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I'm mexican american 26 years old and have been judged and discriminated by foreigners and Americans just because i cannot do a perfect american accent. And i've lived here all my life but i'm just not a talker, the only people i 've talked to is my parents having had almost no friends ever, thats why my accent stuck since i was a kid. And i feel so bad when americans will not consider my english is good enough. however, i went to a therapist she said my accent in english is perfect. Well whatever, but i still feel like Americans will judge me and discriminate me... so recently i just started speaking with a fake kind of Indian accent..OR a very thick mexican accent.. It's fun and it gives me more confidence, i don't know why but it does. Is this good to do?

2006-06-29 07:34:45 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture Languages

8 answers

Hey, kellbelle21, I'm pretty sure this person said they were an AMERICAN who has lived here all their life, or did you mean something else by that? Because if you'd care to elaborate, I´m sure we´d all have a few responses for you...

First, trobop, I would say don´t worry about about it. Easier said than done, I know, but people who are likely to discriminate against you will probably find other reasons to do so. And there really is no such thing as the perfect American accent. I've lived in Texas, California, and New York, and even within those states, there are differences. And I'm sure that the people who live in those states all think they have the perfect accent. If someone discriminates against you because of your accent, it really is their problem and not yours.

If you still have confidence problems, then faking an accent probably won't solve that, because there's probably something else going on that you need to address.

If you're still self-conscious about your accent, there are programs I've heard of to help you reduce it. I have a friend who's trying an accent reduction tape, I'm not sure how it's working for her yet, but it might be soemthing you'd be interested in.

In answer to the main question, if it's really giving you confidence, then I'm pretty sure there's nothing wrong with it, per se, but it seems like it might not be solving your confidence issues and you should probably try to find out what's really at the root of that and work on it from there.

2006-06-29 08:52:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Don't care what people say. Nigerians also get the same kind of discrimination because of their accent (even though a lot of them speak better English than the people who discriminate against them). They look at us like we are stupid or something. The best thing is not to fake and American accent. It makes people look stupid and puts your heritage down.

Just be yourself. The only people who speak the proper English is the English.

2006-06-29 19:49:52 · answer #2 · answered by LayLay 3 · 0 0

Glad you asked this question. I've been itching to tell my story. Stuttered my whole life....til one day, living abroad, I realized that when speaking with my German speaking friends that I did not stutter....hmmm....I analyzed the situation and discovered that I spoke slower and actually leaned toward a bit of an accent....as if I were European speaking English (the US bastardized version). Naturally, if I'm not going to stutter, I'm going to use the bit of the accent that I developed. Talk about a confidence boost. I can tell you that this little fake accent trick, certainly helped this southern Alabama boy overcome a lifelong obstacle. Do it!

2006-06-30 19:23:14 · answer #3 · answered by WiseWon 3 · 0 0

If you feel like you're at the point where you are discriminating the Indian people, then stop the accent..but be true to your self, you dont have anything wrong with u! It's the AMERICANS (*cough cough) that have PROBLEMS (*ahem)

2006-06-29 14:44:06 · answer #4 · answered by Confusion With a K 7 · 0 0

i think maybe you are being a little self concious and maybe without reason.

i have a strong southern drawl- alot of ppl consider southerners less intelligent because of that. that;s just crazy


then i married a new yorker and i have kids that have a very lyrical sound to their speech - i like it- who knows how other people feel about it.

in the end- the only people who matter are the people who love you.who cares what the rest of the world thinks

2006-06-30 15:08:18 · answer #5 · answered by ladyofthehollow 7 · 0 0

Hermano, just be true to yourself. Do not fake anything ... if other people have problems with your accent; its THEIR problems not yours.

2006-06-29 14:39:26 · answer #6 · answered by ricardoaz2003 3 · 0 0

no!! if you are going to stay in the us it helps it AMERICANS can understand you! get some practice take ENGLISH lessons and get with the program!!! learn to speak so people can understand you confidence or not!!!!

2006-06-29 14:39:49 · answer #7 · answered by kellbelle21 3 · 0 2

It depends on if ur playing or ur just during it. If ur just doing it then ur being someone ur really not.Look just be yourself don't worry wat others say,they just may be jealousy.

2006-06-29 14:41:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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