Indian students often speak in an American dialect which becomes very noticeable when they return to India. Often when Indians travel overseas for education, their accent gradually starts to change. To avoid the social biases around accents, they’d rather adapt to the accent that they’re hearing on a daily basis. ![]() In other words, as soon as we identify someone’s accent, we assign them to certain social groups and link them to the stereotypes associated with their accent. According to Ze Wang, a professor at the University of Central Florida, “Accents can trigger social categorisation in a prompt, automatic, and occasionally unconscious manner.” he explains in an interview with BBC Future. People often use accents as indicators of social class and ethnicity. The truth may be a little more complicated. Why this transition? Are we afraid we can’t be understood, or is this just a side effect of the colonial hangover? Our t’s and d’s become a little softer and the r’s start to roll effortlessly. It’s almost a subconscious decision that we make when talking to someone who doesn't share our accent. Indians change their accent to avoid social biases and perceptions It explored the effect of this caricature type representation of Indians on the Simpsons. He also made a documentary called - The Problem with Apu. So, when talking to someone from abroad, us Indians might tweak their accent to the slightest and talk.Īn Indian comedian, Hari Kondabulu describes their rendition of the Indian accent as a “white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father”. However, Indians living in the mainland might still feel under-confident or anxious about their accent as it’s still very much different from the American way of speaking. With Indian-Americans pop icons occupying the centre stage, such as Hasan Minhaj, Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari, the accent has somewhat been reinstated. However, recently there’s been a shift in perception. Due to such representations, Indians feel compelled to change their accent. Unfortunately, viral culture Trumps (wink wink) all, and the entertainment factor of the sing-song accent became a staple of what it meant to be an Indian immigrant in a Western country. Yes, it’s in jest, and yes that’s a great compilation, but no, Indians neither at home nor abroad sound anything like that. Singlehandedly responsible for the misrepresentation of an entire subcontinent, his character has long been a poster boy for the demise of the Indian accent in popular culture. ![]() Thank you for coming, I’ll see you in HELLLLLL - love him or hate him, this compilation of Apu’s best moments in the Simpsons starts strong.
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