By Mariana Lara López - Student of the English Club
Do you know what a foreign accent is?
...it is a sign of bravery" - Amy Chua
There are a lot of accents in the world, and that is why it will be explained if this makes a difference while speaking English. To delve further into the subject related to accents, a real example will be developed about how accents behave when speaking English, and if it influences communication within a conversation in the social - work environment.
Currently, there are a lot of people trying to learn English as a second language, and this is mostly because, nowadays, we need English to work, travel, or to do so many things. Certainly, English has become a worldwide idiom, therefore it is really important for enterprises or new businesses. Besides, there are so many cities and citizens from several countries learning this language, and it is really hard for them to sound like a United States’ citizen, Canadian, UK, or Australian citizen.
The accent of a person can really affect conversations while the person is working or having a common day at the supermarket, house, or the gym, it could do it even with new friends. Sometimes people can feel uncomfortable just because their accent is not like they would like to. Let's see an example to try to understand more about this topic: Me, as a person from Venezuela, I am trying to sound like a United States citizen, but it is not that easy. I have an accent that I cannot hide, and it is not easy to talk with a worker that is from Canada or The United States. It also can become a little bit stressing because they may not understand every word I say, so it tends to be hard not only for the person that is talking but for the person that is listening too.
Expressing respect to a foreign person and his/her accent is something that more teachers and parents should teach. There is nothing wrong with a person that is trying to learn a language and has some accent because that person is making some effort to try to speak another language. It is not their native language, and the process to learn is more complex than just studying one or two months, as people usually do when they are learning some topic. Studying a second language is a process for, at least, two years and a half, or even more. In that process people learn about work vocabulary, how to express their feelings, what they like to do, what they would like to do in the future. In summary, they learn how to talk in their daily life. The accent shows to other people all the effort that is made trying to learn that language and the capacity of your brain.
The capacity of a person is not defined by the accent in its language. It is really difficult and affects some conversations in its daily life, but there's no barrier for that person that blocks the desires of continuing learning and showing that he or she is capable of talking and expressing almost everything in a language that is not its native one.