Now talking about NZ accent is a whole new story. People always make fun of it and describe it as "weird" and "alien". But when you think about it, it is a lot nicer than the Australian one. I guess people say NZ sounds weird because it is overshadowed by the Australian accent.
Robin Williams described the accent as, "an accent that sounds like Australians on Prozac and basically [they] sound very happy all the time". How is it weird and alien that people here sound happy all the time? When I think about, Kiwis do sound cheery and that's reassuring. Especially when you first arrived in the country. (Although this doesn't apply to Kiwi teens. They always sound gedik and boring. (=_=) )
Some random words that are distinctively Kiwi-sounding:
[yes] = /yis/
[weekend] = /wi:kin/ or /weekin/
[here] = /heer/ (My "here" is starting to take this form according to Anna)
[sex] = /siks/
[beer] = /bier/
They also have their very own version of "Lah" and that is "Ae"
For example:
Malaysian: "I donno lah"
Kiwi: "I dunno ae?"
You know words/phrases such as "potluck" and "bring your own" are very Kiwi and according to my tutor, they originate from here. One of the most overused phrase aside from "awesome" (I actually think awesome is very American) is "sweet as".
If you ever decided to visit New Zealand, this phrase will most likely be in your guide book.
"Sweet as."
I was actually quite offended when people say this because I actually thought "Sweet Ass". I stopped myself from saying "excuse me" quite a number of times that is until my fellow Malaysian said this to me.
"What the hell man?" was my reaction.
That was when I found out what it meant. "Sweet as" actually stands for "sweet as pie" (yeah, very innocent I know) and Kiwis use it in such a way we Malaysians use "best" to describe things that are well...best.
Example:
Kiwi #1: Ey mate, how was the movie?
Kiwi #2: Sweet as. I'm going to watch it again.
Okay, last example! If a Kiwi asks you to go on a Tiki Tour, don't expect a Hawaiian tour or anything because it actually means to go "jalan-jalan"! (^.^)
Basically at this point, I'm open to acquiring a Kiwi accent (slowly but surely). It may not be a British nor an American one but it's good to come back home and show your capabilities. For overseas students like me, coming back home with an accent is not something to be frowned upon or to be jealous at; it just shows that you've fully utilized and experienced everything you should be experiencing when you're abroad. So throw away those kampung views and stop patronizing your fellow sister or friend that suddenly has an accent. Though if they purposely rub it in your face and tetiba cakap melayu pon pelat, that one memang kena penampar lah. Haha.
I think I have a slight accent now but it still remains all jumbled up with British, American and now a bit Kiwi and still very Malaysian. Seriously, if you skype with me I can fully guarantee you that I sound the same. I have 10 people who can vouch for me. :D Though I might sound different if I speak to Kiwis lah...Shira the other day said I sounded different when I was talking to Yejung. I don't sound like "kiteorg" dah. But it's all good so far.
Now...before I let you guys enjoy this video (Kids speaking with a pelat Kiwi accent!)...
FUN FACT! : Did you know Manglish is already established as a vernacular form of English by linguists? So technically, our lahs and rojak-ness are not wrong. So apa lagi, get your Manglish on people!
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