Immigrant professionals - do you get insecure about your foreign accent?

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Yes, I continuously feel like I am being judged and not heard because of the accent. A lot of people I would feel would be in this boat.

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I drink, and I know things. Seriously, go have a few drinks with your colleagues. Nothing like solid practice. It’s how I improved my Arabic, French, and Italian. And hey, if you’re still unsatisfied with your progress, your colleagues “pristine” accent will turn into a slurring mess, so either way, you win 😉

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I am fluent in English and speak it natively so my accent doesn't bother me; I actually like it. I have a mild South Asian accent.

Funny story - I lived in the US till I was 8 years old and when I moved back home I had an American accent. Now I can't speak in an American accent even if I try; so it's hilarious when I see videos from my childhood and hear an American accent.

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Nah I think my boss’s southern accent bothers me more.

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EY2 you are good with Karen Walker’s high pitch voice? Lol

Not insecure at all. At first I tried to hide my accent as much as I could and got upset with myself if anyone noticed. Now I’m actually proud of it. I also feel like most people seem more interested and appear friendlier when they hear my accent

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I had a couple of people doubted me along the way but I’ve had a successful management consulting career and now made a great transition to the industry.
I’ve noticed that people are first hesitant to listen to you but when they see repeated success in the work you do, that’s what matters. In the US, way too many smooth talkers and few can walk the walk. That earns respect.
Focus on your work, not your origin/color/accent.
Cheers!

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Def depends on the accent

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Deeeefinitely depends on the accent. My part of the world sounds aggressive. I’m Middle Eastern lol. But also some people find ours sexy 🤷🏻‍♂️

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International school accent if y’all know what I’m talking about

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British accent here. Americans love it 😇

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I had the international school accent (mix of British, American and bunch of others) and couldn’t say some words in American (e.g plan) and people called me Lindsey Lohan 🙄
Still can only say “literally” in British accent

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Nah not the accent I'm worried about, the ability to come up with a quick smart response is what I'm worried about.

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I am French and why would I?

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If it makes you feel better, this monolingual American has a ton of respect for people that speak multiple languages. What especially impresses me is coworkers who are, for example, native Chinese and Korean speakers, who crushed the CPA exam in their first try in a second language when I got killed by it in my native language.

I don’t think less of anyone with a foreign accent, I think less of myself for only knowing one language.

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Australian living in NYC. The accent has been nothing but a plus here, clients have commented on it. Going out socially, it's always been helpful as people tend to pay more attention

Actually heard through a colleague after I started working that the director who hired me was "enthralled" with the way I spoke and thought it would be great to put me in front of clients

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Lol I think they mean non-native English speakers' accents, mate

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Hey friends, no one cares about your accent unless you can’t be understood (get feedback from colleagues to confirm if this is the case. Sometimes accents sound awesome.

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This has been my experience! It gets people curious and they ask where I'm from..

Gotta fake it till you make it, so I don’t have to repeat myself. Americans seem to only be able to understand their own accent.

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Not anymore.. I do make an effort to enunciate words clearly and speak at a slower pace. I don't mind repeating myself or having someone correct me my pronunciation.

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Yes, I’m super self conscious about my accent, that drives my self esteem down. And I agree on the immigrant mentality, feel like I had to work harder for everything I got in this country, school, always summer semesters, and full time job at the same time. Grad school, full time job and studied for CPA at the same time.

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I completely relate, the immigration mentality helps but there the accent effects my self esteem.

I wonder if with time we just make peace with it over time. I have been in the industry for about 4years and I have learned that being patient and taking time to think and answer is more important, than just listening to answer and that helps but it takes a lot of practice.

Also I feel people won’t be so judging if they feel like you know what you are taking about.

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German in Switzerland and I feel insecure about not speaking Swiss German. Funnily, I read that Swiss feel insecure when talking to someone who speaks High German too. It’s complete bs but I cannot help myself and feel judged as soon as I open my mouth. Feeling most comfortable when I speak English or French in such setting.

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I used to. Came to Canada at the age of 22 so it’s hard to not have an accent.

I don’t know how to speak my native language anymore

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