Accent on the Ascent
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"Did your accent hold you back?" The question came from a participant of newyork.sg, a social enterprise that brings young Singaporean creatives to meet artists, entrepreneurs, and media workers in New York in order to deepen their own creative pursuit. Fielding questions from the nine young women, we were a poet, a pianist, and an actress on the panel held in the intensely casual atmosphere of the WeWork lounge in lower Manhattan.
What is my accent? Many Singaporeans describe it as American, American friends detect British elements in it, and British acquaintances often pronounce it Singaporean. How can I forget that very uncomfortable incident at the private school on the Upper East Side where I had taught English for 10 years, an incident uncomfortable to all concerned, when a student with a hearing disability said she could not understand my "accent" and asked to be transferred to another class. She specified that it was not the British elements that hindered her as she had spent time in London and understood the English perfectly. I was surprised by her request for change as she was participating actively and thoughtfully in every class discussion. One lesson I learned about disability was that a successful performance may hide an extraordinary effort. The student should not have to make that unusual effort in every English class. I swallowed my hurt pride and poisonous suspicions and proposed to my supervisor that she accede to the student's request.
The WeWork panel talked about Singaporeans' cool ability to code-switch whenever the situation calls for it. This ability does not make us "inauthentic." It just means that we want to build bridges, in communication and relationship. However, I did raise the issue of power that evening. We're more likely to imitate the accent of someone who holds more power or prestige. So, in America, there is the demand to speak like an American, in what is falsely labeled as a neutral accent, whereas in Singapore, there is the demand to speak Singlish, if you wish to belong. There are, of course, many factors at play that may modify the basic situation, but there is a tendency for "natives" to ask "foreigners" to speak in the "native" language. That tendency becomes stronger when "natives" feel threatened by "foreigners" in any way.
To the newyork.sg participants, I also mentioned a Singaporean art director who has kept his Singaporean accent even after living in New York for many years. He is so good at his job that Americans have to learn to understand him if they wish to work with him. That is another kind of power, not available to everyone, of course. He claims that the Americans who do not understand him are those who have never traveled abroad, and so he pities them. As geographical borders dissolve in our increasingly connected world, we find ourselves negotiating linguistic borders more and more. What idea of language helps best to make these negotiations honest, respectful, and equitable? We do not seem to be very good at such exchanges right now.
Jee Leong Koh
November 14, 2019
"Did your accent hold you back?" The question came from a participant of newyork.sg, a social enterprise that brings young Singaporean creatives to meet artists, entrepreneurs, and media workers in New York in order to deepen their own creative pursuit. Fielding questions from the nine young women, we were a poet, a pianist, and an actress on the panel held in the intensely casual atmosphere of the WeWork lounge in lower Manhattan.
What is my accent? Many Singaporeans describe it as American, American friends detect British elements in it, and British acquaintances often pronounce it Singaporean. How can I forget that very uncomfortable incident at the private school on the Upper East Side where I had taught English for 10 years, an incident uncomfortable to all concerned, when a student with a hearing disability said she could not understand my "accent" and asked to be transferred to another class. She specified that it was not the British elements that hindered her as she had spent time in London and understood the English perfectly. I was surprised by her request for change as she was participating actively and thoughtfully in every class discussion. One lesson I learned about disability was that a successful performance may hide an extraordinary effort. The student should not have to make that unusual effort in every English class. I swallowed my hurt pride and poisonous suspicions and proposed to my supervisor that she accede to the student's request.
The WeWork panel talked about Singaporeans' cool ability to code-switch whenever the situation calls for it. This ability does not make us "inauthentic." It just means that we want to build bridges, in communication and relationship. However, I did raise the issue of power that evening. We're more likely to imitate the accent of someone who holds more power or prestige. So, in America, there is the demand to speak like an American, in what is falsely labeled as a neutral accent, whereas in Singapore, there is the demand to speak Singlish, if you wish to belong. There are, of course, many factors at play that may modify the basic situation, but there is a tendency for "natives" to ask "foreigners" to speak in the "native" language. That tendency becomes stronger when "natives" feel threatened by "foreigners" in any way.
To the newyork.sg participants, I also mentioned a Singaporean art director who has kept his Singaporean accent even after living in New York for many years. He is so good at his job that Americans have to learn to understand him if they wish to work with him. That is another kind of power, not available to everyone, of course. He claims that the Americans who do not understand him are those who have never traveled abroad, and so he pities them. As geographical borders dissolve in our increasingly connected world, we find ourselves negotiating linguistic borders more and more. What idea of language helps best to make these negotiations honest, respectful, and equitable? We do not seem to be very good at such exchanges right now.
Jee Leong Koh
November 14, 2019
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