r2i forum

Do kids lose their cute american accent after they R2I. Do you guys think that it is important for them when the come back at 18 or 21

I have seen my kid's accent change even after a month of vacation in India :-). These kids pick up pretty quickly I tell you.

I am sure kids will drop the accent in a few years after R2I. But, I wouldn't say that the accent is important...US is a diverse country with tons of immigrants from all parts of the world and they all have their own dialects and phonic sounds. As long as they communicate in one common language "english", it shouldn't be a problem.

I agree professionally the accent doesn't matter in US, but socially it would be good for the kids if they speak just like the natives. For a 18 year old kid(freshman in a dorm) his chance of success is great if he says "How you doing" in American accent than our Indian accent.

Some folks here in IT who have never left India speak with an American accent. I have also seen some institutes training on various accents. If you feel that it is important you can put your kids in one of those institutes.

dufresne;414207I agree professionally the accent doesn't matter in US, but socially it would be good for the kids if they speak just like the natives. For a 18 year old kid(freshman in a dorm) his chance of success is great if he says "How you doing" in American accent than our Indian accent.

Universities, and even community colleges have accent neutralization classes. If its important, it can be changed at any age. We have had accent neutralization and presentation skills classes at work as well. That said, even with a perfect accent it wont take long to weed out aliens from the natives while in a conversation.

^^^Names of people are often used to weed out groups of people, not just aliens. Very often black native born citizens are supposed to have certain names and those are identified in resumes, on telephone conversations when rentals happen to be in the landlord's market etc.. This may be why some philippino help-desk fellow calls himself Steve or Randy when he is serving an American customer. :)
IT guys in many big US companies are desis. So much so that a desi accented person is often considered computer-savvy. Could a desi accent be an advantage in some contexts ? Any experiences ?

satbab;414508Some folks here in IT who have never left India speak with an American accent. I have also seen some institutes training on various accents. If you feel that it is important you can put your kids in one of those institutes.

How authentic sounding are they? If you don't see them and just hear them can you say they are native raised americans from their accent?

Yes classes can help but is it as easy as flipping a switch and getting a perfect accent? Even actors who try to get a southern accent for their movies struggle a lot to get that authenticity. May be with a lot of work we can get that but it is not that easy I think.

That said, even with a perfect accent it wont take long to weed out aliens from the natives while in a conversation.


Can you elaborate please