Issues with accent and dialect

[nellydamz]

I will like people to tell me any issues that people think will occur if someone speaks with an accent and dialect.

When i was younger, i was teased about my accent, my English wasn't very clear because of the way i pronounced words but it never affected me. But i'm sure it affected some people out there. In my language class, we were told to ask

How accent and dialect can affect young children? and are there any issues related to accent and dialect?

Grateful for your response.

[Anglika]

Welcome to the forums.

Originally Posted by nellydamz

I wouldlike people to tell me any issues that people think will occur if someone speaks with an accent and dialect.

When I was younger, I was teased about my accent, my English wasn't very clear because of the way i pronounced words but it never affected me. But I'm sure it affected some people out there. In my language class, we were told to ask

How accent and dialect can affect young children? and are there any issues related to accent and dialect?

Grateful for your response.

How would you see accent or dialect affecting young children if they have been brought up within a dialectical environment? Would it not be when they encounter another accent or dialect that they will be affected?

[Ouisch]

Accent and dialect affects all people, regardless of age, at one time or another. Sometimes the teasing is meant in a friendly, harmless way; other times it can be hurtful. In either case, it's up to the speaker to rise above the comments and just practicing and speaking and not to worry about what others think about the way he speaks. As long as he can make himself be understood, that's the important thing.

(A personal example: I just returned from a two-week vacation in the American South. I am a native speaker, born and raised in Michigan, which is definitely the North. Even though the Civil War is long over, I still got laughs and remarks from people in Alabama and Georgia about the "Yankee" way I pronounced certain words.)

And, I must confess, when I hear someone on TV who has a distinct Brooklyn or Boston accent, I sort of laugh to myself at the way they speak. (But I would never do it to their face.) My point is that even native speakers often get teased about either their accent or the regional expressions they might use.