By Mari D. González

“I have traveled more than anyone else, and I have noticed that even the angels speak English with an accent” ~Mark Twain

I love accents. I find them intriguing. They tell me that the speaker is bilingual. Accents define people socioculturally and correlate to their upbringing and ethnic, national, or group identity. Some accents are difficult to understand, some are melodious, and some take time to get used to. Our evaluations are subjective and relative to our personal opinions.

I am accustomed to accents. In California, there are immigrants in different professions including medical. I have interpreted for doctors from China and India who are not understood by patients with good second-language English fluency. Such difficulty is due to the patients’ lack of familiarity with people from those countries or perhaps they simply are not as intrigued as I am.

I came across an article written by a Peruvian author who spoke about the need to diminish one’s accent because “having a Spanish accent is seen as a minus.” None of my non-English-dominant colleagues have ever discussed accent reduction. This isolated “accent” perspective does not reflect the overall Latino/Hispanic concern.

Some immigrants demonstrate a greater desire to assimilate than Mexicans. It indicates a desire to fitting in instead of integrating. Mexican-American have a different perception of assimilation and actually oppose it. This opposition might be in response to U.S.-Mexican-specific historical factors.

The background of the current state of Latinos/Hispanics in the U.S. is the Chicano Movement. Whether we agree with it or not, the Chicano Movement is a point in history that precedes where we are now as a cultural group. It defines the second developmental stage of group identity formation called “Conflict.”

The first developmental stage of group identity formation is called “Identification with the dominant culture.” It is a desire to eliminate what makes one different from members of the dominant culture or assimilation. The author’s desire to reduce his accent implies being at this first developmental stage described as having a preference for an Anglo Orientation according to the research by Vasti Torres.

Reading Latino writers such as Rodolfo Acuña, Gloria Anzaldua, Hayes-Bautista, researcher, professor Amado Padilla, and journalist, Gregory Rodriguez help us understand the past and present context of Latino identity in the U.S. and why some people have a desire to assimilate and others to integrate.