When I first came to the US at the age of 25, I couldn’t wait to learn English. I didn’t doubt my abilities because I had already learned Polish in my early 20s and knew that English grammar was easier. I imagined that when I learn grammar and enough vocabulary, I would be a confident communicator. The reality was different. When I started understanding people and was able to express my thoughts, I was happy. But the more I spoke, the less confident I became. This paradox happened because people started commenting on my accent, something that I hadn’t experienced when I spoke Polish.
“You sound so cute,” some would say. “Where are you from, I like your accent,” others would comment. Yet others would try to imitate my speech right in front of me. I don’t know what they were thinking but, apparently, it didn’t occur to them that this was rude.
Lack of adequate pronunciation training
There are millions of other nonnative speakers of English in the United States. Although many immigrants come to the United States with some English language proficiency, others – like me – need to learn it when they arrive. There are many English classes offered in the US, but in my experience most of these classes focus on grammar, reading, and writing. And because such classes don’t offer much pronunciation training, many nonnative speakers don’t realize that they are mispronouncing words.
Pronunciation training is different from the “speak like a native” and “lose your accent in 30 days” courses that target people’s insecurities and set false expectations. According to research, after puberty it is almost impossible to completely lose one’s foreign accent; by early childhood, a solid foundation of the native language phonology is already formed, and these sounds serve as a reference point for decoding the sounds of other languages that are learned later in life. So most people who learn a second language as adults will have a foreign accent, regardless of their full mastery of grammar and other aspects of the language, such as semantics and pragmatics. Nonnative speakers can still benefit from pronunciation instruction because it increases not only speaking and listening skills, but also self-confidence.
Foreign accent bias
Unfortunately there is a foreign accent bias in the United States, an issue that hasn’t been discussed enough. When people in the US talk about discrimination, they usually focus on race, sex, and gender. But sometimes people are denied a job or a promotion at work because of their pronunciation. There are certain laws that should prevent such treatment. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on national origin. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 also bans employment discrimination based on national origin against US citizens, US nationals, and people who are authorized to be in the country. This includes discriminating against individuals based on their ethnicity, nationality, appearance, and accent.
Despite these laws, however, people are still denied professional opportunities because the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission authorizes employers to decide if an accent is going to interfere with an employee’s ability to fulfill the job requirements.
Not getting the job is not the only discrimination many nonnative speakers face. A foreign accent can affect the way native and some nonnative speakers perceive other nonnative speakers. According to a study, native speakers of American English tend to perceive people with accents that are easier to understand as being smarter, more educated, more friendly, more attractive, and overall more fluent.
Recently one of my students shared with me that she had had a job interview when the interviewer looked uninterested once he heard her accent. This might have been her misperception. But it might have been true as well. Research shows that accent-based bias can also lead to self-stigmatization as some nonnative speakers anticipate being discriminated against and choose not to speak in many situations. This may reinforce the belief that speakers with a particular accent lack language skills.
Five steps to fight bias against nonnative speakers of English
It is important to recognize such bias so that we can confront it. Below are five steps to fight bias against nonnative speakers.
1. Recognize bias
Accent bias is not limited to native speakers. Nonnative speakers sometimes judge other nonnative speakers as well. Because implicit bias is unconscious, recognizing it is the first step toward fighting it. If you feel a negative emotion toward someone without an explainable reason, ask yourself what might be triggering this feeling. Practicing mindfulness is a good way to become aware of negative emotions. Find a quiet place and take a moment to understand how you feel and then try to figure out why you feel this way. This might not eliminate the negative feeling, but it’ll make you realize that you have such a feeling.
If you perceive that someone else[PP6] is treating you unfairly because of your accent, don’t accuse the person or just give up. Address the elephant in the room. You might say how hard you have worked on your English or ask if the person you are talking to can understand you well. This will actually make people aware of any negative feelings they might have against you and might change the course of the conversation.
2. Learn how to say the other person’s name
Don’t you love it when you speak with someone and they use your name during the conversation? Mind you, not in the way a sales person uses your name thirty-three times in a sentence, but in a friendly, caring manner. But this could also be annoying if a person keeps mispronouncing your name. If you have a unique name that may be hard to pronounce, patiently teach others how to say it. This can actually be a fun ice braker. I can’t count how many times I’ve used my Polish last name (Przybyszewska /pʂɨbɨˈʂɛfska/)[PP8] as a conversation starter. This never fails to engage and excite people.
Others might also get irritated if you mess up their names. Nowadays when so many people work and live abroad, some names that we are not used to might be challenging to pronounce. For example, you often won’t be able to guess the pronunciation of some American names because English is not a phonetic language. The fact that Erin and Aaron sound exactly the same surprises many nonnative speakers.
The best way to make sure you are not mispronouncing someone’s name is to ask people. Repeat their name and confirm with them that your pronunciation is correct. When you use people’s names (in the correct way) during a conversation, they like you more.
3. Take a pronunciation course if you need to
English is the lingua franca (common language) that most people use when they communicate with individuals from other countries. It is spoken with a variety of foreign accents. While everyone speaks English with some kind of accent and losing it shouldn’t be the goal, clear pronunciation is salient for good communication, self-confidence, and minimizing bias. Research shows that native speakers have more positive attitudes toward nonnative speakers whom they can easily understand. This doesn’t mean that you have to speak like a native. It only means that your speech needs to be clear. So if people often ask you to repeat what you have said, work on your pronunciation.
4. Don’t let anticipation of bias hold you back
When we think that someone is going to negatively judge us, we often keep quiet. But when we don’t say anything, people might think that we have nothing to say, which reinforces our belief that we are being judged. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you have something to say, speak up despite fear. The more you do it, the more you get used to it. As the Greek-American author Arianna Huffington puts it:
Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.
People often admire the brave. And more admiration means less negative bias ?
5. Learn the local culture
Many nonnative speakers focus so much on the language that they forget to learn more about local culture. Certain places like New York or Silicon Valley, for example, are so diverse that it’s hard to know what is a “local” culture. But there are still certain unspoken rules that, if neglected, can lead to negative perceptions. For example, a candidate who interviewed for a position in the company my husband worked for refused to shake the HR manager’s hand because the latter was a woman. His explanation was that he didn’t feel comfortable touching a female. Needless to say, he didn’t get the job. America is a place that tries to accommodate everyone’s beliefs and habits, but there are certain things that can’t be compromised.
This certainly doesn’t mean that you have to abandon your culture and traditions. But the more you show your understanding and acceptance of the local culture, the more others will accept you.
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Remember that whatever you do, some people are just not as open-minded as we would wish them to be. We can’t control others’ thoughts and actions. We only have power over our own behavior. The truth is that if we are unable to change someone’s negative attitude toward us, this is probably not the person we should work for or hang out with anyway.
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In addition to my interest in the topic, I was also inspired to write this post by another article I have recently come across.
Have you ever felt discriminated against based on your language, accent, or culture? Let me know in the comments.
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