Ausländischer Akzent – das wesentliche Persönlichkeitsmerkmal?

Wenn der Hörer den Sprecher trifft….

Ein ausländischer Akzent kann charakteristisch klingen und erweckt oft einen sofortigen Eindruck über eine Person, der verbunden ist mit Vorurteilen gegen bestimmte Weltregionen, Kulturgruppen oder soziale Klassen. Das Problem dabei ist, dass der Sprecher unmittelbar auf stereotypische Eigenschaften reduziert wird und seine individuelle Persönlichkeit übersehen wird. Ob positiv oder negativ, voreilige Urteile über eine Person aufgrund deren Akzent hindern einen respektvollen Umgang, denn sie benebeln unsere Aufnahmekapazität und lassen die Signale, auf die es wirklich ankommt, überhaupt nicht mehr durch. So kann es passieren, dass ein ausländischer Akzent oder die angenommene Herkunft die einzige Erinnerung an eine flüchtige Bekanntschaft ist und nicht etwa die individuelle Persönlichkeit oder der genaue Inhalt der Unterhaltung.

Wertende Einstellungen gegenüber Sprechern mit ausländischem Akzent können zu Diskriminierung führen, wie zum Beispiel im Berufsleben, wenn nur Muttersprachler gewünscht sind oder bei der Wohnungssuche, wenn der Vermieter nach der ersten telefonischen Anfrage bereits abweist. Offensichtlich dominieren in diesen Fällen negative stereotypische Annahmen und die utopische Ansicht, dass nur Muttersprachler kompetent, vertrauenswürdig und intelligent sind – ziemlich ungerecht.

Dagegen sollte etwas unternommen werden!

Culture is not something we own but something we create!

When we interact with people, we constantly negotiate meaning and work out behaviour; in each single encounter, a new culture emerges. Culture is an ongoing and dynamic process created by agency. Brian Street says “culture is a verb” and Adrian Holliday developed the concept of “small cultures”.  What I like about these notions is that they can help us focus on the interaction itself and concentrate on what is actually happening between individuals, moving away from stereotyping or making generalisations. In the photograph, I can see people creating culture whilst they are interacting with each other.

I have an accent because I have another first language.

I have an accent because I have another first language and this is part of my identity.

The “native speaker” very often seems to occupy a role of prestige. Why is such a sharp difference being made between people who speak a language as a first language and people who speak it as a second or third language?
As opposed to the “native speaker”, speakers with a different first tongue are defined by what they are not, i.e. “non-native speakers”. This clearly demonstrates the perspective of our society where the “native speaker” is regarded as the model and everyone is required to follow it; if the criteria of “nativeness” is not met, there is a lack… …of intelligence?

I think we should focus on the function of language: effective communication! I don’t think intelligence is determined by received pronunciation. However, people who don’t speak the “standard” version of a language often seem to be perceived as not intelligent and may experience discrimination because of this.

Why does it matter so much if we speak a regional variety, a dialect or if our discourse includes elements of other languages that we speak? It does not translate into our intelligence but rather into our identity! Everyone is different and has their own way of expressing themselves no matter in which language. What matters is the function: Are we able to communicate to others what we want to communicate? Do we Really understand what people are saying? The more linguistic and cultural resources we have, the more flexible we are in different contexts and language settings so we can be proud of the idiolect we speak and of the language variety(ies) that add to our identity.

Similarities.

Where could this picture have been taken?

We cannot tell.

…

We can see that people have stuck money into a tunk. It looks like this was done on purpose, maybe because people think it will help them with something or that they will have good luck if they do it.

What I can see from this picture is that people do things driven by their beliefs; I can see that human beings can be convinced of what they have been told or exprienced.

We all share this characteristic as human beings. Anyone could have placed these coins expressing a certain belief, meaning or traditional practice; we do not know who it was. It could have been someone from our cultural group or someone from the other side of the world. We have similarities and all share humanity.

Intercultural encounters in Kreuzberg

Mexican restaurant selling pilsener in Berlin’s street gallery

Walking through the streets of Kreuzberg, I feel like inside Berlin’s heart of cultural diversity and artistic freedom. It is probably one of the quarters in the city where most people from a variety of backgrounds live, share and celebrate their traditions. Typically, streets are colourful and change every day with many new stickers, posters, sculptures and new openings of all kinds of spaces like cafés, bars, art and muisc venues. There is certainly a relaxed atmosphere transmitting a sense of tolerance towards difference and extending a warm welcome to eye-catching creativity.

Which language is more valuable in multilingual societies? – a question of dominance and power?

There have been many discussions as to which languages should be taught in school.

It may be argued that the more widely spoken languages are functionally more valuable in multilingual societies compared to minority languages. However, shall language really be used as a tool of power and dominance whilst cultural heritage and identity is being lost? The example below is a recent discussion addressing this issue in East Timor:
http://intercultural.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/?p=1392