What Color Is Your English - Article Example

? What Color is Your English? What Color Is Your English? The research paper “What Color is Your English” carried out by Gillian Creese and Edith Ngene Kambere, writes about a very significant and debatable topic encompassing the division of communities on the basis of accents. Their research is restricted to the African immigrant women living, studying and working in the Canadian State. The study brings to light the effects biased opinion of the English language accent has on the various rights of these women. On the basis of previous researches it has been observed that this particular group of women living in Canada is a victim of various social and civil issues like poverty, poor housing, lack of employment and general racial or ethnic discrimination. The accent of their English language poses as a significant barrier in their daily interactions whether in the academic field or the professional world. The biased perception of African accent affects not just their materialistic matters but also their self-esteem, self-confidence and daily activities. They are judged on the basis of their accent of English language and this indirectly or directly affect their housing and job achievement. The research was started with asking eight selected questions related to experiences in house acquirement, job achievement, mothering, language, policies, payment services and gender change concerns. The research was carried out in 2002 on two chosen groups that comprised of Black women who had migrated from six different African countries (Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia) to Vancouver, Canada. Each member of the chosen groups claimed that they had satisfactory English verbal skills and also had an authentic record of qualifications from English-based universities. One group showed a consistent qualification record of master’s degree while the other group members were at dissimilar academic stages like masters, post-secondary or Grade 12 qualifications. The answers revealed that African accent acts as a major hindrance in most of their problems. Two subjects of their groups, Muhindo and Mapendo, stated an example of accent discrimination that they experienced. They explained that the listeners mostly kept on correcting their pronunciations rather than concentrating on their main topic of conversation. In spite of their qualified background and extended Canadian stay, people consider their English speaking abilities poor merely on the basis of their African accent. As a consequence they either end up protecting their African identity or resort in avoiding places where people would criticize their accent or pronunciation. Ultimately their employment opportunities and self-esteem are immensely affected. The materialistic consequences are highlighted by two more African immigrants of their researched groups; Caroline and Kabugho. According to their experiences and observations, they are deprived of employment opportunities which have “Canadian English” as their eligibility criteria. Apart from under-employment, the African women also find themselves suffering from racial prejudice as it is an expression of their African identity. Because of their African accent, the immigrant women feel neglected and unacceptable at various job locations. These seemingly insignificant encounters pile up as a methodical process of discriminating the African immigrants and making them feel like outcasts in spite of living in Canadian state. Mabunda shares her view that accent discrimination is not just affecting their social matters but it is also very discouraging and upsetting. According to her, this prejudice arose from the usage of different forms of English language in the British colonial states, where they are always considered undesirable. Her major issue is the unacceptability she has to face in spite of being in Canada for 13 years, holding high qualifications and high-quality English language knowledge. The research paper concluded with the notion that accents are becoming the causative agents for racial discrimination, out casting the immigrant women and the increasing rate of their under-employment. Even if an African woman has command over English fluency and understanding, her language skill will still be judged by her African accent. Racial discrimination has always been a very noteworthy and significant subject all over the world. Prejudice on the basis of color, language or ethnicity is faced by people who are either a minority or are immigrants to a different state. This research paper highlighted a seemingly inconspicuous issue but when observed thoroughly, it brings out serious problems faced by African immigrants in Canada i.e. accent discrimination. African immigrant women who have been living in Canada for years are still being a victim of discrimination by their colleagues, neighbors or friends. Their language fluency, qualified degrees and satisfactory comprehension levels are neglected on the mere perception of their language as African accent. As the name of the research paper says-What color is your English? -Understanding of English language is judged by ethnicity and accent rather than the individual’s command over verbal skills and understanding of English language. This concept has made the African immigrants feel like an outsider at various minor yet daily activities and events. One of the major problems faced are employment issues. African immigrants are either rejected labeling their accents as too difficult to be understood by the employers or customers or merely on the basis of their African identity. As the research paper investigated, their qualifications and English language skills are rendered insignificant. Not just materialistic demerits, African immigrants also have to go through daily demoralizing due to the accent discrimination. Some immigrants maintain their self-confidence and keep on fighting this bias or giving explanations to the listeners. On the other hand, others have restricted themselves from going to such places. They are a part of the Canadian community, yet they feel like a stranger, a minority, unacceptable and biased. The accent discrimination is faced at very minor and little events throughout the day. It can be at an office, at school, at the market, neighborhood or with friends, yet it leaves a deep impact on the individual going through this process. They end up having fewer jobs, have a difficulty in getting better houses and are cannot accomplish their complete social and civil rights. This act of discrimination is not done by any one individual or group; rather it is a generalized perception in the minds of communities living at a particular place. According to this perception they start judging people on the basis of their accents and this leads to a methodical process of discriminating them just like the African immigrants are facing in Canada. This prejudice holds a vital part in the poor socioeconomic states and under-employment. Awareness and self-education about accent discrimination is crucial for changing the perception of Canadian community towards African immigrants and their language. References Creese, G., &Kambere, E. N. (January 01, 2003). "What Colour Is Your English?". The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology.University of British Columbia, 40, 5, 565. Read More