Perception of Accents

Identity in the United States of America is something that comes with weight. There is so much trauma and history in one of the biggest, and most diverse countries of all time, which begs the question of how it is perceived. Living in one of the biggest cities, I notice differences in people on a daily basis. I have learned to be comfortable with the differences each person has on a surface level, but what about the things inside of us? With each person comes a unique voice, with their own tone, and cadence. We don’t talk to each person that walks by us, we only see. Instead, most of the strangers we talk to outside are a means to an end. Cashiers, receptionists, waiters are all examples of people that help us find something we’re looking for. I ask myself, why do they all sound the same? Many times I am greeted by the same “perfect” English. I would say 80% of the times I go somewhere, especially in the city, the most professional dialect is given to me. However, when eavesdropping in the back kitchen or when people are restocking shelves, I hear so many different accents, sometimes even music in different languages. Upon researching, I found the main reason is confidence and prejudice. The lack of confidence prevents language from evolving with the culture as it drowns out identity in order to conform to society.
Hate comes in many forms, and one of them is insecurity. A lot of times people will hate on others as they see the same issues in themselves and project it onto people as a way to feel better about their lives. They try to distance themselves from their personal issues that they see in others. Unfortunately, this is why some immigrants hate on other immigrants. In an article from Language Magazine it states, “Americans are the most worried of any nation about the perception of their accent abroad, with 54% stating they feel anxious about their accent when speaking in a foreign language” (Barrata, 2019). This proves that many Americans do feel some sort of shame in the way they speak, and that their accent is being judged. This is because of the culture that’s been developed in America which is based on the judgement of those who are different from us in some capacity. The history of racism in our country has fostered a mindset which looks for approval in being appealing and or perfect with no “flaws”. We become self conscious and disrespectful to those who we want to be “better than.” 

America’s history of racism only deepens it. There have been centuries of trauma due to social hierarchies enforced by race, language, and appearance. It enforced a culture that valued assimilation and acceptance over anything in order to gain money and power, another concept which drives this country. Most problems are rooted in race due to our history. Minorities adopt norms from more dominant cultures as a way to fit in. Studies have been done in order to try and understand this dilemma more, and they found linguistic confidence correlates with identity. In an honors thesis titled Linguistic Self‑Esteem in Bilingual Adults it states, “Furthermore, the negative correlation with a categorization view of culture indicates that those high in linguistic self-esteem in English do not identify only with one identity” (Gonzalez, 10). This quote shows how confidence in their ability to speak affects bilingual people. Having to exist within more than one identity can cause someone to have a lack of confidence within themselves.

Similar to people who are insecure, they feel the need to conform to the dominant culture just to be accepted. The pressure to sound a certain way is heaviest when someone is in a professional setting, and it is discouraging to all when trying to express themselves. It confuses assimilation with authenticity which affects how people see themselves. When someone is forced to change the way they naturally talk it subconsciously shows them they are not good enough which overtime can create shame and discourage diversity in social spaces. The idea of what “professional” is becomes narrow overtime. True professionalism isn’t defined by sounding a way, but by its contents and understanding, much like how people shouldn’t be defined by what they look like, instead how they act. When people accept these different accents, it allows society to truly reflect the diversity that already exists.
This feeling to assimilate in people stems from something deeper that was briefly mentioned before, which is prejudice. The journal article Introduction: Language & Social Justice in the United States cites linguist Rosina Lippi-Green stating, “Discrimination based on language variation is so commonly accepted, so widely perceived as appropriate, that it must be seen as the last back door to discrimination. And the door stands wide open” (Wofram, 2023). Fortunately society has gotten to a point where discrimination against race is openly condemned for the most part, but this thinking against language and accents is still widely accepted. This hidden bias only reinforces hierarchies that already exist. People feel a pressure to erase their identity to try fitting in as there are more opportunities for people who sound American enough. When we suppress our accents we lose connection to our roots. 

Accents in America are even made fun of by people who are states away from us sometimes. Southern accents are made fun of widely, and stereotypes are associated with them, whilst lingo in other places, especially New York City is seen as sometimes arrogant. Images are created in association to language, much how stereotypes are created for race. People acknowledge these too, which subtly creates an image about the place and the people from there. Small phrases like the New York “I’m walkin here,” create a fast-paced and tough view of people from the city. They try capturing an entire culture in a phrase, and it creates assumptions. Some southern accents are considered hillbilly and uneducated, sometimes even racist. These perceptions affect interaction, which later affect hierarchies. The power of language in this way reinforces prejudice while hiding its effects under humor or social commentary. People are forced to create their own spaces where a sense of loyalty is shared due to the rejection from the outside. The initial reaction to hearing people who aren’t country and listening to country music, for example, shows the subtle thoughts created that represent an underlying issue in our world. 

This Key and Peele skit I find very funny best shows what I’m trying to convey. The video is titled “Country Music,” and it centers around Peele listening to Key’s country music (Youtube, Comedy Central). The music Key plays is very southern with oddly racist lyrics. Comedy is able to capture the world perfectly sometimes, and I think this is an amazing example. The skit acknowledges the south’s racist past which some refuse to acknowledge, such as confederates. But it also acknowledges how non-southerners sometimes react to country people and the dialect portrayed through the stereotypes demonstrated in the media. It shows how dialect reinforces identity, and how an assumption is created from it.
Language is more than words, it reflects history, culture and identity. When society judges people for how they speak, it reinforces barriers which go beyond language and accents. These barriers can restrict people from acceptance, opportunity, and most importantly self acceptance. Diversity in speech exists and it should be valued, challenging subtle notions in society is a way to keep people aware about what they may say or think about said languages. Progress allows every type of voice to exist freely by removing barriers for communication. People won’t have to change who they are which will allow society to move forward.

Works Cited

Baratta, Alex. “Americans Worry Most about Their Accents.” Language Magazine, 24 Jan. 2020, languagemagazine.com/2020/01/24/americans-worry-most-about-their-accents/. 

Gonzalez, Eunice, and Nora Murphy. Linguistic Self‑Esteem in Bilingual Adults. Honors Thesis, Loyola Marymount University, 2020, digitalcommons.lmu.edu/honors-thesis/236/. 

Wolfram, Walt, Anne H. Charity Hudley, and Guadalupe Valdés. “Introduction: Language & Social Justice in the United States.” Dædalus, vol. 152, no. 3, Summer 2023, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, www.amacad.org/publication/daedalus/introduction-language-social-justice-united-states.“Key & Peele: ‘Country Music’.” YouTube, uploaded by Comedy Central, 11 Oct. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRdkrDk0BQ0.