Hey, it's a Hadar and this is the Accent's Way.
And today we are going to talk about why it is not okay to comment on someone else's accent.
So this video is mostly for native speakers who think that saying something like "oh you have a cute accent" or
"Your accent is so exotic" and "where are you from because you don't sound like you're from here." It's a way to start a conversation
Because it's fun and nice and interesting.
if you think it's positive it's because you think it's positive, but you have no idea what's going on in our heads when we
Hear someone talking about our accent
So here's the real truth behind what's going on in our head:
She probably thinks I'm stupid now
Ugh! I worked so hard on my accent.
I thought my English was better by now.
I don't want to talk about where I'm from
Just like you wouldn't talk about someone's weight or skin colour or sexual orientation
You shouldn't talk about someone else's accent. You don't know what their journey is. You don't know where that meets them
it generates.. Why put them in a state where they feel like they have to prove themselves with that simple
Silly question. I've had students who have been living in the US for over 20 years and they still had an accent
People would ask them where they're from.
I'm from here, dude. Why are you asking me where I'm from?
Because while you don't take it as a big deal, and maybe you do think it's something positive
it may not be positive for the other person especially if this person is going through a lot of
Struggles with their identity and how they sound and how they feel about how they sound because speaking a second language
It's not something that is easy on a mental level
you really need to have the right mindset and the confidence to speak up and when you're being
Constantly indicated that there is something different about you. It's really hard to break that.
Even if it wasn't your intention, okay?
cute about their accent, about how exotic it is, or how how funny and sweet it is and "no you shouldn't change that!"
It doesn't matter what you think it really matters what the other person thinks.
When we become self-conscious about our English it affects our entire conversation
Because then we're less fluent, we're more self-conscious, we get stuck a lot more
Of course an accent is a good thing and an accent shows the history of the person and an accent shows that they speak
More than one language and that's pretty incredible
But it doesn't matter because you can't mess with someone else's brain and head and limiting beliefs
So you need to be aware of that now, I'm very lucky because I don't experience that anymore
I have come a long way with how I feel about Who I am
My identity as a non-native speaker and my English and I know that even though it's not perfect
and it's not, and I still get a lot of comments on how I sound and my mistakes and my
Accent... I choose not to care about it. I'm super proud of Who I am right now
I'm super proud of the fact that I'm not perfect and I'm never gonna be perfect and I'm not even
Concerned about working on my grammar issues because I know that right now my time should be invested in
Teaching others, and helping them get to where I am right now to save all the time that I've gone through, right? Those 10 years
My journey of 10 years and help people get that in one year. That's what I'm here for
I also remember how it used to be and how I felt and how it would
Completely ruin my day to hear someone saying something funny
About my English and I I see that all of the time with my community and my students around me
So I'm talking for true pain and I understand that it doesn't sound as if it's a big deal
but it is. So respect that, and
Acknowledge that. And I think it is so much better to empower people around you than to make them feel bad about who they are.
Ok, that's it. If you want to learn more with me come check out my website theaccentsway.com
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Have a beautiful beautiful beautiful week