Why should you be proud of your accent?
Language and dialects are a colorful representation of our history and social groups. They reflect our cultural heritage in subtle expressions and are unique to our traditions. The same applies to our accents which are defined as “a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area, or social class” by the Oxford Dictionary Languages.
We encounter several students who confuse English fluency with accent softening lessons. These lessons are quite different from the usual lessons of online English speaking courses in India. Accent softening exercises are also important especially if it is affecting the quality of your conversations when people are unable to understand your pronunciations. However, if you are feeling embarrassed about your accent and hence you wish to brush it off, then let us tell you why it may not be such a great idea!
-
Own it!
Our languages reflect our social heritage. It reflects our rich history of cultural lineage. There is nothing to be ashamed about pronouncing words a certain way as long as you are able to express yourself clearly. Your accent is what makes you unique.
-
Be proud that you are multilingual
It is no secret that people who know multiple languages have the greatest number of accents. Thus, you should be proud that you are at least bi-lingual. If anything, it only reflects that you are smart and hardworking.
-
Great conversation starters
The moment we come across individuals who speak with an accent, we are intrigued! We try to identify patterns in the way they speak. We take cues to learn about their history, what is their cultural upbringing etc. These are great conversation starters since people find you interesting!
-
More opportunities
When you know more than one language, you can connect with more people. More networking means more opportunities in terms of career, making new friends, being more informed etc.
Your accent reflects you, your cultural lineage and is a crucial aspect of your personality. Rather than trying to mask it, you must embrace your uniqueness. Lastly, it should not stop you from learning to speak a new language.
On a lighter note, many individuals find accents sexy! They believe individuals with an accent sound smarter than average folks. No wonder the fake accent phrase like #pawrihorahihai became popular few weeks back!
We hope you found this article helpful. We would love to hear from you!
Try a free lesson for improving your communication skills at Speechify - Online spoken English courses !