Monday
Mar152010
You Talk Funny
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 12:57AM
I am unusually thick skinned when it comes to things deemed offensive. I don't get upset over terrorist jokes or slurpie innuendo. If the joke is funny, I have no problem laughing.
That said, non-Indian people of the world, you need to know that merely mimicking an Indian accent is not funny.
Furthermore, IF what you're actually saying or doing is not stand alone funny, it's just stupid.
"Apu" from The Simpson's is funny because what he says is highlighted by the accent.
"Hello, how are you?" in an Indian accent and then laughing, though? Is neither clever nor as remotely hilarious as you might think.
And mimicking an Indian accent to someone whose parents or husband has a similar accent is both ignorant and rude. Oh my goodness, I cannot even begin to count the number of times this has happened to me.
Disagree?
Let's drive this point home in an unexpected way.
A few years ago, I was at a restaurant with a bunch of Indian friends. Unlike me, none of them were born here, so they spoke accented English, although most of their accents were very slight. One of the women at the table was relating a conversation with one of her American co-workers. When this Indian woman repeated her co-worker's words, she slipped into an attempt to speak English like an American.
Only, she's not American, so it played as a bad impression of American accented English. Apparently, we Americans obnoxiously drop "g's" all over the place and our "a's" are said with our mouths open entirely too wide.
Being the only person at the table who spoke American accented English, frankly, I was embarrassed by it. I listened quietly to her do this accent which by virtue of subtext was a mockery of the way I spoke and realized if the tables were turned, I would have offended everyone at that table. Worse, there was no joke. The accent was supposed to be the joke.
The way I talk was the butt of her joke.
Nice.
Why don't you just make fun of the fact that I wore glasses in the second grade while you're at it, lady?
So, let me repeat, the accent is not the joke. The words actually have to be funny, or one runs the risk of looking like an ignorant and slightly racist jerk.
And, apparently, the folks who run the marketing department over at Metro PCS are ignorant and slightly racist jerks.
Seriously, the only way this could be more insulting to my heritage is if it were two white guys with brown shoe polish smeared on their faces.
(Facebook readers will have to click through to my blog to see this ridiculous commercial).
That said, non-Indian people of the world, you need to know that merely mimicking an Indian accent is not funny.
Furthermore, IF what you're actually saying or doing is not stand alone funny, it's just stupid.
"Apu" from The Simpson's is funny because what he says is highlighted by the accent.
"Hello, how are you?" in an Indian accent and then laughing, though? Is neither clever nor as remotely hilarious as you might think.
And mimicking an Indian accent to someone whose parents or husband has a similar accent is both ignorant and rude. Oh my goodness, I cannot even begin to count the number of times this has happened to me.
Disagree?
Let's drive this point home in an unexpected way.
A few years ago, I was at a restaurant with a bunch of Indian friends. Unlike me, none of them were born here, so they spoke accented English, although most of their accents were very slight. One of the women at the table was relating a conversation with one of her American co-workers. When this Indian woman repeated her co-worker's words, she slipped into an attempt to speak English like an American.
Only, she's not American, so it played as a bad impression of American accented English. Apparently, we Americans obnoxiously drop "g's" all over the place and our "a's" are said with our mouths open entirely too wide.
Being the only person at the table who spoke American accented English, frankly, I was embarrassed by it. I listened quietly to her do this accent which by virtue of subtext was a mockery of the way I spoke and realized if the tables were turned, I would have offended everyone at that table. Worse, there was no joke. The accent was supposed to be the joke.
The way I talk was the butt of her joke.
Nice.
Why don't you just make fun of the fact that I wore glasses in the second grade while you're at it, lady?
So, let me repeat, the accent is not the joke. The words actually have to be funny, or one runs the risk of looking like an ignorant and slightly racist jerk.
And, apparently, the folks who run the marketing department over at Metro PCS are ignorant and slightly racist jerks.
Seriously, the only way this could be more insulting to my heritage is if it were two white guys with brown shoe polish smeared on their faces.
(Facebook readers will have to click through to my blog to see this ridiculous commercial).
Reader Comments (93)
I have no idea why people think any accent all by itself is something to make fun of. It's ridiculous!
I'll laugh at a black comedian making fun of a white person but only *if* there is a joke there, not just because they do that Bob Whiteyface accent.
I get to see my accent made fun of whenever a movie or a TV show includes a character from Long Island (Lawn Guylin).
We don't really tawk that way. OK, maybe a little.
What really kills me is that most of the people I see doing the mocking haven't bothered to study a foreign language themselves. If they DID, they would understand how incredibly difficult it is to pronounce words without mangling them in a tongue that's not your native one. The fact that anybody takes the time to even attempt speaking in a foreign language is cause for admiration, not ridicule.
But, but... you're AMERICAN. American's do talk funny. ;)
That commercial was just....wow. Might as well been another blackface minstrel show.
I feel the same way when people mock a west-indian accent and/or consider everyone in that region of the world "Jamaican." Dude - HOW MANY COUNTRIES are in the Caribbean/East Indies/Latin America?? You mean to tell me Jamaica holds/gave birth to ALL of them?
The thing is, people don't want to learn history...that's why society is so doomed to repeat it. :(
I'm glad you wrote about this, because this commercial has been driving me insane! It's like a bad minstrel show :(
Its the same with the Irish accent on telly, it really annoys me, although if you do a proper Irish accent it can be funny IF the joke is funny. And as for us Irish always being drunk....well its kinda true, na not really just on Paddy's Day!!
@SciFi Dad, well, yes, but we know the difference between a possessive and a plural, too. Eh? :)
So what you're saying is that my attempt to speak Spanish by adding "-o" to the end of every word is offensive?
Shit-o.
@Avitable, Doh! Foiled by a man who has chosen a "team" on Twilight. I have now reached a new low.
@SciFi Dad, But you have to choose a team - how else will you know who to root for?!?
@Avitable, if you have a penis, you root for the deus ex machina aliens that come and destroy all the vampires, werewolves, ferrets and whatever the fuck else.
I can't imagine dealing with that kind of crap. I'm sure I would snap hard core, I dislike when accents are made fun of. I *love* funny jokes (although I can't tell them to save my life) but I dislike it when an accent is made fun of just for how it sounds. I also dislike it when people mimic another person's accent.
And truthfully, I find the Indian accent very soothing. I love hearing different accents because they are all unique and it's interesting to me, but I would never make fun of an accent.
Besides, people make fun of ME for my pronunciation on things (like turquois...don't ask, can't say it to save my life - or spell it for that matter).
@Sarcastica, (apparently there are a lot of things that I couldn't do to save my life. Heh)
So you are saying vee are not amused?
@Hilly, Bob Whiteyface. Husband to Jane Whiteyface and father to Bob, Jr. and Debbie Whiteyface? I love that guy.
@B.E. Earl, It is really difficult for me to imagine you have a Long Island accent. I'm going to go over to your blog and read the entries aloud in that accent to get a feel for it. So, I'm acclimated to the idea by the time I meet you.
@Dave2, This is an incredibly good point.
@Avitable, Maybe he meant that our "do"'s talk funny. He could have been talking about hair or poo. You don't know. In that case, he would be crazy, but his grannar would be okay.
@SciFi Dad, Um. By this definition, I am actually a man. I suspected this, anyway.
@Robin, Oh, yeah, I think we're in the same boat here. In college, a very close friend of mine was from Jamaica. In four years, I never *ONCE* heard her say, "Hey, mon." And yet... sigh.
@nancy, It's on the radio, too. Like I said, it's not even funny!! If their going to be horrible, they should at least try to go for the funny.
@J from Ireland, Did you ever see that Saturday Night Live bit by Mike Meyers about the difference between Scotland and Ireland? I always like that one. People kept walking into an "All Things Scottish" store and asking about leprechauns. It was hilarious.
@Avitable, Si, this-o is-o exactamente what-o yo mean-o.
@Sarcastica, Soothing, huh? Cool. I'm curious, how do you pronounce turquoise? Can you just not say it, or do you say it incorrectly? You know what word I have trouble with? Advertisement. I keep saying it the British way and then I realize that since I'm not British, that's obnoxious, so I start to correct myself and end up stuttering.
@RW, Yes, sir, vee are not having the amusement over such things.
I find the commercial offensive, too, and I'm as good at mangling the English language as every other United States citizen.
I'm going to use your blog as a confessional to clear my conscious.
About 10 years ago, I worked w/ a woman whose mother was Japanese, so when she'd talk about her mom, she'd use her accent. I thought it was adorable b/c it was so spot on.
Being the stupid-ass that I was, I thought it was OK to use her interpretation of her mother's accent when I talked about eating Chinese food.
Yeah, totally stupid.
I still feel embarrassed for myself.
@Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing], Hahahahaha...omg, that was too funny.
@Karl, Mangling the English language! Traitor! In my humble opinion, the way we speak English is a reflection of our love of freedom and democracy. Obviously, it follows that if you don't speak American, you hate freedom.
Heh. That was sarcasm, people.
Hey look at this! I am at your blog at work, somehow its no longer blocked!
I remember seeing these commercials for the first time and feeling uncomfortable. I wondered how it ever got through the legal teams as well. Regardless, its context is supposed to be a joke and unfortunately they aren't funny. Whenever you use stereotypes to make a joke, you better be sure its funny, or else you get stuck with offensive garbage.
There are loads of commercials that offend me as well. Usually aired during daytime TV when they show men being nothing but "work work work, then I better have my dinner ready when I get home" image. Seeing men fumbling through household chores and especially child-rearing activities drives me nuts.
@Faiqa, Not that there's anything wrong with that...
:-)
@Hockeymandad, Ohhhh, I hate those "hapless husband" commercials, too. They're all kinds of wrong.
Thank you for this. People are ignorant. I'm glad you can be an ambassador for sensitive issues. And I'd like to think that I'm *always* sensitive to this but we're all human and we all need a reminder. (Although my accent mockery only extends to African American, because it cracks Jay up. And I'll do almost anything to make him laugh these days).
OK, confession for me too - because I want to be just like Angie when I grow up.
At FIRST I was all "YEAH! Right on! Total bullshit!"
And then I remembered all of the times I've laughed and laughed at friends of mine who are WAYYY better at mimicking accents than I am do just that. They weren't telling jokes. The accent was the joke.
I've laughed at people doing Irish accents and Indian accents and Jewish accents and Long Island accents and Jersey accents and the accents of their Thai mothers. And if I'm being 100% honest? It was the ACCENT that was the joke - it was the ACCENT we were laughing at.
Hm.
Shit.
Now I'm not sure what to think or say or feel. I'M CONFUSED!
Hahahahahaha! You had glasses!!1!11eleven!!one
Seriously, listening to Mew do a movie critique in her grandmother's accent (at the post Avitaween clean-up party) was the funniest thing ever. I like funny accents as a joke enhancer and when it's not really meant to be mean.
Plus, you know: "funny accent, what is that aboot?"
@Miss Britt, you know what maybe it is for me?
When making fun of the accent is meant to somehow suggest that the person talking is stupid.
Hm.
Maybe.
THIS IS SERIOUSLY BOGGLING MY MIND NOW!
@Miss Britt, I know, right? You know what's super wrong? When three non Jewish people sit around in a living room imitating Long Island Jews. People need to stop with da' racism, and with da' intolerance and da' hypocrisy.
:D
@Bre, Like I said, as long as the content is funny... :)
@Miss Britt, I was thinking about this, and I think the accents don't bother me as much as all of the stereotypes in that commercial, all put together. Doing a funny accent can actually be kind of funny on its own if it's not done in a hateful way.
@LeSombre, Dude, that was seriously funny. But, as you said, what she was *saying* was funny, too. And, plus, this might sound hypocritical, but I think it's OK to make fun of your OWN heritage. It's just different.
@Faiqa, You're coming to NYC this summer for BlogHer, right? I can impress you with my shitty accent then.
@Avitable, I think her point about the accent implying that the holder of the accent is somehow stupid or silly is a good one. For example, I suppose if you do a British accent while in the context of speaking about evil geniuses, it's okay, then.
@Faiqa, you are not making me less confused!!!!!!!
@B.E. Earl, Sure am! You need to work on getting Slyde to come along for a possible meet up. You're nothing without him.
@Faiqa, that's true. Although "I love you long time" is always going to be funny.
@Avitable, Agreed. And, actually, I believe the phrase is "Me long you long time."
@Faiqa, I meant "Me *love* you long time."
faiqa, do you read my mind? Its such a conincidence that this article totally rerlated to the situation I am facing right now.
For past 2 weeks, Rishi (my son) was coming home from school saying that his teacher gets angry at him whenever he say the word 'Eraser'. I guess he was saying it in his Indian accent which he obviosly gets from us. He felt humiliated and sad when the kids were laughing at him.
Personally, I never got made fun of my accent by my friends or strangers (at least not on my face). But I have noticed that Rishi gets made fun of his accent by his friends at school and even by kids he meets at park. I have heard them saying "Oh! this boy talks so funny" and then they laugh at him. It brings tears to both mine and rishi's eyes. Their parents don't even teach them that its not appropriate to make fun of accents. I have noticed that Rishi is getting self concious of his accent now and hesitate to approach other kids, especially when he doesn't know them.
Its disgusting and i am worried about him.
@Deepa Agrawal, as if Americans are so great at English...
http://www.picketfail.com/images/69cda4bf4f033b0c312896e3d0bdce3eexcetions.jpg
When I was a kid people with accents were thought of as kind of cool and we liked the way they pronounced words and admired them for trying if it wasn't their first language. I think in the last few years for some reason we've gotten to the point where it's just another way to separate and polarize. We seem to be looking for those kind of things lately.
It's like we've all reverted back to the junior high lunch room.