How do I deal with a kid who imitates accents?

quote:Dear Ms. Communicate,
My primary school-aged son has picked up a habit that I'm not sure how to deal with, especially when he does it in public. He often imitates accents, particularly Pakistani, Indian and Middle Eastern ones. He doesn't do it in a mocking tone or say anything racist or derogatory. He just seems to like the way some words or phrases sound in certain accents.

My son is white. He goes to a very diverse school, with lots of children from a wide range of countries, particularly central Asia and East Africa. He says that he has picked up this habit with his friends, who, like my son, speak English in the dominant "Canadian" accent, but hear Asian accents at home and like to imitate them, especially with their friends.

I'm not sure what to do. I love his creativity, and I can see that this is a way for him to experiment with the sounds and language he hears around him. I don't want to stifle this. But at the same time, I worry that if a white kid is overheard imitating "foreign" accents, it will sound like he's making fun of people with English as a second language.

Do you have advice on how to handle this?

Accentuate the Positive

Ms Communicate responds!

I admit it - I sent this question in!

I found this advice helpful - and affirming, too. There's nothing quite like having your kid start imitating Apu (or some other character, accent and all) in the middle of a crowded bus. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]

Boy, that Ms. Communicate is one smart cookie!

I think most kids if they have any empathy at all, especially those getting toward middle grade school, will understand that teasing causes pain, and this can be percieved by those hearing as teasing even if it isn't meant that way.

I want to admit something at this point. My kids are 16 and 20, and are in a very good space in terms of socio/political attitudes and development. I can see both in thier own way turning into effective fighters for the cause. It's become a little running gag however, *ONLY* within the confines of the immediate family, to throw into the conversation some howler so horrifyingly politically incorrect as to make the others gasp and to invite an immediate thunderbolt. A real winner will not only make the others choke, but to even make the one who said it shudder and say "oh god I'm going to hell now".

I have warned them both that someday something's going to slip out in the wrong company.

I am not sure there is anything particularly prejudiced about immitating accents, though of course that depends on the delivery.

And the context. Mimicry is a useful talent for everyone from actors to writers. Maybe, along with the advice already given, you can redirect his attention and encourage your son to imitate family members, cartoon characters, movie characters, teachers, prime ministers etc [img]smile.gif" border="0[/img]

[ 15 March 2008: Message edited by: aka Mycroft ]

Well, that's just it! I don't want to stifle any fabulous dramatic talent that might be developing. But I also feel like some white kid on the bus doing one-liners in a fake Pakistani accent could be offensive to people who don't understand that he's not mocking but simply "trying on" different voices.

But I know how he feels because I used to have fun faking German accents when I was a kid (my grandparents). But then again, I grew up in a whitebread suburb and a whole bunch of stuff we'd find offensive now was "okay" then. I cringe when I think of some of the stuff we used to say (and sing!) when I was a kid!

That's a good point; there are any number of artists whose starting point has been a gift for mimicry.

But your son is old enough to understand the distinction between exploring new ways of expressing himself and mockery of others. A good check might be to ask him if he thought that his South Asian friends' feelings would be hurt if they heard him trying on those voices on the streetcar.

He picks it up from his South Asian friends! [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img] And he hears a South Asian accent at home, too.

my suggestion would be to channel his energy and buy him some animation software, and start to expand his talents by creating characters to go with the voices. it could be an opportunity to explore other countries and cultures, and in the joy of being creative. the reason i suggest animation, is that it engages kids, has unlimited possibilities and it is the last bastion of political INcorrectness!

he could be the next Robin Williams.

Your kid obviously has a native talent in imitating accents. I wouldn't know how accurate he imitates them but I think you should encourage him to explore more in an educational program on foreign languages. You would be surprised to know how many people that know foreign languages can't perform accurate pronunciation, some of them take accent reduction classes to learn the correct accent of the foreign language with no other influences from their native language. Your son may have something special.

Good point. I have a sister in the federal public service who is red-circled without direct reports in an upper management role, because although she can work with foreign-language materials all day and tests out at close to a hundred percent ability in written French, after years and years of extensive training she absolutely can not learn to speak or to understand spoken French at the minimum level required to manage francophone employees. This same sister is completely tone-deaf to music.

Conversely, I have a young daughter who can closely imitate any sound, from the blender to a Montreal rolling "R". She is extremely sensitive to music, and is also amazingly adept at reproducing what she perceives visually, either through drawing, or by explaining the distinguishing details in words. Rote learning though? Not so much -- at all... Her dad is an artist and filmmaker, and he's the same way -- can't ignore interesting sights or sounds if his life depends on it (and believe me, it does detract from his attention while driving). So this kind of characteristic might be related to more than just language.

Yes, with advice we can prevent "incidents" while encouraging what could be a talent. My daughter (Canadian born, her mother is white Anglo-Canadian) started imitating accents when she was about 8 years old. Her first accent imitation target was the British accent, in some TV cartoons. Then she turned on her Daddy, imitating his (Arab) accent and moved on to Desi accent, Jamaican etc... I knew she was just interested in her skills at imitating accents and not making fun of accents. I did nonetheless explain to her that the context and 'human environment' in which she can exercice her "talent" is very important.  She is now 20 y old, pursuing her studies in theater arts. 

Lawd how kids can turn your hair grey...

A week after moving to Montreal, my 5 year old and I were walking down the street when she suddenly declared, "Mom!  This is how French people laugh!" and then went on to laugh through her nose in the most horrible way... francophones around us staring in disbelief and then looking up at me with raised eyebrows... *facepalm*

My kids do accents too.  Kids who have a good musical ear tend to be good at picking up languages as well, including the accents.  Right now my youngest slips into the most outrageous Quebecois accent sometimes while speaking English, but she's also going to be a lot more fluent than I will end up being.  I do talk to them about how saying certain things or speaking a certain way can hurt people's feelings even if you don't mean it...but I almost died when my eldest started in with a 'Cree accent' via speaking with her teeth clenched.  I guess it's how our language sounds to her :D

Is clenched teeth really the secret?

I have wondered a number of times about Cree accents... I can "hear" them, but I cannot for the life of me describe what the "difference" I am hearing is. I can't recall ever hearing anyone do a good imitation of one (bad caricature yes, good imitation, no). What I find very strange is that part of what I "hear" I also hear when listening to someone from the Peigan nation... even though they are from different linguistic families. Ah well, blame my poor vocabulary when it comes to describing sounds for my inability to identify what it is I am hearing.

And since we are in the realm of free floating anecdotes here... I clearly remember a teaching assistant at my high school who had one of the most impenetrable working class Scots accents I have ever heard (she was from Glasgow originally). She was a favourite of almost everyone who dealt with her, but the damn accent was contagious... you would be speaking with her and realize that you were unintentionally imitating her way of speaking... no nasty intentions, but you would just suddenly realize you were making sounds that weren't at all what you would normally sound like. I am not certain if she ever thought anyone was mocking her, probably not... more than once we heard her talking about a visit to her relatives where she was accused of "putting on airs" and having lost her childhood accent. I almost shudder to think how thick it must have been originally.

I have a bad habit of 'mirroring' accents, which is what you're describing.  I don't do it intentionally, and I certain don't do it to impress people (not sure how that would even work really, since it's pretty universally decried). 

And yes, clenching your teeth...hahahaha, it helps new learners because if you speak Cree without the proper accent it sounds a little like you're trying to speak Japanese.

I've done that too, with different regional North American accents.  I find that if I hang around or talk to someone a lot who has a different accent and different colloquialisms, I start picking up certain phrases and ways of speaking that I never did before.

My grandfather (who I never knew - he died just after I was born) apparently had a major Ottawa Valley accent.  That would have been interesting to hear.  I wonder if I would have picked that up had I known him.  I knew someone else with an Ottawa Valley accent who used to say "Carl" instead of "Carol", etc.  It was pretty funny, and interesting.

A good friend's husband, who was raised in central New York, got a kick out of the way I would say certain things.  Of course, anything ending in "out" was amusing to him - so we'd laugh over each other's pronunciations.  Apparently we (in South Central Ontario) tend to clip our vowels, whereas they tend to emphasize dipthongs more.  And their vowels have more of a "y" sound at the beginning.  You know.  We might say cherry like "chary".  They would say it more like "ch-yeery".  That description might be a bit exaggerated, but that's how it sounds to me. :)

I grew up across the river from Michigan, so I share the interest in slight regional variations.  I sometimes refer to the Michigan accent as "Pop and Hockey", but of course it's said "Pahp and Hahkey".  We also used to travel south of the Mason-Dixon as a kid.  Y'all come beck now, ya'heah?

I spent a week in St.John's last fall and came back with a bit of a Nfdl edge to my speech.  Didn't last long.

I'm told that you can practice sounding like you're from down home with only four words:  whale, oil, beef and hooked.  Just say it like one word, with a slight note of surprise:  Whale-oil-beef-hooked!

If our new mod is from the Rock then I'll just go ban myself.

I say; jolly good thread!

When our team went to South Dakota to play their state champs we were amused by how they said "hackey" instead of "hockey."

My kids do pretty good Tête à clacques accents, and they use a French-Canadian accent at school but a French accent at home.  They use only one accent when speaking English.

Their French cousin, with his cousin, once spoke fake English to each other (sort  of a reverse of that Steve Martin "Those French have a different word for everything" sketch) in an attempt to playfully make fun of me.  It was funny, and interesting to hear what we sound like to them.

I loooove having people imitate the 'Canadian accent'. 

I really like regional variations in accents.  It's a shame that the media accent is gaining such a foothold in Canada and the US.  Strong regional accents are becoming less common, and I really do think that's part of losing linguistic diversity as well.  Certain accents are still linked with class which tends to encourage people to either consciously or unconsiously 'mainstream' the way they talk, and that's a damn shame.

When I was travelling through the US, I swear it was my Canadian accent that turned the scowls of Sheriffs into smiles as they allowed me to pass.

Of course I didn't realize I had an accent, until American friends told me I did.

I also didn't realize how much we say Eh?!, until it was pointed out - and we do say Eh alot Aye?!

Yeah, we like to deny it, but once you start paying attention, it's a little crazy.

"Apparently we (in South Central Ontario) tend to clip our vowels, whereas they tend to emphasize dipthongs more..." -Michelle

I am sure you meant diphtongs, Michelle. It is probably a ... slip :)

I think an important distinction needs to be made between immitating an accent different from one's own and reinforce stereotypes. I personally enjoy the varied flavours that different accents bring to the English language. I work with immigrants and have the pleasure of hearing the diverse accents they bring. Everyone has an accent, but you don't notice it if most people around you speak the same way you do.

Immitating accents of non-native English speakers can give you an insite into pronounciation in their first language. I found this trick helped me in my beginner Spanish class. Unconciously mirroring back someone's accent is said to be the sign of a good communicator as it makes it easier for the other person to understand you. I recall a trip to Ottawa where I was able to understand much more of the French if it were spoken by an Anglophone!

If you are using an accent to imitate stereotypical characters it is something else again. Our media and society is riddled with racist stereotypes and it is easy to slip into one of them without being aware of it.

I can do a pretty good Cockney.  Would fool most Sheffielders into thinking I'm from there after a pint or two. The Scottish accent is harder. I think I could mimic someone from Dundee though.

You got me! :) But I think you're not quite right either - I think it's actually "diphthong".  At least, this is what I'm finding on google, and as we know, google knows everything.

Does your little guy like school plays and such, Michelle? He could be an aspiring actor with a need to express his talents. All the world is a stage as they say. You could have another Lawrence Olivier or even a Jim Carey on your hands.

Dear Michelle,

I doubt you will listen to me, a spiritual foreigner, but, here is my advice anyway:

Your son is defining himself by the process of discrimination.  Discrimination is a mental act that is absolutely necessary for identity formation, for logic and reasoning, and for making sense out of William James' "blooming, buzzing confusion" of the world.  Discrimination is not the same as bigotry.  You describe your son as not exhiting bigoted opinions or actions, and, therefore, his discrimination is clean.  Do not deprive him of the fun of making sense out of the weirdnesses that his mind, still infused with the all-too-soon-evaporated pool of ecstatos (love of learning) of childhood, encounters in this eclectic Brave New Canada that we inhabit.  I used to do the same thing by pretending my tricycle was a wheelchair, to see what it might be like to be crippled.  And, there you have it.  Now others can imitate me and find out what it's like to be mentally crippled!

Yours,

"Starbird"