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English is my first language, and Japanese my second. I lived in Tokyo and worked in an office where I had to have working proficiency in a business setting. I struggled for a while both with accent and articulation, it just took a lot of time mimicking my colleagues’ pronunciation and borrowing their expressions. But eventually I could get along just fine. I still struggled from time to time to express an English phrase in Japanese... it comes with being a non-native speaker. How long have you been speaking English and working in an English-speaking setting? Don’t get discouraged
Americans tend to speak more slowly than other cultures, so your accent may not be as much of an issue as accent plus how quickly or slowly you speak. In comparison, most Americans don’t speak more than one language, so that’s great that you’re fluent in (at least) two. And believe me, there are a lot of American accents out there that the speakers are asked to repeat themselves.
Agree with GS 1 - usually the diversity you bring to a team is net-positive, but it's important that others on the team can at least decipher what you're saying
I don't care. Guy sitting next to me has a pretty strong Indian accent and he's one of my best friends on the team.
Uhhh, I don't think anything. It does become an issue if I can't communicate with the person, however. Where is the break down?
Maybe it’s not your accent and more so the way you’re communicating? Some cultures express things more directly while others are more round about.
I’ve been speaking English for about 12 years. Came to US during high school. I compare myself to other members on my team and everyone expresses themselves so fluently, and I feel like I’m the weakest one.
That’s totally normal, don’t get down on yourself. Mimicry was how I learned Japanese, if you like the way someone expressed something, wrote it down and commit it to memory. I learned a lot of phrases and idioms that helped me expand my capabilities