No idea if this story https://mastodon.social/@fesshole/116537976774839608 is actually true, but it does point out a problem.
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No idea if this story https://mastodon.social/@fesshole/116537976774839608 is actually true, but it does point out a problem.
Mocking accents spreads unjust, offensive stereotypes
I was sitting in class when the person next to me began to imitate an Indian accent. At first it seemed like lighthearted fun, but when they mentioned the words “curry” and “cheaper,” I grew annoyed. When people imitate non-European accents they often begin to incorporate rude comments that can be offensive to many people....
THE ALGONQUIN HARBINGER (arhsharbinger.com)
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No idea if this story https://mastodon.social/@fesshole/116537976774839608 is actually true, but it does point out a problem.
Mocking accents spreads unjust, offensive stereotypes
I was sitting in class when the person next to me began to imitate an Indian accent. At first it seemed like lighthearted fun, but when they mentioned the words “curry” and “cheaper,” I grew annoyed. When people imitate non-European accents they often begin to incorporate rude comments that can be offensive to many people....
THE ALGONQUIN HARBINGER (arhsharbinger.com)
@Dianora My problem is that I'm a mimic. I adapt to the accents around me. Back in university we had two to a room and two rooms shared a bathroom. One of my can-mates was two years off the boat from Vietnam and a top student, but his English was *heavily* accented.
Two weeks into the term, I'm having a conversation with him, my roommate comes in, and just stands there, confused. I ask him what's up?
"Now I can't understand either of you!"
So as it turns out when talking to my can-mate, I was also communicating in a heavy Vietnamese accent without even knowing it.
When out of town, the people I'm with get identified as tourists, and I get "but you're from here." One of these days I'll spend a few weeks in Scotland, Ireland, or Liverpool and when I get back my friends won't understand a word I say!
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@Dianora My problem is that I'm a mimic. I adapt to the accents around me. Back in university we had two to a room and two rooms shared a bathroom. One of my can-mates was two years off the boat from Vietnam and a top student, but his English was *heavily* accented.
Two weeks into the term, I'm having a conversation with him, my roommate comes in, and just stands there, confused. I ask him what's up?
"Now I can't understand either of you!"
So as it turns out when talking to my can-mate, I was also communicating in a heavy Vietnamese accent without even knowing it.
When out of town, the people I'm with get identified as tourists, and I get "but you're from here." One of these days I'll spend a few weeks in Scotland, Ireland, or Liverpool and when I get back my friends won't understand a word I say!
@alan So am I. “accent mirroring,”
Turns out there is a ND link this article talks about ADHD but it applies to Autism as well...
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Accent mirroring is quite comment among people with ADHD and other neurodivergent diagnoses. It's when a person picks up the accent or speech patterns of the person they're talking to and oftentimes, doesn't even know they're doing it.
Upworthy (www.upworthy.com)
I once had an embarrassing time when I started imitating a client on the phone and he called me out for it.
What we were talking about is purposeful mimicing not unconscious. On purpose is definitely racist.
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@alan So am I. “accent mirroring,”
Turns out there is a ND link this article talks about ADHD but it applies to Autism as well...
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Accent mirroring is quite comment among people with ADHD and other neurodivergent diagnoses. It's when a person picks up the accent or speech patterns of the person they're talking to and oftentimes, doesn't even know they're doing it.
Upworthy (www.upworthy.com)
I once had an embarrassing time when I started imitating a client on the phone and he called me out for it.
What we were talking about is purposeful mimicing not unconscious. On purpose is definitely racist.
@Dianora Yeah, doing it on purpose is definitely not a good thing.
And yeah, I figured my brain's ND relationship to the sound language makes was at the core of the adaptation.
Man if a client called me out for it, I'd be "it's not you, it's me, y'all." (I worked with some people from SC for a week and it took me months to lose the "y'all." Same with Baston (Boston) and "all set?") I think I have stored patterns for about six North American cities now. I find this a little disconcerting.
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@Dianora Yeah, doing it on purpose is definitely not a good thing.
And yeah, I figured my brain's ND relationship to the sound language makes was at the core of the adaptation.
Man if a client called me out for it, I'd be "it's not you, it's me, y'all." (I worked with some people from SC for a week and it took me months to lose the "y'all." Same with Baston (Boston) and "all set?") I think I have stored patterns for about six North American cities now. I find this a little disconcerting.
@alan I picked up a Syracuse NY accent once due to a hamfest. It can be very fast for me.
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@alan I picked up a Syracuse NY accent once due to a hamfest. It can be very fast for me.
@Dianora My poor roommate. I went from normal to unintelligible in like three days (so maybe four hours of conversation total). The VN kid switched schools after two weeks, so it didn't stick, thankfully.
For a few years we had a "vacation" place (*cough* money pit *cough*) in Upstate NY. I got a lot of "you don't sound Canadian." LOL
Years later I worked with a developer who went from Vietnam to Cambodia to China and then Canada. Now that was a truly mixed-up accent.
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@Dianora My poor roommate. I went from normal to unintelligible in like three days (so maybe four hours of conversation total). The VN kid switched schools after two weeks, so it didn't stick, thankfully.
For a few years we had a "vacation" place (*cough* money pit *cough*) in Upstate NY. I got a lot of "you don't sound Canadian." LOL
Years later I worked with a developer who went from Vietnam to Cambodia to China and then Canada. Now that was a truly mixed-up accent.
@alan Yes it is something we have to look out for. ;( OTH means I hear accents even faint ones very well. Of course there is a slight accent difference from here (Ottawa) to Toronto too! And lets not mention (I just did) the dying Ottawa valley accent (my maternal grandmother had it) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pickin-burries-the-ottawa-valley-dialect-1.1230443
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@alan Yes it is something we have to look out for. ;( OTH means I hear accents even faint ones very well. Of course there is a slight accent difference from here (Ottawa) to Toronto too! And lets not mention (I just did) the dying Ottawa valley accent (my maternal grandmother had it) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pickin-burries-the-ottawa-valley-dialect-1.1230443
@Dianora Toranna is actually close to LA, paced so quickly that we don nee no stinkin consonants.
In Ottawa, or anywhere else up the line, I have to stop saying "heighth" or bye that sounds like it's halfway between Toronto and Newfoundland.
I once heard an interview on the CBC with a prof from York university who studies accents and helped actors get it right. In the span of a few minutes he had the host speaking with a N. Ireland accent. I still want that prof's notes!
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@Dianora Toranna is actually close to LA, paced so quickly that we don nee no stinkin consonants.
In Ottawa, or anywhere else up the line, I have to stop saying "heighth" or bye that sounds like it's halfway between Toronto and Newfoundland.
I once heard an interview on the CBC with a prof from York university who studies accents and helped actors get it right. In the span of a few minutes he had the host speaking with a N. Ireland accent. I still want that prof's notes!
@alan Yes but Oddawa also has the soft t and the slight Irish lilt.
My direct ancestors are from N.I. always wondered if the Protestant father and Catholic mother was the reason they emigrated... (Robert Bruce (natch) and a Mary Kennedy)
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@alan Yes but Oddawa also has the soft t and the slight Irish lilt.
My direct ancestors are from N.I. always wondered if the Protestant father and Catholic mother was the reason they emigrated... (Robert Bruce (natch) and a Mary Kennedy)
@Dianora After 13 years there, I probably switch in and out of it without even knowing. They're all becoming less distinct though, thanks to the global reach of the net.
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