Have you ever been mocked for your English pronunciation or accent? People online have shared insecurities about not speaking English & how it didn’t stop them in life. Previously, Twitter also slammed Pakistan cafe owners who mocked an employee for not being fluent in English.
Recently, a Twitter user responded to a journalist’s feature story asking her to work on her English pronunciation.
You have done a tremendous work by covering these two big states, however please work on your pronunciation if you can because it's needed.
— Yash (@lordrocky121) June 6, 2021
The journalist responded how this isn’t the first time that her work has been overlooked for her pronunciation. She further shared how she spent her childhood in a village where she didn’t have the privilege of studying in an English-medium school.
Sorry for not being that 'polished accent' English journalist. This has to do with privilege and access to better resources which many people like did not have. But let me clarify, my accent has nothing to do with the reports I produce with a lot of hard work.
— Jyoti Yadav (@jyotiyadaav) June 6, 2021
Others responded to this exchange.
1. One person lauded the journalist for her owning her region-based accent.
कितनी ख़ूबसूरत है तुम्हारी इंग्लिश!
That’s the beauty of a region specific English accent. You should be celebrating it just as you have proudly worn your identity on your sleeves.
— Marya Shakil (@maryashakil) June 7, 2021
2. Others said her work is what matters, and she doesn’t owe anyone any justifications.
You owe no one an explanation. It is disgusting that someone thinks they can say that to you.
It reflects more on the person saying this. Shine on.— Vidya (@VidyaKrishnan) June 6, 2021
You’re doing good work! That’s what matters 👏👏
— Gargi Rawat (@GargiRawat) June 6, 2021
आवाज़ सबसे महत्वपूर्ण है और वो आपकी बुलंद है। more power to you.
There are lots of so called polished journalists who do nothing but lick the boots of government. They all might have the desired pronunciation, but that doesn’t mean anything 🙂
— Sir काज़म (@SirKazamJeevi) June 6, 2021
3. Not just English, it’s about other languages too.
Please ignore the snobs. They are ignorant.
On a slightly different note, the snobbery about pronunciations is there in other languages too. E.g. Bengalis and South Indians speaking Hindi get made fun of all the time— Swami Samrat X (@MrSamratX) June 6, 2021
Let’s discard our insecurities and let go of our prejudices against others by not judging them based on their English-speaking skills.
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