Do you like people imitating your accent?
By naka75
@naka75 (795)
Singapore
February 21, 2007 6:42am CST
I don't like it at all and think it is insulting. And I find it funny that some people in my country try to speak with an American, British or Chinese accent in order to impress upon the tourists. If I'm the tourist, I'd feel disgusting. I'd rather speak perfect English with my unique Singapore accent. What do you think?
1 person likes this
8 responses
@complexvanilla (653)
• India
21 Feb 07
People imitate accents thinking that it might earn them brownie points, but I agree that it often serves to annoy people rather than impress them. However, accent training is commonly given to people especially those who work in the call center and BPO industries to make people sound like the natives of the the country from which the calls originate. Even this move is being discussed and opposed nowadays. Of late, many companies only insist on a neutral accent rather than a put-on accent. The only focus is that the language and pronunciation must be clear and coherent.
1 person likes this
@naka75 (795)
• Singapore
21 Feb 07
I would support the school of using native accent because it can give the customer an assurance that the overseas company is well-established and integrated with the local culture. As long as the call center workers speak coherent English in their native accent, it is not a problem.
2 people like this
@driedmango (356)
• Philippines
22 Apr 07
For our information. Why call centers need American accent training. There are certain states in the U.S. that has this culture. They will not talk to you if they think you are not a "white" American. They need to have this skill in order to sell or support their campaign to these states.
Texas is a good example of this kind of culture...
@weemam (13372)
•
22 Feb 07
I am Scottish and I laugh so much at some of the actors trying to do a Scottish accent , The best one I have ever heard was Mel Gibson in the film Braveheart , I don't know if you have seen this film , not many people can say , Och eye the noo " in a good Scottish accent lol xx
@lafavorito (2959)
• Philippines
21 Feb 07
Actually it's not insulting at all for some people I know. Back in high school I travelled a lot and met people from different countries, when I tired speaking with them using my real accent, they ahd a hard time understanding me. So I tried to imitate their accent and they quickly understood what I'm trying to say.
1 person likes this
@driedmango (356)
• Philippines
22 Apr 07
Not all people are the same. Some wants to talk with someone who has the same accent as his/hers so that he will not have any hard time understanding each other. Others, like what you said, gets insulted.
My question is, why do people get insulted when someone tries to learn their accent? I just don't get it. If you are living in the United States, particularly in California, you'll see a lot of people originating from different countries. They have perfectly acquired the American accent. If you're talking to them over the phone, you'll never think that he/she is an Asian. I haven't seen a "white" American who got pissed because he's talking to an Asian who has the same accent as his.
I hope you can enlighten me on this.
@naka75 (795)
• Singapore
24 Apr 07
It's good to acquire others' accent when speaking their language in their countries but it is pretty obnoxious to hear an Asian Chinese trying to imitate and boast about his American accent in daily conversations, when he could have spoken perfect Mandarin. Even if he can't speak English or Mandarin well, it's good enough to speak it naturally rather than trying to put on an artificial accent. Asian Chinese often have this sentiment because we have high regard for our Chinese culture and the way of life. This is also a problem for a multi-racial society like Singapore where I live, where we have to traverse between the cultures of east and west, while retaining our core values and principles.
@Windrunner (477)
• Pakistan
3 May 07
its not exactly insulting, i mean its ok for me if people try to improve their accent, because many people cant speak english well.
