Effing hate my "deaf accent"!!!

your deaf accent will never go away. i was born hoh and spent many years in speech therapy. it can improve though. i'm from california been here all my life. as a kid i sounded like i was from new york. now days i hear many different places. it's more boston i guess, but people ask if i'm from new zealand, Australia, and England. i think my name confuses people so i think why i get ask about England. it also depends on what you here me say as well.
 
Anything that makes you unique, can be made working in your favor or against you.

The person who can turn it one way or the other is - YOU, and only YOU.

Believe in yourself, and your deaf accent will be the wind beneath your wings!

Fuzzy
 
deafdyke said:
I hate my deaf accent too....but the answer isn't more speech therapy. Younwill never be able to speak like a hearing person. it's too hard. Instead why not apply to Gally or NTID and learn ASL and discover yourself as a REAL deaf person?
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No, no, no. This is horrible advice. Tucking yourself away in the "deaf world" is NOT the answer to your problems. I think speech therapy will help you a lot. I've seen deaf people get rid of their deaf accents as a result of speech therapy. It works.
 
Palmer2 said:
No, no, no. This is horrible advice. Tucking yourself away in the "deaf world" is NOT the answer to your problems. I think speech therapy will help you a lot. I've seen deaf people get rid of their deaf accents as a result of speech therapy. It works.
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He already has a lot of exposure to the hearing world............sheesh!!!!!!! And trust me, NO AMOUNT of speech therapy is going to give a dhh kid perfect speech. Even postlingal dhh folks very often have deaf voices. It's too hard. YOU try learning the techniques that actors and singers use, and use them every single time you speak. It takes too much energy and is exhausting. I'm going to assume you're not deaf or even HOH.
 
deafdyke said:
He already has a lot of exposure to the hearing world............sheesh!!!!!!! And trust me, NO AMOUNT of speech therapy is going to give a dhh kid perfect speech. Even postlingal dhh folks very often have deaf voices. It's too hard. YOU try learning the techniques that actors and singers use, and use them every single time you speak. It takes too much energy and is exhausting. I'm going to assume you're not deaf or even HOH.
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Who are you to say that it's impossible? I'm deaf, thankyouverymuch. I have a friend who got a cochlear implant and her speech improved TREMENDOUSLY. She underwent 5 years of speech therapy and I'm told that her speech is flawless now. My hairdresser is HOH and she used to have a deaf accent. She hated it so much that she went to a speech therapist for years and now you can't even tell that she's deaf. Don't try and discourage the OP by telling him/her that holing himself/herself away in the "deaf world" is the only solution because the "real world" is way too harsh. Puh-leez. It IS possible to improve your speech and get rid of your deaf accent. You just have to work really hard at it.
 
Palmer2 said:
No, no, no. This is horrible advice. Tucking yourself away in the "deaf world" is NOT the answer to your problems. I think speech therapy will help you a lot. I've seen deaf people get rid of their deaf accents as a result of speech therapy. It works.
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What is with you? We have been trying to tell many hearing people about deafness for many years. They don't get it. It is extremely difficult for us to go through with speech therapy and then try to understand hearing teachers and hearing students without ASL interpreters in the classrooms. Over and Over again, lipreading is not easy and is very difficult meaning no sounds or could not barely hear it when spoken. We can only pick about 30% of what they said by lipreading alone. You believe that lipreading is 100% understandable from movies which the hearing actors portrayed as Deaf people.

Without the special accommodations that we need to be able to understand hearing people in the hearing world, we would be lost not understand anything around us. Even with hearing aids and CIs, it is not always successful and that is the reason why we need ASL and be in the Deaf world more than the hearing world. You are comfortable being in the hearing world as you are hearing, not deaf. You want us to be just like you that we can never be like you or any hearing person.
 
Bebonang said:
What is with you? We have been trying to tell many hearing people about deafness for many years. They don't get it. It is extremely difficult for us to go through with speech therapy and then try to understand hearing teachers and hearing students without ASL interpreters in the classrooms. Over and Over again, lipreading is not easy and is very difficult meaning no sounds or could not barely hear it when spoken. We can only pick about 30% of what they said by lipreading alone. You believe that lipreading is 100% understandable from movies which the hearing actors portrayed as Deaf people.

Without the special accommodations that we need to be able to understand hearing people in the hearing world, we would be lost not understand anything around us. Even with hearing aids and CIs, it is not always successful and that is the reason why we need ASL and be in the Deaf world more than the hearing world. You are comfortable being in the hearing world as you are hearing, not deaf. You want us to be just like you that we can never be like you or any hearing person.
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Uhm, don't assume that I'm hearing. I'm a deaf person who thinks that deaf people shouldn't isolate themselves from the "real world". I GET it. I have a deaf accent and I have a hard time understanding some people. I KNOW what it's like. I'm just trying to encourage the OP that s/he can improve his/her speech, that's all. I don't want to see another deaf person give up and retreat to a safe haven like Gallaudet/NTID/other deaf schools just because it's easier to be around other deaf people. I believe that deaf people should push themselves and try harder if they want to succeed in the real world.
 
Palmer2 said:
Uhm, don't assume that I'm hearing. I'm a deaf person who thinks that deaf people shouldn't isolate themselves from the "real world". I GET it. I have a deaf accent and I have a hard time understanding some people. I KNOW what it's like. I'm just trying to encourage the OP that s/he can improve his/her speech, that's all. I don't want to see another deaf person give up and retreat to a safe haven like Gallaudet/NTID/other deaf schools just because it's easier to be around other deaf people. I believe that deaf people should push themselves and try harder if they want to succeed in the real world.
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That does not make any better if we tried hard to get ahead in the hearing world if the hearing people have no respect for us or even try to give us accommodation in the workplace or in the school like high school and colleges. Those NTID, Gallaudet University and other Deaf schools are great tools for us to understand what we need to understand what is be said.

I went to mainstream community college in Seattle, Washington with ASL interpreters and notetakers. I had been around with Deaf people in our dormitory. This is the Deaf community that we are comfortable with.

Attending Deaf schools like colleges is what we want to make our life much simpler than trying to work harder to get ahead. That is a lot of frustration in that if you are in the hearing world. I don't think you are deaf if you think like this. You might be hard of hearing with moderate hearing loss.
 
Bebonang said:
That does not make any better if we tried hard to get ahead in the hearing world if the hearing people have no respect for us or even try to give us accommodation in the workplace or in the school like high school and colleges. Those NTID, Gallaudet University and other Deaf schools are great tools for us to understand what we need to understand what is be said.

I went to mainstream community college in Seattle, Washington with ASL interpreters and notetakers. I had been around with Deaf people in our dormitory. This is the Deaf community that we are comfortable with.

Attending Deaf schools like colleges is what we want to make our life much simpler than trying to work harder to get ahead. That is a lot of frustration in that if you are in the hearing world. I don't think you are deaf if you think like this. You might be hard of hearing with moderate hearing loss.
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I have some hearing but I'm more deaf than HOH. Without my hearing aid I can't hear ANYTHING. That puts me in the deaf category. Trust me there are plenty of deaf people out there who think like this. You don't see them much because they're hidden away living their own lives in the "hearing world" as you call it. I know a few who are wholly deaf and don't speak at all but they still manage to get by just fine. You're right that it's hard being deaf in a "hearing world" but if you put forth enough effort you'll be fine. When you said that hearing people have no respect for us and refuse to accommodate us, you were painting them with a broad, broad brush. From my own experience PLENTY of hearing people are very willing to help you out and they will take the time to communicate with you. Don't let a few bad apples ruin your opinion of hearing people. You and deaf people like yourself need to open your minds and put yourselves out there in the real world instead of being all huddled up with each other bashing hearing people. I've always found it funny that deaf people complain about being disrespected/ignored by hearing people but they don't realize that they're doing the exact same thing by complaining about hearing people and refusing to venture out into the real world to actually meet/talk to hearing people.
 
Wirelessly posted

Who ever said English has to be everyone's primary language? By insisting a Dhh person use spoken language, you might as well be saying the same. ASL and other nationally recognized sign languages such as Auslan, BSL, NZSL just to name a few, are just as valid as Japanese, Korean, Chinese etc, and yes, English.
 
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I went to get something today, and the person at the counter asked if I was from Germany! This is the third time in about a month that someone has asked me that! Even my last "online lover" had told me that I sounded like I was from Germany! Anyway, I asked the guy if there was any hint of American English, and he said it was hard for him to tell. He apparently was comparing me with guys in the construction business in the south, which are very different accents.

I think it's cool... Simply because I've been around so many different people, especially through work, and I'm still very impressionable even after all these years. I will pick up accents and incorporate them into my speech over time. When I use words in español, you'll hear a hispanic Indian accent in there, because I grew up around them in the south. At work, we have people come in from all over the world. Among the hardest to emulate would be the Chinese, Russians, and the Boomhauers of England.

I pronounce hindi words with a close approximate of that accent, and I tend to do the same thing with middle eastern accents once someone teaches me a word in one of these languages.
 
deafdrummer said:
I went to get something today, and the person at the counter asked if I was from Germany! This is the third time in about a month that someone has asked me that! Even my last "online lover" had told me that I sounded like I was from Germany! Anyway, I asked the guy if there was any hint of American English, and he said it was hard for him to tell. He apparently was comparing me with guys in the construction business in the south, which are very different accents.

I think it's cool... Simply because I've been around so many different people, especially through work, and I'm still very impressionable even after all these years. I will pick up accents and incorporate them into my speech over time. When I use words in español, you'll hear a hispanic Indian accent in there, because I grew up around them in the south. At work, we have people come in from all over the world. Among the hardest to emulate would be the Chinese, Russians, and the Boomhauers of England.

I pronounce hindi words with a close approximate of that accent, and I tend to do the same thing with middle eastern accents once someone teaches me a word in one of these languages.
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I can't tell you how often someone thought I was Greek or German - I get that a lot too. I suspect they're just picking up on the speech differences...it's really funny when that happens. :D I actually do quite well with Cantonese and Mandarin - I've been told by my teachers that I sound like a native at times with the way I pronounce the words. It has a lot to do with determination to learn, exposure to the language, and practice.

Laura
 
Lau2046 said:
I can't tell you how often someone thought I was Greek or German - I get that a lot too. I suspect they're just picking up on the speech differences...it's really funny when that happens.
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Yeah! Imagine their surprise when they find out I'm just a mutt born in south Texas and living within a 350-mi radius of all the cities I've lived in.

And the funny thing is, Laura, because I'm trans, I've learned to use my pre-adolescent voice (the voice boys have before they start cracking through and learn to access the more mature voice) in a feminine manner to throw them off my track. I can still use my mature voice to prove that I am a chromosomal male. In other words, I can switch voices.
 
Wirelessly posted

I'm sorry for the late reply - I was really busy over the past few days. Back to the topic, well, I've always wanted to speak so good that most people would not have the slightest hint that I'm deaf. Yesterday, someone knew that I'm deaf merely by the way I speak.

But thanks so much for all your support. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one faced with this predicament.
 
Wirelessly posted

Well, the reason why I am resolute with the belief that I can get rid of my deaf accent is because I believe it's POSSIBLE. I have met deaf people whose speech is absolutely impeccable so that inspired me to go back to speech therapy to continue improving my speech.

At work, I've been greeted with questions on my accent...some people thought I have an Indian or Hispanic accent...okay, I would hav never expected that.

I started this thread because I was so frustrated by the barrier created in communication with other people emanating from my speech impediment. I have now accepted that I have a deaf accen (I was in denial initially) and I have a seed of hope ingrained inside myself that I would get rod of my deaf accent.

But you're right; everyone is different and I've now come to accept that.
 
Palmer2 said:
Uhm, don't assume that I'm hearing. I'm a deaf person who thinks that deaf people shouldn't isolate themselves from the "real world". I GET it. I have a deaf accent and I have a hard time understanding some people. I KNOW what it's like. I'm just trying to encourage the OP that s/he can improve his/her speech, that's all. I don't want to see another deaf person give up and retreat to a safe haven like Gallaudet/NTID/other deaf schools just because it's easier to be around other deaf people. I believe that deaf people should push themselves and try harder if they want to succeed in the real world.
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Palmer, jeez talk about self hatred. He's not isolating himself in a safe haven. He grew up in the hearing world, and had little to no positive expeirance being deaf.
If he'd been raised in an environment that didn't put so much emphasis on "acting like a hearie", he wouldn't even be self conscious about his accentBesides, what's wrong with a deaf accent? Just means you have unusual sounding speech. If he had an English accent or a Canadian accent or an Irish accent would you be encouraging him to look into speech therapy to fix his accent?
His speech is FINE....it just sounds kinda odd to hearies. ....Who really cares?
 
I went to a dermatologist and found out that I have female pattern baldness..
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what the hey ??

Am I the only one who thinks the OP is actually a woman???
am I wrong??????????????????????????????????????

Fuzzy
 
i had 30yrs of perfect hearing and 30yrs of profound loss some say got very little accent on maybe words unfamiliar with, lanage changed much in 30yrs...people think i should be good lip reader because had hearing but i crap at it..late in life deafness would not have accent
 
Demi Moore didn't look too bad when she shaved her head for one of her movie ..
Also many dont understand each other from different states. They got their own accents.. I like how one post said why be the same.. be you-be unique. Love life and just go for it.
 
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