Accent Problems No matter whether a person lives in only one country or in different countries, accent problems are everywhere. When people live in a particular place for a long time, they often acquire the accent of the indigenous population, but it is hard to change one’s native accent totally. Because of this, sometimes the local people look down on those people who have a different accent. Having a different accent can make day-to-day communication challenging at times. It can even make finding a good job difficult. Local people can be prejudiced against those who have an accent different from their own. “The stronger the accent, the more contempt will abound” (Giles and Niedzielski 86). For example, a Chinese student came to America a few days ago and began studying at a university. There was a discussion time during one of her classes. She was on a team with three American classmates. During the whole session, she only said two or three sentences. One might think it is because her English is very poor and she doesn’t know what to say or when to say it. That could be true. However, when she was talking about her point or idea, those three American classmates didn’t pay any attention to what she was saying. This could be understood to be a kind of contempt because her accent is different. Her classmates may not have taken her seriously or thought her ideas were credible because she spoke differently. Accent problems can also occur in everyday communication. If one of the speakers cannot comprehend the meaning of the conversation, it will be hard to continue the dialogue. For example, a Chinese student met an Indian friend on campus one day. They exchanged, “Hi. How are you?” to each other as usual. The Indian friend then asked something about a mutual American friend. He spoke for some time, but only one word was understood: the mutual friend’s name. As a result, the Chinese student said, “I am sorry. I don’t think I completely understood what you said. Could you say that again?” Although the Indian repeated himself, the Chinese student was still unable to catch what he had said. They had no choice but to stop talking. Although they both spoke English, the accent differences made the conversation confusing and unintelligible. Accent differences can also make the search for gainful employment or a perfect job very complicated or difficult. “In the initial survey mentioned, one informant claimed that ‘if you were an employer and somebody came in to see you with a broad Glaswegian accent and then another man came in with an English accent, you’d be more inclined to give the English man the job because he had a nicer way of speaking’” (88). In almost any company, few bosses want to spend time translating what he or she has said to an employee; this detracts from doing real work. It is hard to contribute to teamwork when somebody cannot understand directions or the essence of what is being communicated completely. Those who speak with a non-native accent may often be looked down upon by the local population. It may be impossible to avoid this in every case. Everyday conversations may also be strained because of accent differences. But even these can be manageable. Hiring and job discrimination because of accent differences may also be unsavory facts that some will face. Yet, if one tries his or her best to correct the accent and make it easier to understand, he or she can thrive. Additionally, diverse accents can be beautiful and add variety to mundane surroundings.

Works Cited
Giles, Howard, and Nancy Niedzielski. "Italian is Beautiful, German is Ugly." Language Myths. Eds. Laurie Bauer and Peter Trugdill. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.