Research Essay

UNNECESSARY OVERLOOK

ACCENT BIASES IN SOCIETY ESPECIALLY IN EMPLOYMENT

            Have you ever noticed that mother in many languages starts with an “m” sound? It is because “m” is one of the easiest, earliest sounds that infants can produce. Even for the infants who have not learned proper ways to speak, they use different kinds of “m” sound according to their nature, their parents, and their surroundings, like in my language, mother sounds like “May May”, in Korean, it sounds like “Eomma”, and here it is like “Ma Ma”. What I am trying to say is that it is almost impossible to resist one’s mother tongue, so the accent reveals who they really are when speaking foreign languages.

However, some people believe that speaking a new language should be in the same tone as the native speakers, and they somehow discriminate against people with an accent. “An accent is simply a way of speaking shaped by a combination of geography, social class, education, ethnicity and first language. I have one; you have one; everybody has one. There is no such thing as perfect, neutral or unaccented English, or Spanish, for that matter, or any other language. To say that someone does not have an accent is as believable as saying that someone does not have any facial features.” (Agudo, 2018) Roberto Rey Agudo, who is a linguist, language educator, and researcher who focuses on bilingualism, language learning, and the social impact of language and accents, clearly states that accent is not a flaw, it is just a part of self-identity, without the accent it is not possible to distinguish each other.  He also teaches Spanish and works in language education in the United States. For example, in my mother language, we don’t have the “R” sound, so every time I pronounce a word that contains “R”, I still feel awkward. For ending sounds as well, we don’t have any final clusters, which is why I still find it weird to extend the last sound for certain words.

 As far as I am concerned, there is no such thing that really represents perfection. If something is truly perfect, by definition, it can’t be improved; there’s nothing left to surpass. So if people keep pushing limits and doing better, that suggests what we called “perfection” wasn’t actually perfect, just the best we had at that moment. If people consider an accent a flaw, it is the flaw that makes you stand out among people. Imagine if every bilingual were capable of learning their second language ideally, they would be just a copy of original one. I just see accent as an art, it might have several forms, and represents different values according to the audience. “A notable exception is accents, a difference that is heard. Research reveals that accent is a fundamental dimension of personal perception and categorization (Pietraszewski & Schwartz,2014), suggesting that variation in accents is likely to be noticed and consequential for interpersonal relationships as well as affect one’s self-views and identity.” (Kinzler, Shutts & Correll, 2010) Those authors are psychologists whose research examines how language, accent, and social categories influence social preferences and identity formation. They suggest that accent is an important social signal. Pietraszewski & Schwartz argue accent is a distinct category the brain recognizes and Kinzler, Shutts & Correll show that even children use language and accent to form social preferences.

  But “We live in a society where standard accents are highly valued. Generally, people who speak with a Standard English accent are seen through a positive lens linguistically; those whose English is accented are stigmatized. Accent discrimination affects linguistic minorities from diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds, including foreign-accented English speakers.” (Winter, 2020). In “Other People’s English Accents Matter: Challenging Standard English Accent Hegemony”, Bodo Winter clearly states that our society prioritizes the standard value rather than individual distinction. They intend to discriminate against something different as something broken.

That is why most students find it challenging to choose their careers because of these unnecessary social constructions. “Self-consciousness and anxiety about accent bias are highest during university, particularly when approaching the end of a degree and facing entry into a chosen career. 35% of university students reported being self-conscious about their accent, a higher proportion than among university applicants (largely 17-18 year-olds) (24%) and professionals in the workplace (23%).”(Levon, Sharma, Ilbury, 2022). Erez Levon is a sociolinguist and Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Bern, where he also directs the Center for the Study of Language and Society (CSLS). Devyani Sharma is a sociolinguist known for her work on language variation, multilingualism, migration, and identity. She previously served as Professor and Head of Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London and later became Professor of Language and Communication at University of Oxford. Christian Ilbury is a sociolinguist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. These professors illustrate how self-consciousness of accent bias really affects some students who are at the threshold of their career, because they are afraid that their qualities might get underestimated because of their first impression upon their accents.

“Across life stages, there is concern about how someone’s accent could affect their ability to succeed in the future, a worry that was again highest for university students, at 33%, compared to 19% of employees and 18% of university applicants.  Many students reported having been mocked, criticized or singled out in educational settings due to their accents (30% of university students and 29% of university applicants). This was also experienced by professionals in work situations (25%). Employees report higher levels of being mocked or singled out for their accent in a social setting (46%), with a similar proportion of university applicants reporting the same (40%) and just under half of all university students (47%).” (Levon, Sharma, Ilbury, 2022). Accent discrimination is occurring both in educational fields, where people with specific accents get left out by others, and that is why those people find it difficult to integrate themselves into the community, leading them to fall behind in their education, as well as in professional career fields. Most employees feel like they do not belong where they are, and that is why there is no significant progression in their work.

 When I got here in 2024, I really struggled to get a job in the service industry since most employers prefer to have those who can communicate with customers fluently, like those who can entertain them with jokes. Unfortunately, it was not for me. However, I really could perform well even under the rushing pressure. I got denied from a lot of job interviews because of my accent. It is normal for humans to have stereotypical associations with accents. “However, if left unchecked, these biases and stereotypes can be used to judge independent skills and abilities, leading to discriminatory behavior. If gatekeepers favor candidates for reasons of prestige rather than merit, this can lead to a vicious circle, whereby non-traditional candidates are discriminated against, reducing their visibility in elite contexts and further marginalizing their accent.”  (Levon, Sharma, Ilbury, 2022). As doesn’t judge a book by its cover, no matter how long somebody stays in his professional field, it is not possible to be right a hundred percent statistically to judge a rookie.

 We can see accent discrimination, especially in immigrants, though they are the ones who are fulfilling the jobs that local and native people are not intended to do. “In reports published today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 70% of Latino and Asian immigrants said they perceived that immigrants in California experienced discrimination at work due to their skin color or accent.” (Torralba, 2021).  Elaiza Torralba is a health communications professional and public health writer. This statistical research only proved for a specific region, even though there are still a ton of people who are suffering these kinds of discrimination day by day.

In essence, just as there is no single solution for every problem, there is no single way to speak( Standard Form) in every language. Back in my high school, I felt left out in Math and English classes because I did not like to do exactly what I was told. I liked to challenge myself in a broad range of academic fields, like using different formulae for math and using different structures for English. So, I will keep speaking with my accent even though it is not the Standard English that most people value. My accent is my identity.