Where is your accent from?

Have you ever been asked: “Where is your accent from?” You may think this is a strange  question. So did I when asked this question for the first time.  I shrugged my shoulders and said:  “Don’t really know. I picked up pieces here and there, by living and working in different  countries.”  

Now that I am used to being asked this question regularly by my fellow Australians, I vary my  response, depending on who has asked, the context and my mood. Of course I do know that the  underlying question is: “Where do you come from originally, what’s your country of birth?”, but it  is more fun to either respond in a literal way or to initiate a guessing game.  

On the days where I decide to go the literal way I may respond: “My accent is actually a cocktail:  Some of it may be influenced by living in Ireland, but I also worked with American and British  colleagues in Taiwan. Having lived in Australia for the last twenty odd years has probably left  some traces, too.”  Obviously this is not a satisfactory answer for the underlying question: I have  not yet given away my country of birth or my first language. 

Now the interesting part starts: Observing how the conversation continues. Will they finally dare  to ask for what they really want to know: “Where are you from originally?” or a variation on “but  I can hear something else there? South African? New Zealand? Sweden?” Those with a really  good ear for languages and accents may hazard “ German? Austrian?” 

These are similar responses to the times when I reply: “Well, have a guess. What do you think?  Go ahead, I won’t be insulted.” Frequently the conversation then turns to personal anecdotes,  either about countries people have visited, would like to visit or about friends, neighbours or  their own family.  This has led to some great chats in the past, and in two instances partners of  the original “sticky beaks” joined my German Sunday conversation group. 

This is why I don’t usually mind being asked “Where is your accent from?”, in contrast to some of  my fellow migrant friends who roll their eyes when I mention these exchanges.  But recently I  have come across research that made me see “my accent” in a different light. It even made me  wonder if in fact it might be a barrier.

A recent podcast on ABC radio discussed the results of a study, which showed that using Australian slang  makes you more likable (read the full article HERE). The greatest eye opener for me, was that using slang  words alone doesn't cut it. If someone with a non-Australian accent uses slang words, this is just cute, but does not make him or her more likable. 

But let’s take this even a step further. There has been a lot of research showing that quite often  there is a deeply rooted connection between hearing someone’s accent and the amount of trust  we have in the person with an accent.  We all know how films and comedy series have exploited  and exaggerated accents to make us laugh or deem somebody a villain, crook or an incompetent  oaf.  And it works.  

It works because it plays on stereotypes and on our unconscious biases. We all have them, they  are a part of our individual histories. Part of my work as an interculturalist is to make this  unconscious bias visible and to see how it plays out in our day-to-day interaction.  The part that I  like best about this process is when it helps to dissolve barriers, to resolve conflicts and to  increase harmony in people’s life.  

An interesting way to start this process is to ask yourself and others around you these two quest What does my accent say about me?  

Where does that opinion come from?