Here and There

I was not born in the US and lived nearly half my life outside the states.  I originally came from Laos I then moved to Thailand and finally came to the US.  My accent and the way I use words have always been changing to adapt to where I currently live.  When I first came to the US trying to learn English and how to use the words correctly I ran into many troubles with different words.  At first people did not understand what I was trying to say since in my home country we pronounce every letter that is in the word, but in English there are silent letters or letters that combine to sound like another letter.  Take in example the word phrase, ph creates an F sound but for a time I would pronounce the ph in phrase like my last name Phomsaly many people would pronounce it Fomsaly, but that is not how you’re supposed to say it.  When I speak with people I always change the way I speak with them depending on who they are.  To my family and friends who speak my native language I will sound different to them when I speak my native language.  To my friends who speak English depending on how they talk I adapt my speech to them sometimes I sound a little from the south or if I don’t know where they are from I will speak with no accent and pronounce my words just like how they are sounded out in the dictionary.  To those I don’t know yet I always try and remove any accents and pronounce the words just like in the dictionary.  I am currently learning Japanese and have some Japanese friends and when I try to speak their language it’s like learning to speak English again at first I sound my words out and speak slower than normal but later on I will speak at a faster rate more natural just as I have done with English.