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The article appears to be mostly discussing regional accents, but I've noticed the same thing with international accents as well. In America, European accents a

by whack 6y ago

The article appears to be mostly discussing regional accents, but I've noticed the same thing with international accents as well. In America, European accents are seen very positively - even for ESL speakers such as the French or Germans. In contrast, Asian accents are perceived far more negatively. I've literally met Asian colleagues who have enrolled in "accent elimination" classes, for this reason. It's unfortunate that anyone should feel belittled because of their accent.

christophilus 6y ago
It’s really hard to overcome. I seem to have an ingrained negative association with Indian accents, despite some of my favorite colleagues being Indian. I have to actively combat this in myself, but it is ever-present. The opposite is true of most European accents. I grew up in the US south. Many of the brightest, kindest, most well-rounded people I’ve ever met had thick to medium southern accents. And yet, when I hear a thick southern accent, the person drops significantly in my initial estimation of them. Some folks have used their accent to their advantage. One of the best lawyers I know comes across as a bumpkin due to his accent. So, he uses the element of surprise (dropping really clever rhetorical lines) extremely well. At a previous job, one of the best developers had a thick accent. When I interviewed him, he wore a cammo hat. I would have rejected him if not for one of my favorite colleagues insisting that he was one of the best devs he’d worked with. That experience has made me put a checklist in place for my interview assessment process. I wish none of the above was true of me, but there it is. I just have to learn to work around it.
- kls 6y ago
  I have a fairly heavy southern accent and have dealt with the issue from time to time, but you don't really see the discrimination against it as much as long as you are in the south. Outside of the south it is a different ball game. I have a friend who is also an investor that has done really well for himself. His name is Jeff and we were in a venture together and I always wondered how this guy ever became a billionaire, think Barny Fiffe as an investor. Anyways, our venture ends up getting sued by a large company and we have to go to court and all of the sudden this guy becomes Matlock I mean he is absolutely shredding the other legal team, all the while maintaining his charade of please explain that to a dumb southern boy who does not understand all of this. Anyways, the case is over and I say to him, I think after all these years I just met the real Jeff and he says you have always know the real Jeff as I don't try to deceive people, people deceive themselves by projecting onto me their stereotypes, I just never tried to adapt myself to their model of who I should be, therefore they underestimate me to their own disadvantage. That was the day I learned that being underestimated is actually an advantage and that most people conflate arrogance with confidence. In reflection Jeff was confident he just was not arrogant, arrogance was the weakness he exploited. As a side note Bill Clinton is another example of using his southerness as a trap for the arrogant to fall into. He was a master at using it to lule his political opponents into underestimating him.

by whack 6y ago

christophilus 6y ago

It’s really hard to overcome. I seem to have an ingrained negative association with Indian accents, despite some of my favorite colleagues being Indian. I have to actively combat this in myself, but it is ever-present. The opposite is true of most European accents. I grew up in the US south. Many of the brightest, kindest, most well-rounded people I’ve ever met had thick to medium southern accents. And yet, when I hear a thick southern accent, the person drops significantly in my initial estimation of them. Some folks have used their accent to their advantage. One of the best lawyers I know comes across as a bumpkin due to his accent. So, he uses the element of surprise (dropping really clever rhetorical lines) extremely well. At a previous job, one of the best developers had a thick accent. When I interviewed him, he wore a cammo hat. I would have rejected him if not for one of my favorite colleagues insisting that he was one of the best devs he’d worked with. That experience has made me put a checklist in place for my interview assessment process. I wish none of the above was true of me, but there it is. I just have to learn to work around it.

kls 6y ago
I have a fairly heavy southern accent and have dealt with the issue from time to time, but you don't really see the discrimination against it as much as long as you are in the south. Outside of the south it is a different ball game. I have a friend who is also an investor that has done really well for himself. His name is Jeff and we were in a venture together and I always wondered how this guy ever became a billionaire, think Barny Fiffe as an investor. Anyways, our venture ends up getting sued by a large company and we have to go to court and all of the sudden this guy becomes Matlock I mean he is absolutely shredding the other legal team, all the while maintaining his charade of please explain that to a dumb southern boy who does not understand all of this. Anyways, the case is over and I say to him, I think after all these years I just met the real Jeff and he says you have always know the real Jeff as I don't try to deceive people, people deceive themselves by projecting onto me their stereotypes, I just never tried to adapt myself to their model of who I should be, therefore they underestimate me to their own disadvantage. That was the day I learned that being underestimated is actually an advantage and that most people conflate arrogance with confidence. In reflection Jeff was confident he just was not arrogant, arrogance was the weakness he exploited. As a side note Bill Clinton is another example of using his southerness as a trap for the arrogant to fall into. He was a master at using it to lule his political opponents into underestimating him.