Canada Study: Lose the accent to succeed, minorities.

Thanks for the commentary BigT, not only does a MBA speak volumes of the University, but it also speaks volumes of the kind of  graduates it turns out. If the graduate hangs that degree in the office where he or she works and their English skills are not up to snuff, what does that say about not only the University, but of other graduates in the business world.  Too many universities overlook these language prerequisites when accepting students, and are more "Get the Money" first, and if they fail, then at least the university got it's money. It is not fair to you or the student who has to struggle to keep up, giving that struggling student false hope when turned down for a job, even though they are qualified according to the MBA.  All in all a bad deal for everyone concerned. 

We have had Boiler Room Universities Diploma mills here in Vancouver and immigrants on student visas who paid thousands and thousands of dollars feel upon graduation they are qualified only to learn they are far from it.  Recent independent studies of those with these style of degrees had Grade 9 coursework at best.  Hence why some scream discrimination, because some University in name only said they were qualified.  How can you be qualified if you cannot even read of understand the coursework given you.  The BC government thank god closed a lot of these Useless Universities.  Funny thing is, most of these Universities were formed and setup with numbered bank accounts and mail drops here in Vancouver and Richmond British Columbia, Canada which sent the money back to the Fraud Artists who were Immigrants themselves  living in other countries like China or Hong Kong, how is that for screwing your own people?

it takes years of practice and speaking the language to lose the accent. Unless you are born at the place, or migrated there at a young age, it is near impossible to speak the language perfectly. I don't know where I am going with this, but if they are hired or accepted, means they must be somehow qualified inspite of the bad language skills.

Thanks everyone for your comments,  I am sure there are exceptions to the rule.  I guess my story is more about those who use it as a crutch. Like I said, when I was living and working in Moscow, I gave a bank teller a migraine, and as Castro says, perhaps with an advanced educational level,the better they understand you.   I found my Russian friends had no problem understanding me as they got to know me.  The same thing in France, where I suppose my Canadian French made some Parisians think  I was a country bumpkin, cause I didn't talk through my nostrils like they did.   I remember living in the Netherlands and the standing joke among the Dutch and Germans was trying to understand Frieslanders from the North Dutch Coast, who sounded like a Canadian Maritimer from Newfoundland,a language all their own,  yet many do not know it was the Dutch Frieslanders who in part helped develop our English language.   In Canada, we have schools where Canadians go to learn Chinese and Japanese as an international business language tool, much to the delight of the Chinese and Japanese who I know convulse into fits of laughter when a Canadian tries to talk to them in their language. My Girlfriend is of  Asian descent and knows full well first hand when sometimes she speaks Cantonese in restaurants can see at times looks of amusement from the wait staff.   So as Jeff says, it takes a long time to lose the accent, but to succeed in business some go that extra mile to lose it to get ahead in the business world.  Some who don't get left behind, some get frustrated, some use it as a form of racism, though a company they work for may not have a problem but when salaries come from billables, those who are understood the fastest make the best billables and profit for the company and in business, especially with a fast economy and tight profits, that is the bottom line.

 It is not fair, some say, but that is business, here, there and everywhere.  Do you think a Canadian gets a fair shake in Hong Kong if his language skills are not up to snuff? Don't think so!  India, as I said can speak flawless English, that would put most North Americans and Brits to shame, so Jeff, if they can do it, and at a relatively young age, so can others. No crutch, no excuses.  As BigT states as well, there are some who  use affirmative action to get ahead, and that is just wrong where experience takes a back seat to race or culture,  English is the international language of Business, which Chinese fast overtaking it, do you think when Chinese overtakes English as a business language all of us will be able to get a break and say No Fair? Hire me, I have the experience and diploma, you cannot refuse to hire me because my Chinese speaking skills are not as good as a Native Chinese person, cause if you do, I am heading off to the nearest Hong Kong Affirmative Action office , hey good luck with that one.

BigT, Jeff, and Castro, Business is business and if ya snooze, ya lose. Again, it's not fair, it's just good business sense

Anyways, to all three of you, thanks for the comments,  certainly great to get perspectives from all three of you.  You all get Good Stuff in my books.

Thanks AMY, as a reporter, can you think of any New Agency hiring a TV New Anchor, with an accent so thick it is not understandable?  Don't think so!,  That is why most Newscasters sound so generic in their speaking, some would be hard pressed to figure out if they came from Washington, DC or Vancouver, BC.

It should not be used as a Racism tool, though I am sure in the TV biz it has been at some point. I am sure there are thousands of equally qualified TV news people out there with varying language skillsets, but their accent holds them back in getting that TV job.

TV News organisations, like their news talk people "Vanilla", "Vanilla" being generic and bland I find, no slang words spoken, no speech inflection, no nothing.    Surprising once some of these News People are off set, and in a relaxed atmosphere, their accents come out, since they are not on the work clock anymore.  When they say a Broadcast Voice, they are talking generic, no matter in Idaho, or Florida, radio guys and gals all sound the same. 

Ever talk to Rick Mercer one to one, I have on more than one occasion when back east, he certainly doesn't talk Newfoundlander on TV , and you sure as hell better have your accent ears on when listening to him tell jokes or you'll miss everything.

One of my most watched channels here at home is Channel M, the East Indian hosts go from Punjabi to English with ease, ever wonder how come Channel M do not have a Indian TV host with a distinct East Indian Accent, even though the majority of viewers are East Indian? It's because as they say in the BollyHollywoodTV Biz, Ratings Baby, Ratings, it's all about Ratings. Did I mention Ratings?

Mr. Demille, I'm ready for my headshot now!

You're trying to make a grey area way too black and white.

First of all, is more than basic English skill a bona fide requirement for the job? I would say no for a huge number of positions - from janitor to software engineer to quantitative analyst at a hedge fund. If a quant was turned down on the basis of language, I'd say that's legitimate grounds for a human rights complaint or lawsuit - raw intelligence is almost all that matters there.

Second, how much of an accent is too much? I notice that ESL speakers account for many of the most effective salespeople in a variety of industries. That's because this is a job where communication, as in, getting your point across and building rapport, is much more important than accent. Believe it or not, a person can be a great communicator in English, even with a thick accent.