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<< I also find it suspicious that he refuses to say what country he is from. >>
Well, I like to view myself as an exemplary citizen of the world, even though I wake up everyday in the greatest country in the world (Canada) where I'm happy to say discrimination does not exist (I know I'm wrong - just being positive). Infact, as much as I hate to say it; Sergei will certainly have a magnificently increased chance of success over here compared to "that other country."
<< So I think this was a case of Stan speaking on a subject about which he knows a lot less than he thinks. >>
You know what?, I think you all are right, just; maybe I know very little about this subject, infact the few things I know are WHAT I WATCH ON TV and READ IN THE NEWSPAPERS!. In the light of that, I've decided to bury the issue like a bad habit and quit all altercations.
Sergei, one truth I never mentioned is the fact that you can succeed anywhere, difficulties only make things more interesting - and makes victory even sweeter. Heavy accent never counts for much, people have gone through worse things (and succeeded), trust me, I know a lot about that (atleast).
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<<Law is specific to a region, as is language, whereas human anatomy and biochemistry are universal sciences. >>
Exactly. Did you not read the part where I said that to even be able to PRACTICE law, you must first pass the bar exam?
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And I might add that in the US, you must also be licensed to practice medicine by the state in which you practice; your credentials from Vermont are not necessarily valid in Oklahoma. You must take the state boards first. So medicine is not legally "universal".
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Uriel, you seem to be a very rational man. Unfortunately, our jurors are not elected based on their rationality, and carry with them their biases. There are times when perception matters more than reality.
However, it is true that I have not performed any research and everything I have written is nothing more than my opinion on how I think jurors would react to a lawyer with an accent. Maybe I'm wrong.
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<< Uriel, you seem to be a very rational man. >>
Is Uriel a man? - I always thought that was a lady's name, or am I missing something?
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The only Uriel I know of (other than my esteemed co-antimooner) is an archangel, which are traditionally thought of as male (although I s'pose angels are actually genderless).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriel
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She is a woman with a charming face. I can vouch for that as I had seen her picture on another language website. Anything else to contribute to the discussion as I am quite enjoying reading it. It's a very important topic as I had been told by an American girl that my heavy accent wouldn't be comprehensible to the majority of Americans. I think this is the reason why there are so many American Accent Tranining books and cousrses available. Americans have a hard time in understanding foreign accents because they are exposed to only one standard form of language that is how natives speak. This is what Ann Cook wrote in her book.
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Yeah, well, I'M a chick. ;)
Lawyers are often specialists, and a very large percentage of them are not trial lawyers at all, but tax lawyers, contract lawyers, divorce lawyers, consultants to various types of businesses, etc. Many become judges. A fair number go into politics, where the voters of California have proven that a heavy accent won't keep you from getting popularly elected. So juries are not the final arbitrators of who gets to become a successful lawyer. Many in the law profession will have nothing to do with criminal prosecution during their entire careers.
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Now, this is becoming very strange, I could have sworn that she (or he) was a she, I once refered to him (or her) as "she." I wish someone would clearify this for me very soon, I found Urial (or Uriel) on the masculine section of a "names database" but....................get out of town! - you're kidding right?, this is to be very shocking...if its true I always thought that..............no way!! - I still don't believe it.
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great, I'm right...she is a LADY!!.
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Well, then, Uriel, you are a very rational woman. No offense intended.
"Lawyers are often specialists, and a very large percentage of them are not trial lawyers at all, but tax lawyers, contract lawyers, divorce lawyers, consultants to various types of businesses, etc."
If you read my original message, I said that difficulties may arise in trial law, and then wanted on to say that Sergei could have success in other areas of law. And I don't want to say that Sergei can't be a successful trial lawyer, even, but I just thought that his accent would cause a potential obstacle in that area.
I can see you like to argue as much as I do, Uriel. Are you a lawyer yourself?
Boy, Americans are actually exposed to and can understand many different accents, from Latino to British, to even our own regional variations. I understand your difficulty in pronouncing English, however--I can't even imagine the difficulties I'd have trying to learn Chinese.
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Hell, no, I'm not a lawyer. It's just late and I'm cranky.
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Sorry, Tiffany, if I misread your post. I just thought it a wee bit improbable that Americans generally would be "suspicious" of and "uncomfortable" with people "perceived as strangers" and who had unfamiliar accents. Maybe in the hillbilly backwoods, but I don't for one moments believe it is widespread over there.
Accents are a very dodgy business when it comes to getting suitable employment, especially in professional positions, and of course a bias exists here in the UK with our multiplicity of regional accents. It's a fact that if you have a thick regional accent, and use colloquialisms in your private life, you really have to tone them down when at work. There is definitely a prejudice against some regional accents over here, and people in some areas of the country admit that they are turned off when speaking to people with a stong regional accent from elsewhere in the country. Some accents are more unpopular than others, as we have previously discussed at length in this Forum. You just have to draw a line between your businessspeak and your leisurespeak if you do not wish to eradicate your regional accent altogether........tone the first one down when at work then let rip full blast if you want when with your mates. Sounds weird, but that's the way it flows in this weird and boring country. :-)
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***Yeah, well, I'M a chick. ;)***
Och aye! and a slick one at that..... ;)
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Can I be a lawyer/liar in the States even if I have an accent?
lawyer = liar
[same pronunciation]
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