SPEAK ENGLISH WITH AN AMERICAN ACCENT PLEASE

A blogger-buddy of mine messaged me a few weeks ago  after reading my post, "To Bag or Not to Bug." She told me in her message , "So you now speak with an American accent."

As I read it, I could not help but be amused. I even chuckled myself. I wanted to tell her that if she only knew I used to have a very frustrating and sometimes discouraging dilemma of how the way I speak American English.  Although Americans understand me when I speak English, I feel embarrassed when some of them tell me, "You've got an accent, what is it?" A customer in a company where I worked before, after speaking to him on the phone, asked me if I'm Brazilian. He suspected I was because I had an accent---an accent other than American. A friend of a former employer said that I speak perfect English but with a funny accent. I felt stupid when he said that.

In my desperate attempt to fix my accent, I considered enrolling in an "accent removal training classes." I was taken aback after finding out that these classes are so expensive at $300 per session. Sessions last for an hour and a half for 15 sessions. The books  and DVD's are another thing which were priced at a package of $750.00.

So I did not enroll. My husband does not approve of removing my accent. He thinks my "Filipino accent" is very cute. ( I am so blessed with such a very loving and supportive husband who thinks everything that I do and I am are cute).

But back in the Philippines, people think I speak English with an American accent. It's hilarious because as I wanted to talk in my native language (finally freed from speaking English all day long for a long time), my friends and family urge me to speak English to them. Giving in to their requests, I would speak some English and they would all blabber one thing, "You speak English with an American accent....wow."

Isn't that funny? They all think I acquired the American accent when Americans think my foreign accent is very conspicuous.

Honestly, I tried very hard to speak English with an American accent. I would say "benk" for bank, or "ket" for cat,  and "ed" for ad. But I guess, I had little progress since I just trained myself by listening to my husband's old self-help CD's. As I listened to them, I stopped and rewound, and repeated the same sentences the speaker uttered, over and over again. Then I would read a book aloud and record my voice on tape. But when I started blogging, I stopped.

I stopped and thought, so what if I do not speak English the way Americans do? Afterall, they understand me. Also, I speak more languages than any average person does. So who cares about my accent?

Welcome to America. We speak English here....never mind the accent.

At least I speak their language. And more importantly, I follow the number one rule "Now Please Speak English."

If you're an American, what do you think of people speaking with a FOREIGN accent? If you are not a native American-speaking person, would you want to remove your accent?

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Comments

[stilettoedpraline]

Yeah right! Who cares about accent as long as I speak Dutch with my also "cute" Filipino accent as hubby says. Also, as long as it's ENGLISH, that's what counts and they understand us, don't they?

[sterndal]

hi! i recently applied in a call center here in manila and i wasn't hired b'cuz i don't have the nice american accent :)

[WHITEShadow]

You tag it! Visit http://blurryfaith.blogspot.com/

[AngelMist]

That's funny, the first month I arrive here, my friend would bring me to the village visiting other friends and keep on bragging them how good I am with my English that I spoke well. But inside me, I am not very confident with my accent. I think after few years I just get used to it and was improving a little bit.
But just like what you said, we speak more language plus two or three dialects. So who care, mas magaling tayo o di ba?

[Diane L. Harris]

Bingkee,

Everybody in the U.S. speaks English with an accent. Those of us who were born here are just more used to the accents from Bahsten (Boston), New Yawk (New York), Joe-ja (Georgia), and N'Awlins (New Orleans) more than we are accustomed to your Filipino accent. Of course we all should strive to make ourselves understood in English in the U.S., but accents are part of each person's charm as far as I'm concerned.

God bless us.

[Bingkee]

Diane-I am not talking about the accents in America. I am talking about the different foreign accents here. Not the American regional accents. I am also relating an experience when people say I have a funny accent. I was going to change it to be able to adapt to America but I did not continue on my plans with the reasons stated above. All I am saying is I don't care anymore about my accent . At least I speak a lot more languages which account for my accent when I speak English.
This post is not to bash Americans ---it is to affirm I am now comfortable with my English--with all its funny accent.

[Trent]

DO NOT CHANGE YOUR ACCENT!!!!!!!!!!
Accents are extremely provocative!
This is why you are asked about your origin. It works for me every time. Stay true to yourself & your hot accent!

[Christine H.]

Thanks for sharing. I experienced and felt the same. Most people I met here says, I have a cute accent. My husband told them that I always feel embarrassed and they said my English is fine. For me, it will take time to get used to it.

[KCee]

I always thought that American accent can be easily caught like the common cold when you stay long enough in the US. My aunts who migrated there since the late 70s sound too 'nasal' to me. Hearing them with the generic "aha" and altering how my name normally sounds, gives me earache.

[Joy]

You made me laugh again reading with your accent post. Grabeh nga maglait ang American sa accent eh..Buti nalang dito ako sa Oz napunta at so far di naman ako nagmukhang stupid.

[Mel Alarilla]

To speak with an accent or not is not that important. What is important is that you can speak correct English, never mind if they think you have an accent. People from India speak English with a different accent and they all sound alike. British people have their own accents too. So does Aussies. It does not matter whether you have an accent or none. What is important is that you speak the English language fluently and Americans can understand you. If they can understand the Japanese, they will surely understand Filipinos speaking English. Thanks for the interesting post. BTW, thanks for joining Filipinos Unite!!! I really appreciate that. God bless you and your loved ones always my friend.

[Bill]

Never take away your accent my friend because it is part of you. If people dont like the way you talk then they can leave LOL.

[rachy]

You know, I would never have suspected that you have the slightest of an accent from reading your blogs. In my mind, I hear your voice as a American-born speaker of English.

When I moved from NY to Boston, they said I had a NY accent. Now if I hear New Yorkers speak, I can detect their NY accent. Accents are all relative, but add flavor to the English language. Don't loose your accent!

[shaxx]

lovely post! I am a Malaysian and I speak English with my own accent and that is not going to change. LOL!

[tina]

Don't try to get rid of your accent! That's just silly. It's part of who you are, just like our American accents are part of who we are. Some of my favorite things about people are their accents. There are plenty of people with American accents running around - those with foreign accents add flavor to the mix.

[Chris]

What? Do Americans speak english? Brits speak english and Yanks american. Isnt it bad to say Americans speak english?

[Ann]

Who cares if you have an accent when you speak English. As long as you are able to communicate and understand.

When I first met my Italian husband (I'm American), he had an Italian/Irish accent since he learned English in Dublin. Seven years later he's lost his Irish accent, with the minor except of a word or two. But he still has his Italian accent when he speaks English and will always have the accent. But who cares, he's able to speak and understand English.

[Don]

Bingkee,

So you speak with an accent. I just commend you on the fact that you can speak more than one language. Believe it or not, their are many of us that no matter how hard we try could never accomplish this.

Post a recording or a video so we can hear your accent.

[bing]

i remember a blogger friend who also told me how it is a struggle to speak the American language with the accent.

i think one must not be bothered as long as people understand you when you speak the language. it would be a bother if they cannot understand you because the subject and the verb do not agree ha ha

[Dear To Toronto]

What a great co-incidence. I did a similar post, using an example from YouTube--Canadian speaketh and an American speaketh in their own accents.

Luckily you can't hear my accent here (coz: h 'as in here' in my case, I am told by a Canadian that it is loaded with a British convent school orientation).

Best of luck.

[earthlingorgeous]

To non-English native speaker someone who speaks good English has acquired an accent hahahaha! But I've talked to lots of American, British and Australian, Americans can distinguish accents very much especially people from Texas I don't know how but they do.

Nice post very funny!

[Angelika]

Be proud of your accent! I couldn't care less if someone has an accent or sounds "weird" speaking English.

Just as long as they aren't speaking Ebonics, LOL.

[joie]

Even americans dont have the same accent.. who cares.. accent adds beauty to the language.. :)

[John]

Bing, don`t try to lose your accent it is a waste of time. Americans can`t speak English, let alone write English so do not try to copy them. Spell checks even get it wrong, insisting I write as the Americans do. Even the English find it hard to speak English because there are so many dialects.
I`m a Landaner from darn Sarf though I live in the Midlands end I dun spek like em do. Hev yo ivver bin ter Ingland?

[Sam]

Hi Bingkee,

You don't need to change your accent as long as your hubby loves it. Sometimes other people need to realize that we are unique. People who likes us loves us too whatever are characteristics we have.

Take care always...

[Jade]

I don't really care anymore if I do have an accent when I speak english because that is who I am.

I wouldn't try to hide my identity - I am proud of who I am.

[Scott Onlinehandyman]

Hi Bingkee,

I have to chime in on this one. I agree with everything that you said about speaking English except do not try and change your accent. Yes, people living in America should speak the language, but there is nothing wrong with differentiating ourselves by all sounding a little different.

You show that you are American by speaking the language spoken here, but your accent shows your heritage.

Scott

[Ria C]

Potayto, potato...it's still the same. Nope, won't lose my accent no matter what (not that I have any...hahahaha).

[Melinda]

Oh, Bingkee--I wish you had thought you had to consider going to 'accent removal school' (I never knew such a thing existed!). I think we should accept all people for who they are-and that no one should feel they have to do something like that to fit in. One of the things I love about living in San Francisco is how diverse it is! There are people from every imaginable culture and country--it is like a symphony of various accents. I love it.

In addition, my husband is from Boston--and people have trouble understanding him at time--and he was born and raised in the U.S.!

Take care,

Melinda

[jifdc]

I have to be honest, accents are pretty cool. I was born and raised in California.... but the accent was already there from the start....my dad is Salvadorian and my mom is Filipina.... my accent is a mix of both.....never changed either. My brother in the other hand, who has the same background as I do and grew up together with me, has a refined American accent. I believe accents are embedded, yet could be altered to sound different if one wants too so badly. Never bothered to think to change my accent....if I did, in my opinion, I would deny my true self from becoming. No one should feel they have to change themselves because of a society structure that evolved from mass popularization. Not worth it.

[a fil-am journey]

Honestly, up to now, I still speak english with an accent. At first, I was kind of not embarrassed, but more of anxious of the way I talk, but my husband keeps telling me that my voice is good...He loves it when I speak english with an accent and like your husband, he found it very cute and interesting. He said he's very proud of me, he always thinks that I speak very good english than most Filipinos he had ever met or encountered here in the states. So now, I don't care anymore if I have an accent, I wouldn't want to remove it. What is important is that I can speak english and people are not confused listening to me, but rather, they understand me well.

Thanks by the way for the visit and for your comment.

[htgerman]

Hey! I really enjoyed your post! It struck a cord with me since I've been living away from my native Germany for years (almost 15 actually). During and a fair while after studying languages at uni and still when I moved to Australia I hated it when people heard me speak and guessed, often correctly, where I'm from. I took it to mean that my English isn't good enough. When Australians started thinking I'm South African or Swedish I started to relax. Then I moved to the UK and the English found my Aussie accent hilarious. Now I live in Spain and my Spanish friends in London find my Andalusian accent funny. These days I don't care what people think. My accent is simply my way of speaking and all I do about it is watch it change over time.

[Christina]

B., this is a great post!

I work w/Ly, a 39 yr. old Vietnamese woman who has been in the U.S. about 3 years, I think - so I deal w/accents all the time...your accent is priceless, it is unique, and part of who you are. I would hate for her to lose hers, & I hope you won't lose yours, either.

She & I often 'struggle' to understand each other ,but it's out in the open, it's just the way it is. We try. When foreigners DON'T speak English is what really irritates, esp. if they know how to. So, thank you for speaking English in the United States of America, period.

[Janet]

@earthlingorgeous -

I think Americans can distinguish the slightest accents from each other because there are so many of them here! I can pick someone from Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee or Georgia out a crowd. :)

Of course it gets tricky around California, Colorado and others because it's all sort of the same.. I'm from Colorado (with the same accent most people have here in Colorado) and no one can ever guess if they don't know.

Nice post! It got me thinking!

Janet
http://travelenvy.net

[khusan pulatov]

hi. how are you.my name is husan pulatov.I wanna study american at university.please help me.

[Frank J Criado]

I may be a little late awakening to this... but I felt compelled to register my thoughts since I've been pondering these issues for more than 30 years. All of the posted comments make a lot of sense, tend to be positive and are right on the mark, but it is more complicated than that. A lot of Americans react to a foreign accent in one way or another, but almost always 'visibly' if not with an actual question: "where are you from?", or "where's the accent from", etc., etc. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, but it does continue to turn me off, sometimes almost violently. Perhaps it shouldn't, but it does - even after more than 3 decades living in this country. And I do regret not having acted on my initial inclination (many years ago) to do something, everything) to erase the (Spanish) accent shortly after arriving in 1975.
I am sort of resigned now and have learned to live with it, but it does still bother me more often than I ever say.

[mimi]

hi every body i'm mimi from algeria and i love english laguage because it is clear and nice and useful !! so i'm asking you to help me to speak it with an american accent please

[mimi imenoo]

i think that i start to speak enlish and write it better but i would like to speak it with an american accent so i'm qsking for a persones who can are able to help me please

[Kay]

Accents don't matter. I'm american and I have an accent too! I understand getting irritated when people ask you where your from. I'm from up north whenever I go down south they all ask and guess which state I'm from. Of course if people don't understand you it might be good to try and fix that but loosing your accent would be horrible. I'm from Ohio also known as the state with no accent I have an accent and my friends like to tease me like when I say Austin I pronounce it Awwsteen,I love being different and you should take pride in it. Generally when people asks you where your accent is from is because Americans are generally curious people and like to know, especially if they can't already tell themselves seeing as many can distinguish many diiferent dialects.

[Lateralus]

My girlfriend is from the Philippines and I love her accent and I wouldn't have her change it for the world. I am a white boy from the U.S. and I have never knew anyone that had a problem with someone with an accent unless it causes problems with communicaiton, which of course, is understandable if you can't understand what a person is saying. I have a learned a few Tagalog words along the way , although I wouldn't attemp the accent...

[Amy]

Ha, I love Flippin accents...hubby is Filipino but very americanized. Moved to the states at 10 so no real accent just occasional wrong word placement. He likes to stand "on" line. Anyhoo. I'd never want him to change a thing!

[Riza]

I can speak in full american accent, but its a lot of effort for me because I have to "bend my tongue' so to speak, so I just resigned myself in speaking with accent. whenver my customers tell me that i have a funny accent, i just tell them that i'm a filipino who learned english from school. i also ask them if they're having trouble in understanding me, they're just usually curious...

[Matthew Wade]

I'm from England, and we have a slightly different accent pretty much every 50 miles or so in any direction, and take a great amount of amusement at American English. When it comes to it, be proud of your accent. Sure, modify it in certain situations if it makes you and others feel more comfortable, but on the whole don't worry. Most Brits and Americans speak 1 or maybe 2 languages, so are in no position to judge. In fact I love hearing English in different accents, just as i love hearing 'foreign' looking people talk with really strong regional accents, like a guy I know who looks like a muslim cleric but talks like Braveheart. Its all good!

And I'm a North African looking half west-indian who has an irish surname and talks like a period drama...