I often hear that if your pronunciation in English is clear, your foreign accent doesn’t matter. Then why do I meet so many people whose English is intelligible and fluent, but they still cringe when someone asks where their accent is from? In this post, I’m gonna talk about having a foreign accent in the US and what to do when someone comments on your accent. I specifically discuss the US because I’ve been living here for almost 21 years.
I spent almost 9 years in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and currently live in the San Francisco Bay area in California. When I first came to the US, I didn’t speak English and I started attending English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Back then, I thought that the more English I learn, the more confident I would become.
You sound so cute
But when I started speaking more, people began asking me about my accent and commenting on it. In addition to people always asking “Where are you from?”, I’d hear comments like:
“Never lose your accent. You sound so cute.”
But while I nodded and smiled politely, my soul was screaming from the inside:
“I don’t want to be cute when I speak. I’m not a child.”
I’ve even had some coworkers who tried to imitate my accent, thinking that this was quite entertaining. And it was. For them, not for me.
Where are you from?
Some of you might say, “But what’s wrong with people asking you where you are from? They are just curious and want to know.”
I understand that and I admit that most people were polite and they never meant to make me feel uncomfortable. But only people who live in the US and hear this question all the time will understand how I felt back then.
A sense of belonging
When you live and work in a certain country, when you want to feel at home, and not just like a visitor, you want to feel that you belong. And when people always comment on your accent, they unconsciously make you feel excluded. And I know that many nonnative speakers of English who have lived long-term in the US feel, or at some point have felt, the same way.
I have to admit that in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I now live, having a foreign accent is pretty common. Many people from all over the world come here to study or work in the biggest tech companies, and they all have different accents when they speak English. But most of them are software engineers, scientists or doctors, and because these professions are often occupied by people who were not born in the US, having a foreign accent in these fields has become more accepted.
Native level language skills?
However, there are occupations that require a native-level language skills, such as writers, journalists, public relations and communication specialists, and only few people whose mother tongue is not English have the chance to build a career in these professions.
For example, when was the last time you heard a TV anchor with a foreign accent? Even journalists in international news channels sound like native speakers.
Actually, there is a story from the Brazilian journalist Gisele Regatao whose interview was not shown because of her accent, even though she describes her accent as clear and mild.
Several months ago, I even found several job postings on LinkedIn where the requirement was to be a native speaker. Mind you, these job postings were for content creators in writing and not speaking, but although there are so many highly educated nonnative speakers and writers, the assumption is still that they would not be able to perform at a native level.
Unconscious bias
I think it’s important to discuss this issue because most people don’t realize that they have a bias against nonnative speakers. And most of them are good people. They don’t mean to discriminate or hinder someone’s career, but they are unconscious of their bias.
That’s why it bugs me when a native speaker tells someone that accent doesn’t matter. “Why would you ever want to sound American? Your accent makes you sound unique,” many of them say. And while I agree that different accents are beautiful and make us unique, if you are a native speaker and you really want to understand why someone aspires to sound more native-like, ask them a real question, not a rhetorical one. And then really listen instead of rushing to share your opinion.
Job interviews
Let’s talk about job interviews, for example. It’s a common practice here for a person who is looking for a job to first go through a phone screening before being invited for an interview. Although this might be just a routine for native speakers, many nonnative speakers are terrified because they think that the interviewer will judge them based on their foreign accent. And research shows that they might be right.
Although most people claim that they don’t treat others differently based on a foreign accent or dialect, some studies show that in fact many native speakers perceive nonnative speakers or those with foreign accents to be less intelligent and trustworthy.
There is a study showing that interviewers actively discriminate in telephone-based job interviews against applicants with certain foreign accents.
Another study shows that people judge trivia statements such as “Ants don’t sleep” as less true when the words are spoken by a person with a foreign accent. That is, a native speaker saying exactly the same sentence was perceived to be more believable.
This is a huge problem considering the fact that millions of people live and work in a country they migrated to as adults.
Harder work for the brain
But can we really blame people for discriminating against speakers with foreign accents? Research shows that listening to people who speak with accents makes the human brain work harder. Different parts of the listeners’ brains are activated when they listen to a native versus nonnative speaker.
And because the brain has to work harder in order to make sense of the unfamiliar, this could lead to unintentional discrimination. Being aware of this fact is a very important step towards eliminating the bias.
Stereotypes
Although most of us say that we don’t want to stereotype, all human beings do. We stereotype when we expect a person with a French accent to be quite knowledgeable about wine and cheese. Or when we think that every Italian knows how to cook pasta. Or that a person with a British accent must be super smart and sophisticated.
Regardless of whether these beliefs are true or not, most of us share them. Even though stereotypes have a negative connotation, they are generalizations that come from some previous knowledge that we’ve acquired. Sometimes these generalizations might be false beliefs, but many times they are based on facts and help us make faster decisions. But although they might be helpful on many occasions, it’s important to determine when to question them.
My first phone screening for a job
For example, my accent tends to become stronger when I’m nervous. I remember some years ago when I was on my first phone screening for a job, I was super excited, but I was so nervous that the only thing I was thinking about was my accent.
The reason I was so tense was because I was applying for a content writer position in a company I really wanted to work for. And since in the past my language skills had been questioned due to my accent, I knew that it would be harder for me to impress the interviewer over the phone. I usually do much better in person.
But the more I tried to speak better, the more anxious I got and hence I could barely talk. Needless to say, I didn’t reach the next level of the interview process. Maybe it was because my nerves got the best of me on that phone screening, or maybe they had better candidates and didn’t feel the need to invite me for an in-person interview. But based on my previous experience, there is a big chance that the interviewer questioned my competence in the English language because he heard my foreign accent.
Now, after years of working on both my English pronunciation and my self-confidence, I know that I would handle such a situation differently. I would face the elephant in the room by openly mentioning my accent and explaining to the interviewer that while English is not my native language, I learned it quite well and I am able to write at a professional level. Had I done that back then, I think both of us would have focused on having a more productive conversation.
What to do when you think your accent is hindering your success
Based on many conversations with others, I know that many nonnative speakers of English still feel bad about their accents. If you don’t know how to react when someone comments on your accent, here are five tips.
1. Differentiate between accent and pronunciation
First, make sure that you understand the difference between accent and pronunciation. 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.
But some nonnative speakers can still benefit from some pronunciation instruction because it increases not only speaking and listening skills, but also self-confidence.
So, if you think that people don’t understand you and you could improve your pronunciation, look for a course or a coach to help you with that. If you learn how to communicate clearly in English, don’t worry too much that people can still notice your foreign accent. You can brag about knowing more than one language – something that not many people can say about themselves.
2. Mention your accent
Another tip that could immediately make you more comfortable is to mention your accent and address concerns.
If you have an important meeting or an interview and the only thing you can think of is that your competence is being questioned because you have an accent, address it. Maybe you can acknowledge that you are a bit nervous because people have commented on your accent before, but that doesn’t have anything to do with your knowledge on the matter being discussed.
Just make sure that you appear open and friendly. If you do that, other people will want to help you and make you feel comfortable.
3. Reevaluate who you surround yourself with
Another important thing is to reevaluate who you surround yourself with. There are certain people who are close-minded and nothing you do or say would be good enough for them.
If you find yourself in a situation when someone laughs at you or tries to imitate the way you speak, ask yourself if you really want to be around them. Sometimes the best you can do for your own sake is to move on and cut communication with such people.
4. Educate others
Another thing you can do is educate other people. If someone asks you where you are from or comments that they hear an accent, this is your chance to share with them something interesting about your culture and language.
For example, I always tell people that many Slavic last names have different endings depending on the person’s gender. Many Americans don’t know this and are truly amused when I tell them this fact.
You can share something that is unique to your language or something that was challenging for you in the beginning when you started learning English. This is a great icebreaker and gives you an opportunity to shine.
5. Stay confident
My last tip is to stay confident. This might be one of the hardest things to do when someone comments on the way you speak. At such moments, many of us become self-aware and sometimes we just want to cave in.
But even if someone claims they don’t understand what you are saying or asks you to repeat several times, try not to apologize for the way you sound. Of course, you can work on improving your pronunciation, but remember that you speak another language, so try to stay confident.
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Now I want to hear about your experience. Has anyone ever made a comment about your accent in English? How did you feel about it? Let me know in the comment section below.
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