Accents and dialects of non-native English speakers

[Malaikah]

I just want to know what native English speakers think about the accents and dialects of non-native English speakers.
Growing up as a non-native English speaker I felt as if me and other non-native speakers were forced to imitate the way natives speak in certain situations.
We as kids were conditioned to believe that the language the Americans and the British use and the way they use it was superior.
Even the music and the genres which were not local were considered superior then as it was all 'western music'.

Things seem to have changed since the internet went mainstream and especially now since social media and OTT platforms which include services like youtube appeared on the scene. Platforms where there are many non-native content creators creating content in English. Channels with millions of subscribers and views.
Do you think it's time the natives accept our accents and dialects (of people from the Global South)
And not ridicule or force us to speak in the accent of native speakers or use the dialect the natives use?

As a non-native speaker i see people being bullied or discriminated from all sides.
Some natives might discriminate against you because they don't like your accent.
Amongst non-natives I had seen some educated, modern or westernised people who ridicule you if you speak in a local accent.
And then there are also non-natives who ridicule you if you try to learn and imitate the accent of native speakers.
As a kid even I used to sometimes do that. But after years of slowly exposing myself to all the amazing content by non-native creators I see no point in such discrimination. What do you think?

What about native speakers here? How do you feel about other native speakers who have a different accent or dialect?

[explosion23895]

Native speaker and moved to the global south. It is humorous and I regard others as equals. I regard it akin to slang.

[on the rocks]

Speaking as a person from the beating heart of Anglo-centrism (when it comes to language, at least), as long as I can actually understand what they're saying, I find all the various accents out there to be charming.  And it is true, some things just become funnier when said in an accent. Which is great if someone is trying to make you laugh, but if they're genuinely upset about something then it's maybe not the best reaction to have.

The hard part comes when their native language doesn't have the the same, key phonyms as English.  That's where it can really be tricky to have a clear conversation.
For me at least, if the joke is just, "Uh that accent sounds funny," well then that's not much of a joke. 

[novelwords]

Yeah, you should be able to speak however you want. Language is real all about understanding, as long as you get your point across fuck it.

But you know, I also like how accents sounds

[SheElf4Daddy]

Yeah, you should be able to speak however you want. Language is real all about understanding, as long as you get your point across fuck it.

But you know, I also like how accents sounds

hi. so yeah we got kids in school (well school is out now so like they was there this year) from mexico an stuff and sometimes dont talk too good in english but one girl i met help me to talk some spanish an i help her with some english so thats what peeple got to do.

[LikelyHuman]

Yeah, you should be able to speak however you want. Language is real all about understanding, as long as you get your point across fuck it.

But you know, I also like how accents sounds

hi. so yeah we got kids in school (well school is out now so like they was there this year) from mexico an stuff and sometimes dont talk too good in english but one girl i met help me to talk some spanish an i help her with some english so thats what peeple got to do.

Aww, that's sweet. Also, your school year is over already? Jeez, I'm jealous, we ended up in school until late July sometimes.



I also grew up with a lot of Mexican class-mates and it's kind of interesting, because I have heard them talk about going to Mexico and being treated badly because they didn't sound like anyone else there. There's a pretty distinct "American" accent that a native Mexican can pick up on if a Hispanic person travels down there. Which also seemed so sad, because not only did they get shit about how they talked there, but then they would also get ridiculed here for their English. It seemed like a very lose-lose situation for them.

However, that said.... As someone with a hearing impairment, and I think perhaps some kind of general difficulty processing spoken language, it's maddening for me trying to talk to someone with an accent. I once had an instructor that was an old German man with a very heavy accent, and he would literally have to write things down for me to be able to understand. I feel the same way when I talk to some Irish people; I mean, they're technically speaking English, but it's just as unintelligible to me as someone speaking English in any other accent. Ironically, since I live in an area with a lot of Hispanics, I think I can understand their accent better than any of those anglo-ish accents.

[Rivers]

Depends on the context, the way I see it.

Are you visiting or moving to an English-speaking country? If so, it's your responsibility to integrate as best as possible, and that means not forcing others to make an effort to understand you.
Are you meeting in a language-neutral country, or they are visiting your country? Then it's their responsibility to understand you, as you are already throwing them a bone with the language.