Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have been cruising through life, encountering all sorts of stuff, and I have been living in this country for over two decades, but as of lately, I notice that people feel the need to point out my foreign accent (which is not thick at all), framing it in a way that leaves me a bit fuzzy about it. Within a year, it happened three times, within the past 20 years not at all. Yeah, sure... good riddens to the narrow-minded, but still, I'm beginning to become a wee bit self-conscious about it now. Just today, I heard it again. Other things that came my way were "you talk funny, I am not used to it." Or "you say things in an odd way, not like we say it here."
Why all of a sudden this focus on a foreign accent?
Anything can be a turn-on or turn-off. Some people like accents, some don't. Some accents are more desirable or less irritating to some than others. Me personally, I can listen to Sofia Vergara all day long. Doesn't hurt that she looks like Sofia Vergara.
Accents are not usually a turn-off. Many people are slightly to very attracted to people with accents because they obviously come from a different place and that is interesting, or they want to try to guess where the people came from.
You say you've been here for over 20 years. In 20 years no one ever once referred to your accent, and all the comments have been in the past year? Are you maybe exaggerating that a bit?
Just speculating now: It may be that you otherwise seem so completely assimilated that your accent throws people for a loop, and they blurt something out without thinking. Or they may be hinting that since you're so well assimilated, you should be losing the accent. (Which is not easy, if even possible--my in-laws have lived in the US since 1964 and they still have distinctive accents. They're obviously never going to lose them).
I wouldn't take it as an insult or turn-off, in any case. My mother-in-law is always embarrassed when people refer to her accent, and wishes it would go away, but I really think almost everyone finds it charming.
I am not exaggerating. While I have heard references to the accent in the past, it was in a rather neutral, or even positive context. Those comments recently were far from it, as in I talk funny, or weird. There was nothing nice about it, and I wonder why people feel the need to point out such things in that fashion.
I have been cruising through life, encountering all sorts of stuff, and I have been living in this country for over two decades, but as of lately, I notice that people feel the need to point out my foreign accent (which is not thick at all), framing it in a way that leaves me a bit fuzzy about it. Within a year, it happened three times, within the past 20 years not at all. Yeah, sure... good riddens to the narrow-minded, but still, I'm beginning to become a wee bit self-conscious about it now. Just today, I heard it again. Other things that came my way were "you talk funny, I am not used to it." Or "you say things in an odd way, not like we say it here."
Why all of a sudden this focus on a foreign accent?
Why not just tell them that they talk funny to you?
People notice different things at different times for no particular reason.
I've had plenty of people cruelly make fun of me for my heavy Southern accent, even going so far as to ask if English is my native language. Accents apparently do upset people.
It would have been so much nicer if these people had said, "What a charming accent! Where are you from?" instead of what you heard. I'd have to say the people who remarked rudely about your accent were simply rude. Others probably find your accent charming or at least quite unique, making you rather interesting to them.
I wouldn't match rudeness with rudeness, which you probably wouldn't do either. So telling them they talk funny is out, I think. I think a good response is something like: "I'm a native of X." And then move on. People with no sense of courtesy are probably not going to be good conversationalists.
I think anyone who is socially awkward enough to say "you talk funny" is someone whose opinion would have zero value to me. The person who said "you say things in an odd way..." at least sound like he/she was trying to sound tactful (not doing a good job at actually coming across as tactful, however.) People are struck by things that seem "odd" to them, and tend to mention them without meaning to be offensive. The person should have called you choice of words "interesting" or "unexpected," but probably wasn't thinking of the negative connotation of using the word "odd."
You should try not to let it bother you, I bet a lot of people like your accent. If anyone doesn't like it, that's their problem!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
