Why do people find it necessary to pick on people with accents and foreigners in general?

Question

This jackass at my school finds it particularly necessary to pick on the Korean exchange student because her English is that great. Do people ever consider that these people know more but have had to learn things at a faster pace. Do people ever consider "Hey, I probrably sound prettty stupid trying to speak their language!". Does the ability to have local diction and usage down have some sort hierachy effect on everyone who is able to do so and some belittling quality to others?

Answer 1

I think what you're looking for is ignorance. Plain and simple, it's because that guy is ignorant.

I worked at Disney for a year, and had to deal many times with people feeling ashamed that they didn't speak english, or didn't speak it well. And I would always tell them not to worry, just speak slowly. And although I come from a hick town, I actually speak english quite well, and can understand it. I luckily understand what a foreigner is trying to say contextually even if they use the wrong verb tense or wrong verb period.

And I also speak spanish (semi fluently) and people at Disney came from all over the world, many of them hispanic. And they were ALWAYS considerate of my accent (they actually said I had a beautiful accent for an american), as well as my lack of vocabulary and bad grammar. They were always eager to help me and correct me, and were never rude about it. More than a few families invited me to visit them in their hispanic country to learn and see their culture. It was a fun experience. Many people were amazed that an American would take the time to learn a foreign language.

So I know exacly how you feel, and because foreign people helped me even though I probably spoke spanish like a 4 year old child, so whenever I hear a foreigner struggling, I try to help them instead of making them feel stupid.

Needless to say, due to my experiences at Disney, I am back at school studying Foreign Affairs, and Spanish, with a minor in business. I plan on learning French, Portuguese, and Japanese as well.

Answer 2

It's a fact in our world today that people like to feel better than others by putting others down. Language is just another thing that people can be prejudiced about. Actually, it's a rather insidious kind of prejudice, because it seems like you're not actually prejudiced against the person if you're making fun of the way the person speaks. But it is prejudice all the same. I hate it and it really bothers me when I hear people making remarks like that.

You should know that there's nothing about any particular accent, dialect, or language that makes it better or worse. Any value judgment we place on them is always a reflection of our feelings towards the people who use that accent, dialect, or language.

Answer 3

Hi, I believe you might have an attractive well knowledge of the accessory trade. Natives of the US might have an accessory to Germans in the event that they attempted to talk German simply as such a lot Germans have an accessory once they talk English. Such accents are a lot more main than, say, the change among southern US and northerly US accents. We pronounce a lot of our letters, exceptionally vowels, specific from the ones in German and with a purpose to deliver over into our speakme German until we've studied German for many years. They even have umlauts. These, exceptionally the "o" umlaut are elaborate for English audio system. These variations will deliver over to our accents once we talk German. We even have the schwa that replaces approximately 30 percentage of our vowel sounds, however for which we don't have any letter. That might be a drawback for Germans who talk English. In the case of a few languages similar to Spanish, there is additionally a ample change within the rhythm. The Spanish talk a syllable-timed language and English is a pressure-timed language. That can create a ample change within the sound of a language which we classify as an accessory. formeng

Answer 4

Because some people are mean and stupid. Anyone will have trouble with a language that is not his or her own and EVERYONE has an accent. Some people are just dumb.

Answer 5

Well if they do that is called racism, discrimination and social injustice and it is wrong...God loves all people regardless of their age, sex, religious or ethnic background or social status and He calls us to do the same...I just did a piece on this on my page...and It makes me really angry too...I love all people and learning about them, their different culturals and even the belief system...that is how we truely learn them as a person and come to appreciate them for what they give us...read my page called..."Imagine A World"

Answer 6

They probably feel inadequate in themselves and feel that picking on someone helpless will make them look more powerful. It only shows their ignorance.

Answer 7

some people are ignorant and cant appreciate other cultures

Answer 8

accents are sexy.