My child has an accent… so what?

If you are raising a bilingual child, it is more than likely your child is going to have an accent in the minority language. Understanding what it really means to have an accent can help you to embrace rather than fight it so you can focus on strengthening your child’s language skills and confidence.

Not long ago, we spent a weekend with some family members who are native Spanish speakers and were visiting the U.S. for a family reunion. It was the first time in almost 3 years since my kids were completely immersed in the language without my husband or any other English speakers around. They switched to Spanish right away and participated in conversations and games in their (sometimes broken but quite fluent) Spanish.

Despite the fact that all those relatives are not only bilingual but multilingual and live in different countries, I noticed how a couple of them pointed out my children’s accent when speaking in Spanish. I was surprised by this since all of them obviously have a strong accent when speaking in English, and one of them has even adopted an accent from another Spanish speaking country after decades living abroad. But it looks like they were expecting my children, who were born and are being raised in a bicultural environment in the U.S., to not have an accent.

Now, lately I have heard that this is a big thing within the Spanish speaking communities in the U.S. Every one shares and likes the famous quote by Amy Chua: “Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery.” However, on the other hand there are people that point out, criticize, and set the bar for language proficiency to higher levels for Spanish speakers raising bilingual kids in this country.

Our kids don’t only have to deal with all the challenges that are a part of being raised in bilingual and bicultural families, but also with the stigmas of a society that is being trained to reject bilingualism and to tag accents as a sign of being an outsider.

Everyone has an accent. From Boston to LA and Mexico to Buenos Aires, not to make us feel outsiders from somewhere else, but to remind us that we belong to more than one place in the world.

Accents tell a story: the story of our parents, our heritage, the place we grew up in, and the traditions and cultures that define us, that shape our identity and enrich our values and believes. An accent is not only about language and nationality, is about the story of who we are when we are far from home.

Growing up bilingual with a heritage language means that our kids are growing up with a dual set of elements and values from different cultures, and yes, a dual set of language skills. That will always include an accent in one or both languages, and that is ok.

One of the biggest myths regarding Spanish is that there are countries with no accent (or a neutral accent) or with a better accent than others which has created a stereotype of the Spanish language. That idea of Spanish limits the reality of the extent of Spanish variations that make it a very diverse and rich international language.

Since one of the best ways to expose a child to a language is through music, I decided to put together a playlist on Spotify for my children and students with a sample of songs from different artists and music styles. I also wanted to add songs featuring different accents. When I was done, I realized I was missing one accent, the accent of a non-native Spanish speaker, which in reality would be closer to the accent of most of my students and my own children. So I added it. Why not also expose our children to music sung by someone that actually sounds close to what their own Spanish will probably sound like?

I am not expecting my kids to speak perfect Spanish or shape their accent to my Colombian accent. I instead want them to embrace the beauty of their accent as a sign of being able to speak a second language that also happens to be their heritage language and helps them to connect with the culture that enriches their identity as Americans with a Colombian heritage.

I have an accent when I speak English, and an accent in Spanish as a Colombian. I will always have it, and my kids will too. That will help remind them that if they don’t speak Spanish at the native level it is only because one day their mom was brave enough to leave behind her whole world to marry their father and start a new life in a different country. That accent will help remind them that all they need is to be able to communicate and express their souls in another language, because no matter how our words sound, as bilingual people, we will always have double the power to spread out the message of whatever we want to share with the world.