Does an accent (Southern, Northern, English, etc.) impede the way you are perceived socially?

Other than everybody asking if I'm from the south, no.

??? I don't think I do have an accent.

Cheaps wrote:

??? I don't think I do have an accent.

Oh yeah!

Alan Smithee wrote:

Oh yeah!

Yup! I talk normal, everyone else has an accent.

Personally, I haven't run into any problems being judged by my accent...negatively or otherwise.....but I do think it can happen for others.

People should be judged by the content of what they say not on the voice they say it in but of course that isn't always true in real life. However some accents are just out of place. Ah'nold Schwarzenegger as an American commando or spy doesn't work. As the Terminator or Conan, fine.

Me personally, not really. Others? It depends on the specific accent in question, where the person is at the time, how they are acting and what they are saying. There are many variables and your accent can alter the way you are perceived positively or negatively based on those variables.

By and large, I wouldn't think so. If you speak (and behave) in a stereotypically cliche way, then perhaps. I think the way, or in how proper/clear, you speak overall is more of a determining factor in how you're judged.

i find it funny that when i watch a tv show, i can tell if it was filmed "east coast" or on the "west coast". east coast people (or maybe northeast, cause southerners draw out words more) speak very quickly.

i try not to judge people on the accent--- HOWEVER--- i have more respect for those who have accents who try to slow down enough so that i can understand them. we have many foreigners in the post office, and many are supervisors--- BAD IDEA! there is one woman who speaks so quickly with such a thick accent that even those native to her country do not understand her--- and they say that she doesnt speak her native language that well either! lol

BUT i also admit that i can be petty and superficial... so i do sometimes find an english accent to be attractive and a turn on--- oh well!

Given the subject matter, the accent doesn't surprise me. Not saying everyone who drawls "I'm agin it" is like this but

One of the girls on my shift at work is Korean, but was raised in Georgia, since she was a little kid. She has a very thick drawl--the whole Southern Belle thing, and it's funny as hell to listen to her, because you don't expect that sort of accent out of an Asian woman, usually. And in the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld: "Not that there's anything wrong with that. .. "

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

One of the girls on my shift at work is Korean, but was raised in Georgia, since she was a little kid. She has a very thick drawl--the whole Southern Belle thing, and it's funny as hell to listen to her, because you don't expect that sort of accent out of an Asian woman, usually. And in the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld: "Not that there's anything wrong with that. .. "

we have a nigerian supervisor who has been in the US for 20yrs and never became a citizen (i dont agree with this practice--its a federal building dammit). Then we had a temp employee named Patel who was born in india, but been in the states since he was 2yrs old. He speaks with a very thick philadelphia accent-- its kinda funny to see it since you wouldnt in your head put the two together.

So one day the nigerian says to the indian-american with a NJ attitude:

"You are indian so i can assume the following things: You are hindu and worship cows. You practice a strict diet. and you hate black people--- are we going to have a problem?"

Patel looked at him and responded with the NJ attitude, "No, we ain't gonna have no problem. I dont hate blacks, I just hate assholes. Are we gonna have a problem?"

Honest to god true story! lol

Shale wrote:

WTF!

Oh, I guess it is no longer a part of the US gov't. Yet we don't see it as a private interprise - it is somehow protected from competition by U.S. law.

There was a time I actually got a little preference in gov't jobs because I was a veteran. Even those not gov't but gov't supported. Guess we've outsourced everything.

You would still get vet preference on the test, and when bidding on a job. And we dont take any govt taxpayer money... we are self supporting. BUT the govt did this whole "Diversification for a better tomorrow" campaign a few years back. So they were actually sending emails suggesting the promotion of people based SOLELY on ethnicity! They made up quotas and everything--- is ridiculous.. if you go down the seniority list with the hiring dates, you will see them hire: one white man, one black man, three white females, three black females, one filipino male, one filipino female, one asian male, one asian female, one hispanic male, one hispanic female... then they start over!!! I kid you not! they passed over my brother's transfer INTO our building to higher based on ethnicity claiming that there was not a white guy slot open!!! I threatened to take it to the media!

However, with regard to the Nigerian... he was the worst supervisor we EVER had! After 9/11 when the whole country was waving the flag around (and especially our building which ACTUALLY had anthrax in it)... this total A$$ho!e had the nerve to tell the vietnam vets that there were "too many flags in the building" and told them to take the flags off of their forklifts!!! THAT did not go over well... most of them saw very heavy action, we have many who are 100% disabled with PTSD, and this flag hating "supervisor" who has no right comes in and tells us that in a RED WHITE AND BLUE building there are too many flags? that they fought, shed blood for, lost friends and family memebers over!!!

Let's just say that the guy only lasted 8months in our building... they hunted down this address by searching the mail for it... and then they called homeland security accusing him of being a terrorist trying to infiltrate the mail system--- could have been true... who knows.

As far as the competition thing... no one else delivers where we do... they do not go to the bottom of the canyons on donkeys, nor fly planes into the recesses of Alaska, UPS/Fedex will not take speed boats thru the alligator swamps of louisianna... when i went to alaska, and saw how the mailmen deliver UP the mountains that you cannot drive up... i was dumbfounded--- was glad i wasnt there! and they get the same amount of money as someone delivering in a regular suburb. we dont get COLA the same way the rest of the govt does.. so i would make the same amount in NYC as i would in the mountains of west virgina