Those of you who have been following my posts know that I came to the US from Russia when I was 12. I still have a barely noticeable accent which causes people to ask "where are you from." At home, I speak Russian with my family when I see them. But even at work, I've never been the most talkative or extroverted person.
Well, I recently got a new job which forced me to re-locate. I now live and work in a different city, and at work there's two people who work with me, including a guy my age (27) who is Pakistani but American-born (so no accent). My first week was spent in constant conversation with him, and also another guy in my cube, who is an Indian immigrant. They never leave me alone--unlike in my previous job, where I had some time to myself, these guys constantly try to socialize and talk with me. Even when I'm tired, I have to respond to them and keep up the conversation, to my irritation. They're much better disposed towards me than the white all-American dudes I used to work with before, so they always socialize with me. In particular, as I said, the Pakistani guy is American-born and has true American pronunciation. I don't think I spoke my native tongue at all during the week.
Well, I had a pretty amazing week in terms of my accent. Here's a day-by-day account of what I experienced:
- Monday: a Chinese-American colleague, who doesn't have an accent (came over when he was 4), asked me that dreaded question "Where are you from?" as soon as he first heard me talk.
- Weds.: I casually asked my Pakistani American co-worker if I had an accent, he shrugged and said, "No, it's practically non-existent."
- Thurs.: I had a date with a girl who, during our conversation about cultures, told me, unprompted, "But you don't have an accent, so you fit in pretty well." I was surprised and told her I did have an accent, but she shook her head no.
- Friday: I was talking to the SAME Chinese-American colleague referred to above, about some work-related issues, and all of a sudden, out of the blue!, he changed the topic and said, "Wow, you don't even have an accent!"
- Saturday: Came back to visit my parents. For the first time in my life, I had a somewhat dented confidence in my ability to speak Russian. I was a bit embarassed and anxious if I was forming the Russian sounds correctly, and my parents probably sensed that.
A true personal account of 1 week spent in constant conversation, mostly with an American-born guy where I was forced to keep talking and talking. This leads me to believe the key to losing an accent is talking a lot.
Well, I recently got a new job which forced me to re-locate. I now live and work in a different city, and at work there's two people who work with me, including a guy my age (27) who is Pakistani but American-born (so no accent). My first week was spent in constant conversation with him, and also another guy in my cube, who is an Indian immigrant. They never leave me alone--unlike in my previous job, where I had some time to myself, these guys constantly try to socialize and talk with me. Even when I'm tired, I have to respond to them and keep up the conversation, to my irritation. They're much better disposed towards me than the white all-American dudes I used to work with before, so they always socialize with me. In particular, as I said, the Pakistani guy is American-born and has true American pronunciation. I don't think I spoke my native tongue at all during the week.
Well, I had a pretty amazing week in terms of my accent. Here's a day-by-day account of what I experienced:
- Monday: a Chinese-American colleague, who doesn't have an accent (came over when he was 4), asked me that dreaded question "Where are you from?" as soon as he first heard me talk.
- Weds.: I casually asked my Pakistani American co-worker if I had an accent, he shrugged and said, "No, it's practically non-existent."
- Thurs.: I had a date with a girl who, during our conversation about cultures, told me, unprompted, "But you don't have an accent, so you fit in pretty well." I was surprised and told her I did have an accent, but she shook her head no.
- Friday: I was talking to the SAME Chinese-American colleague referred to above, about some work-related issues, and all of a sudden, out of the blue!, he changed the topic and said, "Wow, you don't even have an accent!"
- Saturday: Came back to visit my parents. For the first time in my life, I had a somewhat dented confidence in my ability to speak Russian. I was a bit embarassed and anxious if I was forming the Russian sounds correctly, and my parents probably sensed that.
A true personal account of 1 week spent in constant conversation, mostly with an American-born guy where I was forced to keep talking and talking. This leads me to believe the key to losing an accent is talking a lot.