The Judgment of Accents

People who come to America are judged by others. Immigrants are judged by their education, social skills, standards, goals, achievements, and character. They are also judged by how they speak and their accent.

Everyday, I receive a telephone call from at least one telemarketer. Most of them speak with such thick or heavy accents, that it is very hard to understand what they are saying. When I hang up the phone, I find myself wondering why they do not have a different job. Why do they speak with such a heavy accent? When my younger brother answers the phone, he often tries to mimic the accent. It was amusing to hear him speak like the telemarketer at first, but then I found myself wondering: Do others feel the same way as he? Why do we judge telemarketers and others with accents with such ferocity?

When I went to Hungary with my family a few summers ago, I found that I was stared at when I went to public places. I can not speak Hungarian, so my communication with others was very limited. When I spoke to the members of my family in English, I found myself wondering what others were thinking when they stared at me. Were they jealous of my American accent? Did they think I was too stupid to learn their language? What were they really thinking? It really hurt when they tried to mimic how I was speaking, and I found that when I did not understand what they were saying it made me very upset. In this way I could really relate to the telemarketer who calls everyday.

When my father came to the United States from Hungary, the doors of opportunity opened up to him. He had the chance to do and be whatever he wanted. As I grew older, I found myself embarrassed whenever we went out to eat. The waiter or waitress could almost never understand what my father said. He would have to repeat himself several times, and then someone from my family would eventually tell the waiter what he was trying to say. I could not understand why other people had such a hard time understanding my father. When I discovered that his accent was the barrier that kept him from effectively communicating, I tried to smother it. I tried to correct his English. I did whatever I could to stop him from speaking with an accent. I felt he was inferrior to society, and I felt that because I was his daughter I was subjected to the same social standards as him. Over time, I discovered how intelligent he really was. He was very accepted in his workplace, and many people looked up to him for answers. It was not fair for me to judge him by his accent. I now know that I am proud of his accent because it is the true mark of his culture and our heritage.