ACCENT
Write a short 200 word reflection on your accent and the way you think you would like to speak. If you want to change your accent why is this the case? If not, why are you satisfied with your accent?
1) I think that I haven't gone through many changes in my accent or evolved form different phases as I have lived abroad a majority of my life and only have studied in international schools. From a very young age, around 3 years old, I started learning English in school when I moved to Singapore for the first time. Due to this, I don't really recall me having an Indonesian accent or how I pronounced English words during the early stages of learning. Despite moving form Singapore to India, where the cultures and accents of people clearly contrast, I didn't pick up or modify my accent as I already had developed an accent of my own whilst being surrounded with international school students and matured. With this, I think that my school environment has really lead me into creating a mainly American accent or some say 'international accent', as I do speak some words as how British people do. Ultimately, I can't really define the accent I have or locate the origin of my accent with the lack of influences from my own culture and less familiarising myself on how to speak Bahasa Indonesia which can cause me to have a foreign accent or that similar to locals.
2) Personally I choose not to change my accent because I feel like it is well understood, being a mixture of both American and British, and I believe that it is a part of my identity. When traveling different places, most people are able to understand English spoken in an American or British accent due to to the mass popularisation in media or entertainment, therefore my accent becomes a convenience when communicating. My identity can also be spoken through my accent because people may be curious as to where Im from or the environments/people I've been surrounded with growing up.