Soon after I set foot on US soil back in 2006 (read more about it here and here), I teed off my life as a US wage earner to support my college life. My first employer was a prominent coffee establishment that enjoyed a fairly monocratic status on campus. During the first week of training, amid all the coffee education and coffee tastings, I made friends with another international student who had also just started working in the US. Her name regrettably slips my mind, but I do remember that she was from Namibia and that she was a particularly bright and perceptive individual. We would discuss various topics everyday during our walk back from the coffee shop to the student housing zone. One topic that we would find ourselves coming back to very often was English language pronunciation and accents. She spoke impeccable English, albeit with a few idiosyncrasies like "how late is it?" instead of "what time is it?". And I'm sure my speech contained plenty of Indian influences as well. But we both shared the same opinion on one thing, and that was that clarity of communication always trumps accent. Furthermore, we both detested it when we were called speakers of "English with an accent". "What do they mean 'with an accent'?", my friend would say, "Who is to say that we are the ones with the accent and not them?"
I agreed with her.
Everyone has an accent. You may be a native English speaker who was born and raised in the US, but depending on where you come from, you have an accent too. You not only have a unique accent, but your dialect is unique as well. For example, do you remember the 'Two Yutes' scene from My Cousin Vinny? My second job in the US as a cashier in a deli exposed me to various accents and dialects from around America and the world. I would in fact experiment with my own accent while responding to customers, eliciting looks of bewilderment. I guess, they expected me to talk like Apu from the Simpsons! As a matter of fact, the accent used by Indians speaking English varies greatly by region, and ironically none of these accents sound like the ludicrous one used by Apu!
Here are some lessons I have learned in the last 14 years in the US. Clarity of communication definitely trumps accent. As such, embrace your accent and focus on clarity of communication. I have found that my train of thought while speaking gets greatly impeded if I obsess too much over what my accent sounds like. Also, do not try to mimic anyone else's accent, lest they construe your efforts as appropriation of their accent, even if you didn't mean it. Respect other accents. An accent is not a sign of intelligence. Nor is it a sign of dignity!
Well said 👏
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