Do native speakers tolerate foreign accents?
<<<<I heard your spiel last year. Yada yada, we Americans thinks those with foreign accents are of "lower quality". Please explain to me why I married my foreign husband. I'm sure you'll make something silly up like - "You felt sorry for him." or "You are not the normal American"
I have no idea where you are getting your perceptions, but obviously they are very limited and edging to become stereotypes. I don't know anyone who would think another was of lesser "quality" because they had an accent. If your story is true, I hope you feel sorry for those who do see things that way. But I hardly think you can generalize Americans. >>>
Tif,
I have no idea why you married and whom.That's your personal business.
I was refering to a some or many American and to all of them.
Any why is that you assume something about someone you have never met? That's silly, really silly.
I get my perceptions from people around me who are Americans or foreigners , from news and otehr sources.
There was a very interesting article in a CA paper that was talking about exactly what I said. It was about a study made on a few Asians and Hindus.A few employers were asked if they would hire these people with thick accents and how much they would pay them.They said either that they woundn't hire them or they would pay them a minimum wage. Those foreigner born had already high pay jobs, as doctors or lawers .
<<<which also makes me question where exactly he is from in Ohio (remind me not to go there). >>
mjd*,
Why not? What's wrong with OH?
I live on a yaht, so now I am in the very North of OH.
<<<which also makes me question where exactly he is from in Ohio (remind me not to go there). >>
mjd*,
Why not? What's wrong with OH?
I live on a yaht, so now I am in the very Northern part of OH.
<<I was refering to a some or many American and to all of them. >>
I hope this sentence has been worded incorrectly.
<<It was about a study made on a few Asians and Hindus.A few employers were asked if they would hire these people with thick accents and how much they would pay them.>>
Not all Asians and Hindus have thick accents. Some do of course. I happen to work with many Asians (East and South) - some have accents, some don't. Some are paid quite well indeed. Not all speak without an accent but their accent (or the thickness of it) is not a correlation to how much they are paid. Things like skill are of greater concern to the employer.
And I brought up my marriage to a foreigner for relevance's sake, since, in your own words, you claim that foreigners are thought of as "lower quality, even less intelligent." To be sracastic, I married my spouse because I thought of him as "lower quality, even less intelligent?" Right.
<<I was refering to a some or many American and to all of them. >>
I hope this sentence has been worded incorrectly>>..
Can u figure it out, Tif?
Look who is talkin'???? """"sracastic""""
However, I believe that you married the right man, the one deserve, the one who you are alike.
I misplaced the letter "r" in sarcastic.
Your sentence was missing a few words that gave it a whole new meaning. Hardly comparable.
<<<I misplaced the letter "r" in sarcastic>>>
or u misplaced the letter "a".Let's c if u ken use your little brain...
"few words"? I didn't know that few refers to one thing.
Oh, that's laughable, trying to tell me that it was the "a" not the "r". Apparently, you can't see that because the "a" and the "r" are flipped, obviously one of them was misplaced. In both cases, either the "r" is misplaced or the "a" is misplaced.
<<"few words"? I didn't know that few refers to one thing.>>
I'm sorry, couldn't think of the correct word to encompass all the things wrong with the sentence. Here is your correction:
"I was referring to some or many Americans, not to all of them."
But you are correct, it was the missing "not" replaced by an "and" that was the most important.
Anyway, back to the real topic - why you think Americans cannot tolerate foreign accents.
I'm sure some do and some don't. How that is supposed to single us out as being different from any other group of people is the real mystery.
Tiffany,
It's an observation that I've been making lately, especially after 9/11 (not necessary I eblieve it has much to do with that, but it some ways it does).
My observations come from news, internet posts, talking to people around me and opening my eyes and ears.
I don't know where you live . but there is a lot discrimation in the US, even if it's illegal. In states like CA, FL and NY people (Americans) don't care about foreign accents I believe because they are more exposed to them. Besides that those states are touristic states and there are many foreigners there, but here in North, the situation is different to my opinion.
One day I notice a lady with a kid and a Middle Estern man came around and she just pull this kid towards her, like she was trying to avoid this man touching her kid.(the kid wasn't in this man's way).
I also noticed that Americans don't make friends with foreigners, not just with Indians, but the other ones too. They might talk to them , but that soon everything ends there. Even when I was in school years ago, Americans were chatting most of the times with Americans and foreigners with foreigners, and I could say there was a distance between these two types of groups. Distance I mean, physical, not just in conversation.
After 9/11 I noticed that Americans stay away from Middle Easterns and it's really easy to recognize them .I understand that, but not all of them are bad or terrorists. The problem now is that the Americans stay away from everyone who has an accent or seem to be born someplace else than US. I can see that in their behaviour, in the way how they talk or how easy they accept being surounded by foreigners.
However, I don't believe all Americans are the same, maybe I shouldn't have said "Americans" in my first post.
And it seems to be the same with black people here in OH. I can see people stay away from black people and that's a shame because not all of them are bad.
To me as long as people, regardless their color or nationality, are good, don't commit crime, they try to make a living by having a job, and not living on the gov money , I don't have a problem with them.
And yes Uriel, I believe too that what you said it's a mistery. And one the reasons is that Americans are big believers of the news and they don't really filter what they hear and that's why perhaps they just don't accept foreigners as much as other nationals.
my $.03
« Our country, for instance, is fluctuating between xenophobia and exaggerated xenophilia. »
One could say that it's rather like that in England as well.
« Our country, for instance, is fluctuating between xenophobia and exaggerated xenophilia. »
<<One could say that it's rather like that in England as well.>>
It's true to both countries but their reasons (why it is so) differ.
Thank you for your story, from OHIO. I cannot say what it is like in the North. I was born and raised in Florida, moved to Massachesetts for college and now live in California for work. Perhaps I missed it. I don't know. We both state our point of view. Yours is admittedly from the North. Mine is from both coasts.
I accept that the racism you feel is real, there is racism everywhere and it's not always based on a foreign accent - it's the supposed "color" of the skin.
However I would like to hear some Brits' opinions on this topic.
Thanks
Tiffany:I "now live in California for work. Perhaps I missed it."
I think you did. And so did we as former immigrants.
We heard many times here (in California): "California is not America". As a matter of fact San-Francisco is the first big city in the US where so called minorities are not minorities anymore:
"The racial makeup of the city.. 49.66% White"
And as for the capital of Silicon Valley San Jose:(the tenth big city in the US) "The racial makeup of the city was 47.49% White..."
When we lived in our first apartment (10 years ago) our neighbor had been telling us (she moved California with her husband from Colorado): 'I can't stand this anymore. It's so difficult to hear no American accent and be surrounded by foreigns only.I can't wait when his contract comes to an end and we leave'.
Our friends moved to Springfield, Missouri. A first she was really shocked: whoever she met there always asked her two obligatory questions: first -'where did you get your cute accent?' (you barely can hear a question of this kind in San Jose ) , and second - 'what church do you go?' - this one is unthinkable in California.