Historical Examination

Individuals grabble with different identities as they choose which groups values their different identities. Per Bloomaert (2015) “people define their “identity” in relation to a multitude of different niches and by orienting to a multitude of “centers” of normative order” (p.154). It is possible for our identities to change over time as our values changes. For instance, some people move from being atheist to Christians while others become more environmentally inclined with an increase knowledge of global warming. When choosing what to write about for this paper, my accent was no doubt at the top of the list, as a day rarely goes by without someone either complementing or criticizing it.

            Unlike some identities that people adopt over time, I had no control over my accent neither did I choose to have the accent. Cameroon is a former British and French colony and I grew up in a predominantly French speaking region. Apart from French and English, I speak pidgin English and my local dialect. Given that most people I grew up around speak almost the way I do, it has never crossed my mind that someday I will be told I had an accent. At the time, I did not consider my accent as an identity that will could be used to set me apart from others or will be used to identify me as an outsider. It was not until I arrived the United Stated that people started either complementing or criticizing my accent.

            It took a while for me to get comfortable with the way I spoke as people often regarded me as an outsider. Given that I did pronounce most words like most Americans do, some people found it attracting and wanted to know more about me and where I come from while others were impatient with me and will often be rude when asking me to repeat something I just said. Personally, in the same way that my accent served as an advantage to me, it was also a disadvantage. However, over time, I have learned not to consider my accent as a disadvantage because everyone has an accent to some respect. For instance, a Cameroonian will consider as having an accent if the American was visiting Cameroon.

After traveling to the United State, it became apparent to me that what I considered as normal was not normal. I was repeatedly called out because of my accent. My first few months in the US were the hardest especially given that very few people said they could understand me and will would rarely pay attention to me what I had to say. Coupled with all the cultural shocks I was experiencing, my accent only made things worse. My so-called accent affected my communication with others. I only engaged communication with those who sounded like myself. I had a circle of friends that I spoke only with them and I spoke to any other person only when it was necessary. As such, I seldom participated in class activities because some of classmate would say they did not understand me. However, as soon as accepted my accent for what it was and started talking slowly to everyone who was patient enough to listen to me, my grades in class went up. Over the years, I have made a conscious effort to talk slowly so that I could be understood. This has proven to be successful as far less people complain about not being able to understand me. Inasmuch, I have maintained my accent for the most part, I learned to be patient with those who still have a hard time understanding me especially at work. After identify my accent, most patients are more interested in knowing where the accent is from as well as about my country. I see this as advantage because I can educate them about my country which most Americans do not know. Rakic et al (2011) explain that “a fundamental characteristic of person perception and categorization is that people react to the first available and meaningful information to categorize others” (p.16).

The way I interact with those that share my accent is very different from those that have a hard time understanding me when I talk. I am less restrained when I am talking to someone from my country. This is because like me, they have the same accent and will pick up what I am trying to say. However, if I was to talk to someone with another identity, I will be more restrained and will try to articulate my words so they can understand me.