This a humorous take on the day I found out that I spoke English with a foreign (Dominican) accent.
When my wife and I decided to move to the United States, back in 2007, I thought my English proficiency would be enough to tackle whatever challenges this new adventure would bring. After all, I studied English in the late 70s. True, I hadn’t had a chance to practice it in quite a while, and I was uncertain about the correct pronunciation of more than a few words, but I was confident native speakers would be able to understand any mispronounced terms in context. Big mistake. After all, that’s not how things work in real life. Two days into having arrived in New Jersey, the importance of clear pronunciation became evident to me, when on a phone call a customer service rep asked me twice if I had said "trouble", every time I had said "travel." But no sooner I had started paying attention to my enunciation, something else came up: I discovered I had an accent, and some of the folks who listened to it, looked at me the way an owl looks at its prey before eating it. That’s when I coined the term "The Owl Stare."
Enter the Owl Stare
I’m not sure when was the first time my Dominican accent triggered the Owl Stare, but I think the first time I took notice, was when I talked to a very nice lady who worked at one of New Jersey’s DMV offices. 10 seconds into the conversation I saw her tense up a little, her eyes went wide and she leaned forward ever so slightly. She was staring at me like some sort of giant owl and it was very intimidating. I felt like I was being interrogated.
Do foreign accents trigger the Owl Stare in all native English speakers?
No, I don’t think so. Sometimes they’ll just do the head tilt & raised eyebrow combo. I’d say it has to do with people’s exposure to foreign accents and individual differences in sound perception.
The true meaning of the Owl Stare
At first, I thought the Owl Stare was a sign of rudeness. A way of telling me "I don’t like the way you sound." But then I replayed in my head the different Owl Stare cases I had been involved, and I realized that the people I was speaking with could have easily told me "I don’t understand a word you’re saying," or "I’ll get someone else to help you." Instead, they listened patiently and asked me to repeat whenever they didn’t get what I was trying to tell them. That’s when it hit me. That’s when I understood that such a particular body language can be interpreted as "Oh, oh. I’m detecting an accent I’m not familiar with. The fact that I won’t be able to get everything you say mortifies me, so I’ll give you my undivided attention, to make sure I understand every word." The Owl Stare is a sign of empathy and respect. I know it can feel uncomfortable at times, but if it's any help, think of the great lengths the other party is going to just to understand you. ☼
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Alex Guerrero is a content creator who lives in Lawrence, KS. He’s very vocal in his displeasure over pineapple pizza. Chocolate, on the other hand, makes everything better!
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