The past few days, especially today, a strange thing is happening. I’m not sure, it’s me, or it’s me? My 3-day roommate asked Pardon? a lot during our time together that I thought hard if my speech was so unclear that she could not hear. Sometimes I had to repeat a word or a short sentence twice to make her understand what I tried to tell. Two good male friends once told me that my articulation was a blur. And when I open mouth so that my articulation becomes clearer, a friend thought I mocked.

I felt like playing Srimulat comedy sometimes. I almost burst out laughing when one morning my roommate thought I said Taj Mahal but actually I mentioned something else (that I forgot) which sounded totally different. I observed her. It might not be my fault. Often I thought people who are not able to ‘listen’ well have a busy mind, or I often said, are in the other world. I have to understand but it annoys me at the same time. Or, I might have annoyed them also?

But… it doesn’t happen to oral discourse only. I learned the past two days from Facebook that people can totally lose track of events though the thread of conversation is there and so clear (to me). Like when I said I miss home, two friends commented Happy traveling!. Couldn’t they see the context? Miss home = happy traveling? And worse, in the thread, a friend already talked about how we could have met in airport means… it’s past tense. Now I’m being a complicated linguist! I’m just curious and wondering.  My hypothesis is not many people 'read.' Often a friend asks something I already mention in email. Oh, you should put it in separate email? Does it guarantee? I doubt it. When you don’t read/listen, you don’t read/listen.

I mildly snapped at my masseuse this afternoon after several Hah?! from her side. She hardly let me finish my statement when she Hah?! me. I told her to wait and listen before reacted. I don’t like to do this but after my experience the past days, I have come to my top.

It reminds me of a book critics (cum-editor) post in his blog:

Writer: May I speak to the editor?

Editor: You are speaking to him.

Writer: I was asked to talk to you to have my book published?

Editor: Why don’t you email me your manuscript?

Writer: I am a good writer, though I don’t write English very well!

Editor: Why don’t you email me your manuscript and let me decide that?

Writer: Do you think you could get it translated into Chinese for the China [Chinese] market?

Editor: Why don’t you email me your manuscript?

Writer: Do you think you can get my book translated into other languages as well?

Editor: Why don’t you email me your manuscript?

Writer: I am quite free, you know. I am able to travel all over the world to talk about my book.

Editor: But first, why don’t you email me your manuscript and let me take a look at it?

Writer: I was advised not to send my book to a vanity press in America. Do you think I should have my book published that way?

Editor: Publishers can only publish so many books. Most manuscripts are rejected for many, many reasons, some obvious, some not so obvious. If no publisher wants to publish your book, and if you are adamant about having it published, then you go to a vanity press. You get what you pay for, get it!

Writer: What about a self-publisher?

Editor: You mean you want to publish it yourself?

Writer: No, I want to give it to a self-publisher?

Editor: And who is this self-publisher? Yourself?

Writer: My book is really good, you know? No writer has ever done what I have done!
...

Happy Srimulat-ing!

A billboard at the National Library Singapore.