Boss.


One sure thing, we’ll never stop listening to Brit; we’re still gonna familiarise ourselves to its challenging and interesting accent by listening or watching various British media stuff – familiarization is the key, right?


So, see you around and enjoy staying in Manila!




PS: David please make a comment (how self-serving I can get) hahaha. My mates in office have access in this blog of mine; they read my articles regularly so I can make “yabang” to them that David was “here” in my blog. Thank you!


9 notes:

nikka | August 18, 2010 at 12:21 AM said...

oh, i just hate how i look like at that picture. LOL!

anyhows, i'm getting nosebleeds upon reading this post. But it almost typically expressed out what I felt during the course.

As said, familiarisation would always be the way to be able to do great on our craft, but the lesson was really helpful in letting us know the differences and such in the British English. I just can't help but somehow be amazed on how things differ with American way, and apparently, I think I'm liking it more than the American. :P

DAJ(UK) | August 18, 2010 at 1:41 AM said...

Kamusta ka na? I'm gobsmacked you didn't think it all went pear-shaped and start a kerfuffle. But Bob's your uncle! Unless you are telling porky pies or ECHOS?

Your adoption of British slang is the dog's bollocks or the bees-knees (top notch) so as the Englishman in Manila closest in line to the throne I bequeath unto all of you a knighthood. Unfortunately it's only valid here as it's the only place I can guarantee you will be called by your titles every day. So hello Sir and hello Ma'am. You were all a pleasure to teach for 6 weeks except for Jerry (idiom:pulling your leg).And it's great you want more because we have more. Check out British comedy, music, movies, web resources etc etc. So you can make "yabang" now Bernard (hindi ko alam) and maybe sometime we can all alak pa ( i know what that means.

One last thing for you. British rhyming slang is pretty popular in East London and was originally used by market traders who had to shout to their friends but didn't want the public to understand what they were saying. By the way, SLANG is short for Secret Language.

"do you fancy a ball down the frog to the rubber for a Britney Spears."

(Spears rhymes with beers...you have to guess the rest)

Cheers

{ Unknown } | August 19, 2010 at 2:07 AM said...

@nikka, you mean epistaxis? you should study your UK homework double time, because the final installments of harry potter film will be coming soon hehehe. I'll recommend this video/movie, you'll love Martha's accent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia0gTtKo0S0



@david

you have a bonus homework eh? =)

"do you fancy a ball down the frog to the rubber for a Britney Spears."

that means, in tagalog...
"gusto mo bang pumunta sa isang bahay-inuman at tumoma ng beer?"

hahaha, the best partner for that would be
"roasted highland legume!" - try it, it's masarap.

anyways thanks for commenting here, im having big-time yabang na with my mates.

cheers

{ glentot } | August 19, 2010 at 10:18 AM said...

I'm amazed with Hugh laurie kasi hindi yata talaga sya British and I heard him speak with an American accent din.

How about Madonna's "British" accent? hahahaha

{ Unknown } | August 20, 2010 at 5:32 PM said...

@ glentot, briton si Hugh, nakita ko sya sa isang lumang UK comedy skit din with Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) - kala ko nga si Jake Cuenca, bata pa si Laurie don. siguro nag aral ng US american accent para sa kanyang job sa US. hehehe,bihira ko makita nag sasalita (panay kanta lang) si Madonna eh kaya di ko napapansin kung ano tabas ng dila nya

{ Leon Koh } | August 21, 2010 at 1:32 AM said...

surf into your blog.. nice read

Leon Koh
your reader from singapore
http://hanleong.blogspot.com

{ Unknown } | August 21, 2010 at 9:26 PM said...

@leon, thanks. lucky you, you have stumbled to a an English post which i rarely do hehehe i'm more expressive with our local language. - (or may be, you understand tagalog naman yata) =)

i should visit your blog too.

{ pusangkalye } | August 22, 2010 at 4:05 PM said...

I would kill just to have British accent. ganun kasarap sa tenga para sakin. it is sooo contagious. I guee I would be given the chance to live in the UK kahit 2 years lang---I would easily acquire it. hahaha

{ Unknown } | August 24, 2010 at 1:40 AM said...

@ pusang kalye.

i think mas di effort mag karoon ng brit accent.. kasi distinct na ang accent nila.. kasi pag ako nag eenglish in general, minsan or madalas nag-li "leak" ang Filipino accent.

 

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