by Adriana Villavicencio
I’ve seen it happen. My mom talks to someone behind a desk or a counter and the person starts to speak differently—more slowly, much more loudly, and in less complicated sentences. The tone in their voice says, You have no idea what you’re talking about. The look on their face says, Damn immigrants. I wish they would learn English.
My mom—who happens to be smart enough to start her own business from scratch and run it successfully for 25 years—is regularly treated like less of a person (and certainly like a less intelligent one) because of her accent. She’s not the only one.
Being Latino staff writer Jennifer Turano reported in July that people with accents are judged as less truthful. Other studies have shown that those who speak with an accent are also perceived as unintelligent or less professional.
Prejudice against accents can work both ways. When I speak Spanish in my accent (more gringa than not), I am often judged as less than Latina. Spanish-speaking people start speaking English to me even though I was raised (and prefer) hearing Spanish. And my extended family makes fun of me while I struggle in futility to roll my “R’s.” And then there are people who actually fake their accents just to seem more “Latino” in all its stereotypical glory (à la Sofia Vergara in Modern Family).
But in general, having an accent in this country—especially one that can be traced to an Asian or Latino origin (versus a French accent for example)—is met with unfair discrimination and unfounded judgment. Among other things, having an accent can mean that:
- Employment opportunities will be limited because you won’t be taken seriously.
- You may get taken advantage of because people will assume you don’t understand.
- Some will be outright hostile because they believe you don’t belong here.
In some states, those with accents are fighting back. A number of cases have been brought against employers for this kind of discrimination, but we have yet to see any widespread legal action. What if we weren’t so U.S.- and English-centric in this country and started to think of people with ACCENTS as potential ASSETS, since clearly their journey to this country (and tenacity to learn a new language) are testaments to their motivation and intelligence? What if we began to value the diversity of experience and perspective that immigrants and newcomers bring to a job or organization?
I was in a café the other day when I noticed that the man behind the counter had a thick accent. Then, he spoke to a customer in French and greeted one of his employees in Arabic. I thought: You must be smarter than I am. You know two languages I don’t.
To learn more about Adriana, visit The Radical Ideas.
______________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
About Adriana Villavicencio
Adriana,
One of the biggest disappointments when I worked in New York was finding out that my own performance manager thought I was not adequate to present myself in front of clients because of my Puerto Rican Accent. It was actually an advantage to have an Indian accent in the IT Consulting Practice but not to have a hispanic one.
My manager spoke to me one sentences in months and he dared to say in a meeting that I was not ready to be put on clients because of my poor english skills. The only thing he had asked me once was how is your day and that is it.
Later on having that same attitude got that person terminated and he left the firm. Everytime I am in the U.S. and my friends that are not hispanic bring up my accent I make it thicker. It is not my fault they don’t speak spanish or french.
After they hear my accent the get the point that I really don’t care if they think I have an accent or not. It make us who we are.
Good example on seeing how people communicate in various languages and not to judge anyone’s intelligence based on their accent. .
Ironically, I get the complete opposite, b/c of my elloquancy and diction training, I’m often pre-judged as white b/c of my lack of accent when I’m talking, esp @ work. It’s my lack of Spanish Accent that people tend to exact prejudice upon. Then when I DO speak Spanish, you would think I was fluent based on my pronunciation. lol Ah pues… Que puedemos hacer? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t! lol
Great piece, Adriana!
Robert,
Do you live where you grew up! Everyone has an accent it only seems like you don’t have one when you are around the same environment you grew up in.
Great point! Bilingualism is a gift, not a curse! It’s something we should all strive for. Judging a person based on their accent just leaves ignorant individuals in a position where they’ve limited their experiences and it’s sad for them that they will miss out on knowing some amazing people simply because of THEIR lack of understanding.
Raul, you are so right! There are accents across America too. Texas, California, Alaska, Illinois, Georgia…we all have different accents and speak different dialects. =)
Good points. You could have better grammar than the average English-speaking person, but if you have an accent, it’s a strike against you in many situations.
That happens to me sometimes. I don’t like it when people assume I’m gringa or stop speaking Spanish in front of me because it seems like I wouldn’t understand. Still, that type of prejudice doesn’t have the same level of repercussions.
Thanks much, Charlie! I’m enjoying your articles as well.
In my ex-managers case just by seeing my last name he did not think it was appropriate for me to be in front of clients..
Not sure If I have better grammar.. LOL
Well said! And it’s so true what you say about the regional accents. There are some prejudices against those as well!
I know exactly what you mean! My boyfriend has a thick accent when he speaks English, and I’m not even kidding, you would be amazed at how many people try to take advantage of him (like not giving him the proper amount of change back, overcharging him for items, etc). Of course he catches it, corrects them, and lets it roll off his shoulders — whereas I am the one who gets infuriated at people’s ignorance!
I think it’s a shame that there are still people who are so narrow minded and ignorant these days. Having an accent is a nice thing to me it is anyway it shows your heritage and it makes you unique. I see this type of nonsense happen every place from gov’t offices to stores. We once went to a fast food chain in FL and my grandmother who was here many years from PR spoke with an accent and she was ordering her food and the cashier was claiming she didn’t understand and was being disrespectful I was standing away so she didn’t think we were together and I put her in her place. I wasn’t going to tolerate it and I’m sure it wasn’t the first time it happened, I’ve even said things to defend ppl who are nothing of mine. This type of treatment is wrong it is ignorant and racist and ppl who behave in this manner have a superiority complex and sometimes it takes them saying to the wrong person for them to be called on their bs.
NYC girl, I encourage you to be that said person who calls them out!
Good points. I’m fully bilingual and long ago lost my accent but as a kid, I was the interpreter for my mom and other friends of the family. I was always dragged along to interpret for them to doctors, utility companies, cashiers, police, etc. I learned patience early on. I also bemusedly learned to be quiet at times and observe the intolerance someone is showing, let them get to the end of their rope then go off on them in a very pointed manner, using perfect grammar and English. But calmly so. I’ve found that the most intolerant folks are ones who can’t even speak English very well, and it’s the only language they know.
“What if we weren’t so U.S.- and English-centric in this country and started to think of people with ACCENTS as potential ASSETS, since clearly their journey to this country (and tenacity to learn a new language) are testaments to their motivation and intelligence?” If this were to happen this country might actually thrive again. The prejudice, racism and bigotry is setting us back big time. Great article.