Accents are helpful…

As social beings, we seek safety and connection. So, it is no surprise that when we listen to others speaking we tune into what they say and how they say it. Noticing similarities and differences in someone else’s speech helps us determine where we feel we may make connections and how comfortable we may feel speaking to new groups. It’s normal to recognize different ways of speaking and communicating because it helps us to categorize and make sense of the world. With that said, here are a few reminders to consider next time you tune in to someone’s speaking style.

Accents are misleading…

While an accent can help us “make sense” of how to categorize people, the categories are based on our assumptions, not the speaker’s reality. And we all know what happens to people that assume😬. Understanding that as we listen to others speak, we need to be aware of our own biases towards different languages and different ways of speaking a language helps us to catch ourselves. Regardless of what you think you hear, let your observations inspire curiosity, not certainty.

You have an accent!

You don’t know you’re in water until you leave the fishbowl. If your daily, regular, experiences are with speakers that have the same background as you, you may forget that you too sound different to others based on their language backgrounds and experiences. Understanding that everyone, including you, has an accent helps us to recognize the opportunities and challenges of listening to someone’s accent.

Your accent gives you…

• A chance to highlight your background, linguistic influences, and the community/communities that helped raise you.
• A connection and an opportunity to show respect for the language communities you want to be associated with.

Accents will not…

• Inform you of someone’s intelligence, or even of someone’s background. What you hear is simply what the speaker chooses to share with you in that time and place.
• Stay the same. How we speak changes based on new experiences, new friends, and the groups we wish to connect with.

Listening with an Open Mind

It’s beautiful to notice differences. It is also important that in the noticing of differences, you also notice what you’re thinking when someone is speaking. Ask yourself why you’re noticing certain ways of speaking and thinking of them positively or perhaps with some judgment. Ask yourself how we can transform assumptions about how someone speaks into opportunities for curiosity and connection.

🤟🏼Dr. Xiomara Rivera Pagán