Founders' Accents
August 2013
Recently Inc published an interview in which I said we'd noticed a correlation between founders having very strong foreign accents and their companies doing badly.
Some interpreted this statement as xenophobic, or even racist—as if I'd said that having a foreign accent at all was a problem.
But that's not what I said, or what I think. No one in Silicon Valley would think that. A lot of the most successful founders here speak with accents.
The case I was talking about is when founders have accents so strong that people can't understand what they're saying. I.e. the problem is not the cultural signal accents send, but the practical difficulty of getting a startup off the ground when people can't understand you.
I'd already explained that when I talked about this issue with a New York Times reporter:
But after ranking every Y.C. company by its valuation, Graham discovered a more significant correlation. "You have to go far down the list to find a C.E.O. with a strong foreign accent," Graham told me. "Alarmingly far down—like 100th place." I asked him ...
Immigrants have helped shape American identity by their languages they speak from their home country. Richard Rodriguez essay “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans” reveals Rodriguez’s attitudes towards race and ethnicity as they relate to make people know what culture is really identified a person rather than their race. For example, in the essay, it states that Richard Rodriguez “ that he is Chinese, and this is because he lives in a Chinese City and because he wants to be Chinese. But I have lived in a Chinese City for so long that my eye has taken on the palette, has come to prefer lime greens and rose reds and all the inventions of this Chinese Mediterranean. (lines 163-171)”. Although Rodriquez states”he is Chinese”, what he actually
types of business than with the nationalities of the people. This was quite striking to observers, and to
In Richard Lederer’s article “All American Dialects”, he states the ironic truth that “most of us are aware that large numbers of people in the U.S. speak very differently than we do.” (152) How is it that one language can have so many speech communities? It is because of the way our nation was developed. Our language is a mixture of culture and lifestyle that has diverted our English dialect, so that each region’s speech is unique. How I speak can define who I am, determine what I do, and locate exactly where I’m from in the U.S. This is the value of my, and my language’s speech communities. If one was to travel to Germany they would be constantly hearing German. What they wouldn’t notice is that each city within Germany tends to have their
In “Leave your Name at the Border” by Manuel Munoz, he explains that one culture should not be above another. That sometimes it is hard for people who do not know Spanish to pronounce their names in English. In the article Munoz stated that, he avoided people because of not wanting to say his name, and that he felt burdened by his own past. Munoz felt that by growing up in a small town and the limitations Spanish had. Spanish was not accepted by other students or other’s like Munoz felt like they were dominated by the native language (83). Therefore, this can be similar to adapting to a new land. Because, of a countries dominate language. Just because, people can speak Arabic and Spanish by pronouncing with their throat and rolling their tongue. This process can be hard for non-native speakers to say their name in English. Being shunned because of one’s accent can make individuals fell unwelcome and
¿Comprende lo que esto significa? If your answer to, “Do you understand what this means?” is “no,” then your résumé, similar to many other non-Spanish speaking Americans just became less competitive. In time of economic hardships where the United States has “an unemployment rate above 7.8 percent,” the ability to distinguish oneself in the job market is a non-negotiable (Scherer). With an exponential increase in the Latino populace, the American workforce has been impacted profoundly. While one may feel certain that the ability to speak English in America, in conjunction with one’s education and work experience, will suffice in distinguishing oneself in the job market, this essay will argue that an English speaking monoglot is far less marketable than one who is bilingual in English and in Spanish.
In the article 5 Biggest Challenges Foreign Business Face in China. “Cultural misunderstandings arising from miscommunication are one of the biggest challenges which foreign companies face in China. Although there are an increasing number of Chinese people highly proficient in English, it is uncommon to find someone who understands the subtleties of the language and possesses a strong enough understanding of both Chinese and western cultures to navigate delicate business negotiations” (5 Biggest Challenges Foreign Business Face in China).
People are often viewed differently because of their linguistic differences. It is hard for some people to understand those that speak with accents and that makes those listening having various opinions about that speaker. In the except of “Hunger Of Memory,” it was mentioned that Richard Rodriguez would speak english that he did not
While exploring the multinational workplace, which consisted of immigrants from a variety of countries, I was able to distinguish three distinctive themes. The first is immigrants’ self-consciousness of having an accent. The second is mixing two languages in speech. The third is the problem of building an effective multicultural team.
When it comes to languages- language is a major role that helps us communicate. Whether it's solving an issue or informing one another. In society, language can either make you feel as if you're apart of a civilization or it can make you feel isolated if you don't speak it the proper way. In the article, Se Habla Español, by Tanya Maria Barrientos, Barrientos talks about how growing up Hispanic and not being able to speak her native language (Spanish) was very challenging. Barrientos came to America from Guatemala in the year of 1963 at the age of three. Since then, Barrientos wasn't able to speak her language due to her parents assimilating into the American culture. Back then, America wasn't the most accepting country. Anyone who identified themselves as Mexican American or Afro American was viewed and considered dangerous radicals. Barrientos parents just wanted Barrientos to grow up, living outside of the American stereotype of minorities. Another writing that supports my accusation about how language and physical appearance can make a person feel isolated is Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. Tan expresses that her mother is Chinese and she speaks what Americans called "Broken English". According to http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=broken+english "Broken English is a "Incorrect or awkwardly structured English, usually spoken or written by non-native speakers." "Broken+English." Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Language can be a form of identification, so to use a multitude of languages in one commercial can offend people in ways many one didn’t think was possible.
In such situations, even though rarely unfortunate situations occur where that particular member becomes baffle and certain conflicts among the team members does emerge. Here the non-native speaker occasionally may turn out to be less inspired to contribute in the organization.
The influence of our inherited cultural and linguistic heritage is perhaps less influential than the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the society we live in. The societal forces of our personal micro-environments largely impact who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we speak.
The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Language has always been perceived as a link between people but it can also constitute a barrier. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with many shades in between . Furthermore, communication between cultures which do not share the same language is considerably more difficult . Each culture, has its distinct syntax, expressions and structure which causes confusion in intercultural communication. For example , in Asian countries the word “no” is rarely used, so that “yea” can mean “no” or “perhaps”. Therefore, an American traveling to Japan might be considered impolite if he ignores this rule. Furthermore, individuals who are not comfortable with a certain language may not be taken seriously. Such is the case in the classroom, where a student who has a perfect knowledge of the subject in question may have difficulty expressing his idea due to his inability to write properly and therefore he would not receive the grade he truly deserves. Similarly intercultural communication is dominant in the workplace. In the past, many companies and organizations could operate entirely within their country of origin and conduct their activities exclusively in their own native language. But now, due...
Now, have you ever looked—I mean really looked at the English language? It is a very confusing language and it’s no wonder so many other people have so much trouble understanding it. Have you ever talked to someone from a foreign country and you’ve had to rephrase the entire thing you were trying to say because they didn’t understand? That’s exactly what I’m talking about.
Society and the way it works has changed tremendously over the years. Business between countries has grown and connections have grown with it as well.The world is a boundless place full of many different cultures and has “roughly 6,900” languages around the world that are all unique in their own way (source B). Although there is an overwhelming