Life in a Melting Pot: Among the Bereans #3

What did you say? That is the question that a lot of people have to ask others here at Berea College. This question encompasses both the international and domestic students. The major questions are why when we all basically speak English proficiently and is it really that big a deal?

The biggest reason is the different accents we all carry with us from our native countries or respective states. I recall talking with my friend Anna, who is from Harlan County, KY. She had a hard time understanding me when I was telling her where I live. She only lives a state away from me but the dialect she uses still has differences from mine. When I try to speak to Tina, whom I have written of before, it is often a hassle to communicate on both parts. Finally, I must mention my friend Doly. He has a very heavy Korean accent and, more often than not, he is not understandable. They are NOT unintelligent people, but rather speak differently than I do.

What is correct English anyway? It should be stated that there is no such thing as a “neutral accent”. No matter where you are from, you carry the dialect of the area (this applies to all languages). However, there is what is known as General American which is accepted as being as neutral as one can get and is said to have the least regional cues. This dialect is the one that is used by newscasters and movie stars. But is it really any better than the Southern drawl of Texas or the elongated slurs of Bostonians or even the Caribbean twist that the Haitian students place in their words? I say no, but there are others who disagree. To many people, your accent is a signal to the amount of education you have, those having strong accents being the ones with the least education. This is an incorrect assumption because those with whom I spoke were all present here at Berea, meaning that they were at least smart enough to enter college.

Do not view speech as an intelligence cue, but as an extension of one’s culture and self. It relays thought and emotion to others as well as tells others about ourselves. To relinquish one’s accent is like making him or her deny a part of him or herself like nationality or even family. It is important to note that to make assumptions based on trivial things like dialect is called stereotyping. It may be inconvenient to ask a person to repeat what was just said in a politer manner, but doing so demonstrates greater respect for someone’s culture. Here at Berea, this means doing this on a daily basis.