You speak good English by June Hamid.
In the past, during my years spent living and studying overseas in Australia and in the United Kingdom, I was often informed or presented with this matter of fact statement. At that point, I didn’t really know how to respond, especially when surrounded by native speakers. It is often difficult to explain something that was indeed very natural to me. But now, as I do then, I find pride in being able to converse and express myself fluently in this language of the world. And now with confidence, when the same statement is said, I respond with a ‘And so do you!’ which is not without the accompaniment of a quizzical look, as if to not find this funny at all.
The English language can only be explained as being all pervasive; its tentacles of speech, writing, and readings present throughout the world. This undeniably impacts all, especially those who find a passion for all things English, like moi’. So then, speaking English becomes a natural thing which transcends borders and cultures.
So, you may ask, how does one speak good English, in order to be able to respond the very same answer as above, very confidently?
The answer is to simply – READ.
I am not of the MTV generation where, if one was schooled on a diet of vivid images peppered with American stories and drawls, you would often have an Americanized accent and some sort of repository of ideas. But I’d like to think that since English belongs to us all, that the accent is far less discernible, ie from any country per se. What has emerged now, is a globalized version has emerged, that makes it difficult for the listener to know the origins of said speaker. But then again, does it matter? What matters is that an ease of speaking can stem from reading. I’d like to believe that you eventually develop your own accent and voice from drowning yourself with reading, in all manner