"English professor in Korea, ya? You're in the wrong country, mate." This was the the reaction of the Immigration and Customs officer at Heathrow to my E-2 visa in Korea. How ominous a remark that would prove to be, and so soon after my arrival. Thus far, I have to say his words have set the tone of my stay here for the IATEFL conference, thus far...
I have toyed with the idea of doing either my Master's thesis or a PhD dissertation about accent neutralisation in call centres in India. It has always been an interest in my to examine pronunciation and how we view non-native speakers' accents. Keeping in mind that us NESs make up less than a third of English speakers worldwide, it is a small wonder that we struggle to find identity not just among ourselves (native speakers) but among the L2 crew alike.
Richard Cauldwell gave a really good presentation today, titled "Accent and identity: prejudice and insecurity." He talked about the different English accents, and in particular "prestige" accents. He illustrated the view of accents as though they were teams in a football league, and illustrated where they would be in a league table (In a ironic twist, Manchester wasn't even in UEFA Champions League qualification, as the accent relates to prestige). His main conclusion is that Received Pronunciation should be used as a reference only, and not as a measure of professional expertise. I can't help but agree. The question still arises, "Do we suppress our less regarded accent for one of a higher prestige in a conscious manner, or do we change accents just as the animal instinct to mimic other members of our group makes us emulate our peers [ie:vowel shifts]? I spoke about this in my last blog (so long ago), particularly my feelings about my parents' language identities. Certainly, this topic of identity plays into how I want to research accent neutralisation in Indian call centres.
When I landed in Heathrow, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that I was once again in a land where I would understand the locals and they could understand me. I couldn't have been more incorrect in my assertion. I know that a) I tend to speak fast and mumble as i) a Canadian and ii) as Julien, and that b) I don't speak British English. However, being asked not occasionally, but on EVERY occasion to repeat myself is a little disconcerting. This could because of my eerily frequent encounters with Russian immigrants in England (heightened sensitivity due to my upcoming layover an the one I just had?). Unfortunately, several encounters were with the local English. I met an American woman from Colorado here at the conference, and she has NO problems understanding me. The fact remains that I am left with some all-too grim ponderings:
1) How do my own students perceive my utterings?
2) Do they understand British English speakers better?
3) Will I ever find the 'perfect' English accent?
4) Are Brits really that messed up when it comes to their own English? (I tend not to think this, given my ancestry and high regard for several of the British-English accents)
Likely this all boils down to expectation. At least in Korea I don't expect people to understand me, but England, the birthplace of my mother, should have some philial link to what I say. Then again, England is a far different place than when my mother left it a half century ago...
