My FB friends...do you think your
accent (either foreign or regional) affects other people's perception of your
intelligence? What has been your experience? Have you made any changes based on
your experience?
Muthoni Najivunia
kuwa Mkenya (I am proud to be a Kenyan)!!! I have to accommodate other accents
and I believe one should be proud of who he/she is and present themselves
professionally. Other people's perception is purely a choice. Just be
professional to your very best
Rachel Where can I even start! Sometimes when I
tell someone i am a medical student- they always assume its for nursing. Not to
put down nurses because they are the reason the hospitals stay afloat but like
seriously??? after all the sacrifice really??? - so there is that stigma...I was once told by a
preceptor that i was triple minority (African, black, female) so she put me
through hell during my rotation with her, she was trying to wake me up to the
judgment that awaits me after i graduate and try to convince the patients that
i really am there to see them as the doc.
Muthoni @
Rachel, I feel your pain, docs are respected back home and here you are with
patients doubting your credibility. I work in a diversified industry and we
have more accents than you can imagine.
RM This is great ladies.....keep it coming. @muthoni It is
great that you know who you are and Rachel that triple minority is a trip but
you got it girl!! If there is anyone that can take a triple whammy
standing...it is you.
Bethie I
had to adjust considerably after people would ask me to repeat ....so instead
of getting mad over it..I adjusted..after all when you go to Rome circumstances
might force you to try and blend with the Roman otherwise you might make
yourself miserable if you are not flexible...believe me..I am speaking from
experience...and forgot to mention that I narrowly missed a teaching job
because some person thought the kids in the US might have trouble with my
accent!!!!
CK Absolutely!
Everything we say and how we say it sends a clear and distinct message. The
Brits define the English standard. It's their language. We may like or dislike
the reality...... the truth is the closer ones sounds like the real thing
(enunciate) ..... the further they'll likely to get ahead. It sucks....lakini
ni hali ya maisha (but it is the way of life)!!!!
Joannie My
experience is that the accent is not the problem. The problem is the origin of
the accent. Once they find out where the accent is from, the crazy questions
begin. Did you learn English on the plane or do you live on trees, and so on
and and so fourth. You would think by now people would know
something about their Presidents country of origin...But no……. I bet you if i
say my accent is from the Caribbean i would not suffer the same crazy questions
or validation. But then the longer i speak the more respect i seem to get and
they actually start believing that i am smart....(if only they knew)
Joy YES!
Muthoni @Joannie,
one lady asked me if we have TV's in Africa, and I was very green here . . .
gal, I started speaking in tongues if you know what I mean.
RM Hilarious!! and so true. Thanks for sharing!
Ms. P hmmmm..it's been quite the opposite for me! I may be the
first one to have a positive experience? My voice/accent is sought out - I've
been told my voice has a soothing effect...that I speak eloquently...
CK @Ms. P, you can never go wrong with eloquent :) Way
to go!!!
RM This is the article that got me thinking about accents.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! You
can read the article here
CK @RM, Great article. The solution for my fellow immigrants
(they're the ones I worry about most) is simple. We need to.... enunciate!!
Ms. P. Interesting
article, thanks for sharing!
This conversation was taken
from an actual Facebook conversation between friends. What is your take on
accents and what has been your experience?
No comments:
Post a Comment