Accent Shame: Why Most Learners Experience It

Introduction:

Learning a new language is a long, enduring process. What most people may not take into consideration is the accent. Everyone is born with an innate accent, and it can be influenced by culture, ethnicity, location, and several other factors that constituent to your accent as a whole. Accents, in some of our opinions, are interesting and sound intriguing, but for others, they feel like accents are a burden or impair them in a sense. However, accents should be seen as a positive thing, and people shouldn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed about them.

What is Accent Shame:

Accent shame refers to when individuals feel oppressed or embarrassed about their own accent. They might feel like they’re not as great as native speakers or feel like outcasts when communicating in their secondary language. It is a common experience that humans want to connect through commonality and generic traits. However, accents show uniqueness and distinct traits in individuals. It can also feel weird for native speakers to hear because they’re not used to hearing an individual speak in an unfamiliar way. Accents may also cause some letters, phrases, and word types to be pronounced in a different way. One example of two different accents includes American English and British English.

American pronunciations:

• Wa-ter

• Car

• To-may-to

British pronunciations:

• Wa-teh

• Cah

• To-mah-to

Same language, but different pronunciation. It stems from a different culture, a different style, and a different way of life. But if two regions speak the same language and can have variation in their word sense, what would happen between two completely different languages? This is where negative thoughts happen to surge in nonnative speakers because word pronunciation will be vastly different, and they need to adapt to their new style. Especially with different languages' letters, it can be hectic to familiarize yourself with certain pronunciations and letter-sense.

Why Accent Shame is Normal:

People may think,

• “My accent will make others think I'm dumb.”

• “I can’t find any similarities between myself and everyone else.”

• “I’ll just stop talking so people won’t have to hear my accent.

But you should understand that a majority of learners from around the world experience this phenomenon, not only with English, that is. Everyone has an accent; it doesn’t magically disappear when you transition from one language to another. There are ways to limit accent exfoliation, but the best course of action is to embrace and appreciate your accent. It is an accomplishment in itself to learn a new language, and some people may even respect people with thicker accents more than natural accents because it demonstrates a sense of maturity. Not many people can learn multiple languages, and accents help show others your journey and improvement in a language. Do not worry if others tease or ridicule you because of an accent; instead, congratulate yourself for trying and managing to learn a new language. It is difficult and enduring.

Fear:

The prominent problem is fear, not pronunciation or intelligence. People are scared because of what others might think. It is a common emotion to feel in various circumstances. From speaking in front of an audience to playing in a competitive sports match or even using your microphone in a video game for the first time, fear shows itself in many areas. Fear is static; sadly, it lingers no matter the precautions taken to eliminate it. Don’t lose hope, there are ways to mitigate and thought processes to help calm your mind. Repeat these sentences in your head the next time you talk in English,

• Speaking English is amazing; it is one of the most difficult languages to learn, and I have done a great job teaching myself.

• Everyone has their own problems, why should they worry about my accent and my pronunciation

• If I get teased, so what? I still have my close friends and family supporting me along the way.

We want to build confidence, not only English skills, as there are numerous factors to consider when learning a language such as English.

Conclusion:

Learning a language is tiresome and irritating at times. People should never feel nervous or anxious about minuscule things, such as an accent or pronunciation on a word. We want to inspire our learners and people from around the world to have confidence in themselves and express their newfound knowledge to various outlets and sources. English is just the blueprint; it takes confidence to construct a house. Without confidence, the house may never be complete.