Accents: Really That Hard to Understand?

I think the title is misleading, I guess what I should be saying is… Accents: How they make you sound more natural…

In my experiences with ESL programs, international students, and friends from other countries, I find that accents tend to create a better understand for an individual. 2 parts to this:

First, yes, an accent can make it harder to understand someone, but think about this logically. All places have accents, doesn’t matter what language. It’s just a matter of the accent. I think it is harder to be English-speaking with a foreign accent than anywhere else, largely for the intolerance of accents… sad pandas… I have not been anywhere else (key word: yet) that discriminates and tries so little to understand a person with an accent. This is especially interesting since they all have some form of accent, ie southern, NY, Chicago, FL, West coast, ect.

Also, as one of my friends teaching me how to remove my accent while speaking Japanese told me, an accent is important because it gives you personality. Yes, you are uniquely identifiable (or in many ways, collectively identifiable) by your accent.

Point is, accents are important. Next time you don’t understand someone, learn to understand them; break that shell.

~ by bokyaku on December 5, 2008.