Accent correction is available for call centers and other workplaces, but how do you deal with accent bias on a day-to-day basis? After all, many people feel that their accent has subjected them to prejudice or held them back in some way.
The good news is that there are approaches that can help with navigating accent bias in everyday life.
Access Bias
Everyone has an accent. It’s how a person pronounces a language. How they speak can tell a lot about an individual, including their cultural background, social status, and whether the language is the speaker’s native tongue.
To effectively cope, you must understand that judging a person based on their accent, whether or not intended, is a form of discrimination. This kind of bias targets those whose accent differs from the dominant culture.
And it can lead to bias across the board, including in social situations, educational settings, and employment.
For example, a person may be unfairly judged on their language abilities or intelligence. They may also find themselves ridiculed or excluded due to how they speak, which can affect their sense of belonging and self-esteem.
So, what’s a person to do? To head off potential bias, some people attempt to alter their accent, using different sounds and pronunciations. Here, you must ask yourself whether your desire to adapt outweighs the value of maintaining your identity.
Tackling Everyday Bias
Many people are proud of their accent and its connection to their heritage.
Thus, suppressing or changing their accent isn’t always a desirable option. However, there can be pressure to conform to the “majority” accent, which can leave one torn between keeping their cultural identity and seeking to fit in or avoid bias.
But there are other approaches, including:
- Embrace Your Accent: You can choose to simply acknowledge that, yes, everyone has an accent. And rather than suppress yours, you can decide to be comfortable with yours.
- Practice Clear Communication: Make it a habit of speaking at a moderate pace, maintaining good posture for enhanced understanding, and enunciating words clearly.
- Believe in Yourself: Have confidence in your expertise and abilities. Project that when you’re communicating to lessen the potential effect of accent bias.
- Address Concerns Straight On: If you believe you’re being discriminated against due to your accent, be polite but direct with the person or company, explaining how such bias is unwarranted and unfair.
- In the workplace, you can emphasize how prejudice affects your ability to do your job.
- Educate Others: To raise awareness among peers and coworkers, you can challenge the biases themselves. Educating people about the richness and diversity of accents, as well as the drawbacks of accent bias, can help change societal attitudes.
- Promoting candid discussions about language diversity can heighten awareness of subconscious biases and help create a more inclusive milieu where all people feel respected, no matter how they speak.
- Connect with Others: Seek the support of those who share similar fears and experiences and can offer encouragement and suggestions.
Navigating accent bias in everyday life first requires acknowledgment of the prejudice.
You then can assume a mindset with which you embrace your way of speaking, address concerns directly, seek support, or educate others. You can also seek the support of those who can relate to what you’re going through.