Say a sentence. Any sentence. Now change your accent just a little.Soften a vowel. Drop a consonant. Make it British or Spanish or something in between.Now ask yourself, did that sentence feel smarter or stranger, more trustworthy, more foreign. The truth is, we don't just hear what people say. We hear where they're from. We hear where we think that they belong.Accents are a little bit like passports. They carry assumptions, credibility, class, intelligence, even kindness. And yet, like passports, they can ...

[Applause] For as long as I can remember, babbling a Chinese accent has been a humongous part of learning English in my family. Take my sister for example. She's 12 years older than me and she grew up attending a local Chinese school until just before her early teens and then she transferred to an international school.Of course, I was too young to really witness this firsthand, but one of the stories about that transition will always stick with me. When she began attending a new school, it was terribly hard ...

[Music] [Applause] Imagine being at a water park, a place where joy and laughter should flow freely, a place of laughter and splashes. is you are speaking your mother tongue, a language that carries centuries of stories and songs. When suddenly someone interrupts you and says, "What the are you speaking? Is it Jamaica?" I watched as the middle-aged Caucasesian man's face contorted with disgust and a doineering audacity as it interrupted my conversation in Euroba at a water park in Philadelphia, Mississippi. ...

Accents and Perception - Accents significantly influence how individuals are perceived and judged, impacting assumptions about their education, competence, and background [9] - Communication effectiveness is more crucial than sounding native; accent is merely a tool for conveying messages [8][12] - There is no truly neutral or standard accent; these are constructs that can be used to create hierarchies [9] - Accent reflects an individual's life story, originating from their native language and dialect [9] Bias and Discrimination - Job applicants with foreign accents are 16% less likely to receive callbacks, highlighting potential bias in hiring processes [12] - Individuals may face judgment and discrimination based on their accents, affecting their interactions and opportunities [9][11] Embracing Linguistic Diversity - Individuals should be proud of their accents and not be afraid to showcase them, as the message conveyed is more important than the accent itself [15][18] - Learning new accents can be beneficial for various reasons, such as career advancement or entertainment, without diminishing the value of one's original accent [16][18] - The goal should be clarity and connection in communication, rather than conforming to a native-like accent [12]