Riddhi Charan Week #5: The Double Standard of Accents

 Week 5: The Double Standard of Accents – 10/21/2026 [9:49]

Back when I just moved to America, I had a really heavy Indian accent and was made fun of. There was another girl with the same situation as me—immigrating from Spain, however being treated much better than I was, even with the Spanish accent as people thought it was maybe cool. 

This made me wonder why people did not like my unique of an accent and why a Spanish accent is seen as more acceptable. Is it because of the way the American media represents us? The way TV Shows portray Indians as stereotypically as they could and represent them as ‘comedians’ when it's really just to make fun of them indirectly. For example, in a kids show called “Hey Jessie”, Ravi, who represents Indian culture, has a deep accent. Luke, who is white himself, sees a guy with an Italian accent getting all the girls and says “Guys with the accent gets them all” however then looks at Ravi and adds “Well, some”. 


Image from fitty.club

This double standard set a deep self hatred within me of my own pronunciation of things, trying to copy the American accent instead to get accepted. What I did know was that there wasn’t anything wrong with having a heavy accent, it was just so deeply hated within other people that it made me think it was not accepted at all. 

When I had finally learned the American accent, it did not change much. People still mocked the dialect to be funny and did not see us as one of them. From my experiences, this demonstrated to me that no matter how hard I try, I could never be seen as one of the American people themselves. I will always face some kind of hostility towards my culture so as long as I accept my roots, I will be fine.


Comments

  1. Arya JohnsonOctober 25, 2026 at 11:38 AM

    Riddhi, I love how you expanded on my last blog about accents. I wrote about preconceptions and how people act differently, but in yours you actually gave a real and personal example. I think the reason why a Spanish accent is "cooler" than an Indian accent is because of racism, through different dialects you can hear different countries and the cultures that come along with it. The bias of Europe over Asia has existed in America for hundreds of years, and it shows obviously through laws and subtly through discrimination in the media. As you pointed, it's more important to embrace your culture rather than listening to people that continue this bias, as your identity is so much more than what people try to assume.

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  2. Maxwell WangOctober 28, 2026 at 9:04 PM

    That is pretty sad. I hope the people who were so imprudent to have mocked you were just little kids and that they’ve grown up a little and understand truly now what their actions meant. I think language is something people think is “cool,” which includes the accents or the sound associated with it. Unfortunately for us, sometimes our languages are underappreciated or made fun of. But there’s still a lot of opportunity for these skills to be useful, even if it doesn’t seem so right at the moment!
    I, however, think you are accepted as part of the American culture, so don’t exclude yourself from it. No matter the language or the looks, someone who is friendly will be able to find others that welcome them.

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  3. Riya PurumalaOctober 28, 2026 at 9:21 PM

    Hi Riddhi! I definitely agree that American media portrayal of accents is a huge part of why some accents are considered more socially acceptable than others. It is incredibly frustrating to see the role racism plays in the perception of accents. I loved your example of Jessie in which Ravi and Luke’s contrasting accents cause them to be treated so differently. Jessie and so many other shows like this that I loved when I was younger are actually incredibly stereotypical, displayed especially through accents. I believe it is extremely important to notice and call these shows out! Additionally, I am really sorry that you were made fun of because of your Indian accent (I personally love Indian accents)! There is nothing wrong with having an accent, and you certainly should not have been treated so badly because of it.

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