[Olatz]

Good evening Kerin, I found everything you said in your little podcast very interesting and I couldn’t stop but thinking that you’re actually the only English teacher that has openly told me not to worry about my accent.

Your anecdote about college brought back some pretty dark memories of my own, as I had a similar experience with a teacher who used to call me out in front of everyone for using my Basque regional accent. This might not make sense without a bit of context so here’s the explanation: during the times of Franco’s dictatorship, Basque language was forbidden and people speaking Basque were really badly prosecuted. When Franco died, there was a huge movement in favour of recovering the use of the Basque language, Euskara. The thing is that, Basque is spoken very differently depending on the region you live in and after so many years in the shadows, some people thought this would slow the process of recovering its common use. That is why, they created what we know as “Euskara batua”, which translates as “standard Basque”. This is the language we all learn in school and it’s the language one needs to know to pass a Basque exam for professional reasons. Unfortunately, that form of Basque sounds too formal and artificial for people like me, who speaks Basque not only for educational or professional purposes, but also as a personal choice, in our free time.

In college, I was supposed to speak, Euskara batua, but I simply couldn’t do it at all times. There was this one time when I was in front of the whole class (my 50 peers & the lecturer), doing a presentation I had worked on for three months. It was about, Pippi Longstocking, a book I personally love, and Astrid Lindgren, its writer. I had spent so many hours researching about the book and designing a whole educational plan on how to work with the book in different levels of Primary School. I was so comfortable talking about it that I completely forgot to talk in proper Basque and when I finished, all my teacher had to comment on what I thought was an amazing project, was my use of non-standard language at a public institution. She made me read a very long article, written by her husband, on why people shouldn’t speak with their regional accents in university. After that, I had to meet with her and redo my presentation in her office, using standard Basque. I personally feel like, who I am today wouldn’t have accepted that, but the 21 year old me thought she didn’t have a choice.

(Sorry for the long story, as Kerin said, that’s my rant over)

I have also been laughed at for my accent when I speak in English, multiple times and still happens sometimes. Some of my children love to correct me when I mispronounce something, I don’t blame them, and I feel like I would have probably done the same thing as a child. We all love correcting the teacher hahah

I also have another story I would like to share and then, that’s me done, I promise.

My housemate, Emma, works at the hub for the county council in Ireland. She basically picks up the phone to all the angry people that have something to complain about to the council. There was one particular time she came home very mad because there was an unbelievably rude man who rang her and hanged up on her while she tried to help him. Emma thought there was a problem in the line, but after a minute, one of her colleagues got the same man on her phone and the first question he asked her was: “First of all, are you even Irish? I want to talk to someone Irish.” Emma was born and raised in Massachusetts by an Irish mom and an Irish dad.

I think the accent snobbery has so much to do with an ethno centrist point of view, where people think their thing is just the best and the only way to go. People who complain about accents will probably also complain about the amount of foreigners in their cities or villages. And most likely will be the kind of people who speak only one single language and could not be bothered to learn any other. Every time someone is rude or mean to me about my English accent I basically tell them: I can speak three languages fluently, what about you?

[Olatz]

Hi @Kerin , thanks so much for your correction! I did not swallow an English pill hahah the simple thought of it made me laugh! Can you imagine? It would be an easy way to learn new languages, but I think I’d miss the challenge!

Truth to be told, I have been reading a lot in English lately, and I am currently devouring the Bridgerton books (guilty!). I always find that the more I read the better I write! In fact, when my friends ask me how do I prepared myself for my English exams I always tell them the same: I read and I watch thousands of things in English. I am not the one to sit in front of the book and do exercises, I prefer to learn by doing something that provides me some opportunity to amuse myself! (Some may call it “being lazy” but yet, here I am!)

I think Ireland is an amazing country for learning English, people are usually really kind and patient when it comes to talking to non-native speakers. My experience in this country has been completely different to the one I had when I went to Lowestoft (East of England) for a summer, where people used to get annoyed when I asked them to speak slowly or to repeat something for me. Furthermore, I think one of the reasons why I am a big slang supporter is because of the way my Irish friends have taught me how to use their expressions in such a kind and respectful way.

If anyone is interested in learning Irish slang or getting familiar with it I recommend the Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling! series. They are an easy read, full of quirky characters and really funny! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36161350-oh-my-god-what-a-complete-aisling

Feel free to contact me if you do come to Ireland, the craic isn’t as good as it used to be and there is not much we can do this weather… but sure it’ll be grand!

[Olatz]

Thanks so much for your corrections @Kerin ! I always struggle with hang and hung, ever since I was in secondary school!

Also thanks for your kind words, I find it hard to express myself when I’m writing so I’m glad to know I’m improving 🙂