Posted on 10/05/2006 4:49:57 PM PDT by Coleus
Watching himself in a tiny handheld mirror, Faisal Rahman flexes his tongue as he tries to visualize the correct pronunciation of the word "about." Though fluent in English, he usually says "ay-bout" -- a telltale sign that he's from Bangladesh and not Illinois, where he now lives. After speaking English with the intonation of his native Bengali, Rahman decided to take lessons in accent modification to sound more like people born in the United States.
"I speak OK English. I'm learning American," Rahman said with a chuckle during a lesson at The Sound Center in Downers Grove, Ill. "There's a subtle difference." Fluent in English and usually highly educated, immigrants such as Rahman are taking classes in increasing numbers to give their speaking voices extra polish. More and more foreign-born professionals, experts say, are opting to minimize their accents to remove obstacles to being understood and accepted by Americans -- and to avoid problems in the workplace. Studies suggest that people with foreign accents often are regarded as less credible and competent.
Oscar DeShields, a marketing professor at California State University, Northridge, has examined the impact of accents on sales performance and found they can present a disadvantage in connecting with customers. In most cases, people with an American dialect were more successful with their sales pitches, he said. "People with accents aren't perceived as capable and as intelligent as people without an accent," DeShields said. "If you are talking about the average salesperson or clerk, if you have an accent you tend to be looked down on."
With so much at stake, speech-language pathologists nationwide are reporting a sharp increase in the number of immigrants seeking help in perfecting their English. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a professional organization of language and hearing professionals, reports that inquiries about accent modification have more than doubled in the past two years. The aim is to help someone speak English with a mainstream American cadence. Instructors emphasize proper pronunciation, vocal stress and the rhythm and pacing of words.
The length of training varies, depending on the goal of the speaker, but in some cases it can take a year to learn the correct techniques. And although a foreign accent can be minimized, it is not lost altogether. In fact, many speech-language pathologists encourage their clients to retain the unique sound of their voices. "There is nothing wrong with an accent. It is not a disorder. It is part of your heritage," said Michelle Eppley, director of The Sound Center. "My philosophy is to give them a choice to be intelligible."
The desire to be more easily understood brought Lin Chen to the center. For six months, Chen, president of Web-development firm NewCircleConsulting, has worked to improve her pronunciation as well as the melody and speed of her speech. Chen, 34, a Westmont, Ill., resident from China, said she used to feel self-conscious when asked to repeat herself. Learning how to speak more clearly has given her confidence a boost, she said. "My main motivation is I want to sound like I can speak with authority," she said, pausing to consider how she had just pronounced "main," which came out "min."
Laughing, Chen said she is still working on her vowel sounds. She acknowledged that "main" is a troublesome word, but added, "I'm getting better." Even immigrants who have no difficulty being understood are choosing accent modification. Rahman, CEO of a pain management company, APAC Groupe of Chicago, said his goal is to lighten his accent. "I have a heavy accent and I am trying to lose the heavy part," he said. "Sometimes it is a bit of a distraction for the people I am conversing with. I want to have less attention on me and more on what I am saying."
Rahman plans to send others from his company to the language program -- mainly doctors whose accents have created problems for patients. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's rules on national origin discrimination, employers sometimes have legitimate business reasons for basing employment decisions on whether a person has a foreign accent. In general, such decisions can be made only if the job requires effective oral communication in English and the person's accent "materially interferes" with his or her ability to perform job duties.
The number of complaints about "accent discrimination" has fluctuated since 1996, when the agency began tracking the issue. Discrimination filings climbed to 161 cases in 2005 from 85 the year before, according to information provided by the agency. Spokesman David Grinberg said he suspects many cases go unreported because people are either unaware of their rights or fear retaliation and, in some cases, deportation.
"It is an emerging issue that we are increasingly focused on," Grinberg said. But accent problems aren't unique to employees. In some cases, even the boss could use a little adjustment. Colombian-born Juan Carlos Bedoya, president of Easy Call, a Chicago prepaid-phone card company, underwent accent-modification training to polish the Spanish-accented English he taught himself. "I still have a very strong accent, but I feel very secure right now, and when I talk to other people they understand me better," Bedoya said. "Customers I have known for a long time, they ask if I have started going out with an American girlfriend. I say no, I'm married, but I have been taking this course. ... "
I used to help foreign students with their English in the same way.
It's kind of nice to note my English is what everyone wants to speak!
Now that is a good idea. Try to assimilate, it sure helps.
Nevertheless, can see why one would take such a class.
Another invented disability. Henry Kissinger never managed to get rid of his accent, and it didn't seem to hurt his career. It's the person, not the accent.
There was a manager in a plant where I used to work who had come to NC State from India as a teenager. It leaves one scratching one's head to hear someone with an Indian accent say "y'all".
Thank God, assimilation is popular again.
I took the easy way - just married an American. Only problem is, now Indians ask me where I am from.
Here in the DC area, I meet a lot of people from Ethiopia. I have yet to meet one who isn't super-cool, hard-working, working legally and doing their best to improve their English. I know one, with whom I converse regularly, who is going to school all day (an acculturation/accent reduction/surviving in the business world in America kind of school) and working all night.
He'll make it- he's determined to do it right. I help him out with his English phrasing and pronounciation sometimes. He sometimes surprises me with his technical knowlege of English.
Tell that to the Spanish speaking dishwasher trying to understand the chef's Korean accented Spanish. It really happened. I was there. LOL
I know a few Japanese who use American first names. A guy named Tadeki that goes by Ted, another named Mikisa who goes by Mike, and a lady named Shiori who goes by Sherry (my Japanese spellings are approximate).
Wow! You mean I may actually know what I ordered at the MacDonald's drive-through one of these days? I always look in the sack after they hand it to me, as I never have a clue what they've said when they 'confirm' my order.
nor the Governator
I work with a guy (of Italian ancestry) who's originally from Brooklyn. His territory is western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. I asked him how people out in the sticks react to the accent, and he told me he can dial it back in those situations, or turn it up if he's at an Italian guy's shop in Omaha.
How many Canadians are taking these classes?
Accent, schmucksent! It's the native born lowtalkers who need to retrain.
Do you say 'humor' or 'humour'?
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