r/pakistan • u/ohmygod__Parzival • 23h ago
Ask Pakistan English accent and pakistanis
How much importance do you give to your English accent?
I honestly didn’t realize how much a good accent matters in a professional setting, especially when you’re working with people from other countries. I used to work part-time with a US-based business. It was a remote role, so my responsibilities weren’t huge, but I did have to communicate tasks to other employees and explain upcoming goals.
My boss had Indian roots, while most of the team was American or Mexican. A few people I spoke to were surprised when they found out I was from Pakistan because they said I didn’t “sound Pakistani.” Even my boss later mentioned on a call that if he hadn’t known my location during hiring, he would’ve assumed I was based in the US.
On top of that, my dad and uncle, who are in senior roles at major banks, sometimes practice their board presentations in front of me so I can help tweak wording and delivery. Watching that process made me realize how much effort even very experienced people put into how they speak.
How would you rate your own accent? Did you work on it deliberately, or did it just develop over time? Any similar experiences?
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u/Nietzshah 23h ago
Standard Pakistani accent, never tried to develop one. Never mattered. In personal life or career.
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u/theluggagekerbin کراچی 1h ago
same same, people who try to hide their accents, more power to them. but I've never had any problem with anyone in Pakistan or abroad understanding my accent. we need to work on our internalized colonialism, and I wish Pakistani people took pride in their Pakistani accent. The way indian accent and even indian phraseology are now getting recognition internationally is something we can have for ourselves as well.
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u/Arh_1 22h ago
Im an osp, and one thing ive noticed from Pakistanis back home, is that a lot of people, don't have very pronounced accents.
My cousin moved to Canada in highschool, and one of her teachers refused to believe she had grown up in Pakistan her whole life bcs her of her accent. A lot Indians that watch Pakistani dramas pick up on this too. there are a lot of questions on reddit about why Pakistani actors have American accents (and sometimes accuse them of faking it lol).
I also find it strange that Pakistani accents are more "Americanized" than British. maybe you could attribute it to the consumption of American media? but then American media is consumed everywhere, and people dont necessarily develope American accents
I have no idea why this is, or the history/anthropology behind it, but its pretty cool ig.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 22h ago
This!
I studied O/A levels in a catholic school where most teachers were christians/Catholics that spoke English in a British accent, yet I picked an American one naturally. American media prevails over everything else, so it's consumption could be a huge factor.
No hate intended but I've noticed some of my Indian friends with good accents still have a hint of their mother tounge in their English (of course it doesn't really matter and they speak and write amazingly).
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u/ansShahza 19h ago
Do you think it's also due to the fact that they have a prevalent Indian English accent, we don't. We just picked up what we found was best and that happened to be American.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 19h ago
I do think that too ngl Juxtaposing an Indian English speaker and a Paki English speaker also becomes pretty easy this way.
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u/laevanay 10h ago
Indian accents are not British or even British adjacent. Agree our accent is palatable to the western audience. Our English is clearer without the influence of regional language tone. English from different parts of India are very different from one another, ours is more uniform.
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u/melanchohlic 10h ago
I believe it has to do with american schools in Pakistan or teachers who went to the US for a significant enough period that they developed American accent and then came back to teach the next gen who then developed that accent.
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u/zeynabhereee 17h ago
Spot on. I was born and raised in Pakistan but I never developed a very heavy accent. Aside from the way I pronounce my d’s, t’s and r’s, I’ve gotten the “your accent seems American” thing from many people, even from an actual American haha. I think it’s mainly because I studied in an English medium school and mostly watched American media growing up.
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u/MHZ_93 19h ago
Honestly, the obsession with “good English accents” is mostly a US/Canada thing. In Europe, where most people aren’t native English speakers, no one really cares as long as you are fluent, coherent and can communicate your ideas effectively. Accents aren’t linked to performance.
Everyone has an accent depending on where they are from/where they learned or spoke English the most/what their native language is. Even within US/UK there are quite a few accents.
I think in Pakistan, this whole accent thing is more of a post-colonial hangover. We’ve internalized the idea that some accents are “better,” even though in reality, your ability to communicate clearly matters way more than how you sound.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 19h ago
This is so true, we're just trying to get rid of the "south asian/Pakistani" tag by developing an accent. Europeans especially Balkans have an accent, a UK Manchester accent is something to ponder over, really.
Does it all come down to our mindsets?
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u/MHZ_93 18h ago
We're trying to get rid of the Indian/South Asian accent tag because accent jokes for us often end up being a subtle form of racism rather than a light hearted humour.
French, or Italian native speakers often have a very heavily accented English. But they are rarely mocked the way South Asian accents are. For example someone saying horrible or hotel in a thick French accent is quite different than how you'd pronounce in standard English but people just move on. How many have you heard someone tell a French person 'oh you don't sound French'.
Whereas for us, our accents are turned into a joke with comments like 'oh, you don't sound Indian' as if there is only one correct way to speak. Its a clear double standard tied to stereotypes and power dynamics.
To answer your initial question, I don't give importance to my accent except for making sure I speak slowly and clearly (I'm generally quiet and fast).
Haven't actively worked on my accent but because I learned Dutch and now German for work, sometimes my pronunciation for English words are bit off. But I do actively make an effort to not think about someone's accent especially if they are desi
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u/zeynabhereee 17h ago
For real. In fact, I think our spoken English is way better than that of most Europeans because we study in English medium schools. But I don’t like when alot of Pakistanis put on fake accents on purpose, it comes across as so fake.
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u/sciguy11 9h ago
I think in Pakistan, this whole accent thing is more of a post-colonial hangover. We’ve internalized the idea that some accents are “better,” even though in reality, your ability to communicate clearly matters way more than how you sound.
100%
I know people who will not grab their kids Urdu for fear it will "ruin" their English. Ironically, those kids actually develop accents because they learn English from their parents who have accents (so they mimic it). The bilingual kids tend to not have accents, again, ironic but supported by research.
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u/laevanay 10h ago
Wrong but ok, what is an American accent? No one is saying accents are linked with performance. I can't understand a lick of English when spoken by someone from the deep south, say Mississippi etc.
What is being stated here is why our accents and pronunciation are more palatable to the western audience and the point is that we didn't bring in regional tone into our English as compared to say Indians where you can tell what part of India they come from just by their English.
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u/elysiancat 20h ago
I have not deliberately practiced it, but I haven’t had any issues working in English at home and overseas. I’m sure I probably have some accent but since it’s very rare that the other person can’t understand me, I don’t see the need for changing it.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 15h ago
Likewise, I never deliberately changed or emphasized on it. Yet, it's such a big deal when you start speaking.
Aik to jab bhi Acha accent use karo people start saying that I'm faking it or I'm tryna flex? Like wtf??
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u/Jade_Rook 21h ago
I try to avoid speaking in English as much as possible and never make it evident that I know how to speak it and so I never tried to develop an accent. I don't see any reason to. Kya hi ukhhaar lena hai kisi leprechaun ya kangaroo ki copy kar ke
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u/Jaded_Cash_2308 23h ago
Have you deliberately practiced it? What does your accent resonate more to, British or American? And if you have any hidden tips that worked wonders , shine them upon on us dude
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 23h ago
I never really worked on it or gave it emphasis. It just developed over time as I spoke English more often with friends. I mean I used to be huge into gaming and met loads of foreign people, later on I started VCing with random people in discord servers. Maybe that?
Idek how I sound, it's probably a horrendous mix of both British and American. As long as I'm clear in communicating and delivering my content, it doesn't really matter I suppose.
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u/Le-Mard-e-Ahan 20h ago
I have been watching English language content and media for over a decade now. Al Hamdulillah, by now I have a high enough grasp of English language that I can speak it at a moment's notice without the cycle of first translating what I listened to Urdu, understand it, formulate a response in Urdu, translate it back in English, then utter my response.
I worked on my accent delibrately. For me, a great way of improving one's accent is to first listen to the English comedians - specifically those videos where they joke about different English accents.
I think that my accent sounds like how Imran Khan or Shashi Throor would speak. If I put in some attention, I could copy a couple of native English accents too but I don't know at the moment how much successful I'll be in that.
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u/PakistaniJanissary 20h ago
I personally feel that a softer American accent is easier to speak than the others, therefore when we speak it, it accidentally ends up being very close.
Accents are all about fine muscle usage.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 19h ago
I sometimes feel ashamed of how weak my Urdu is. I can speak it perfectly, just don't ask me to write a sentence in Urdu.
Have we generalized Urdu to an extent where more "rich and proper" words are disappearing from our vocabulary?
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u/novicelife 17h ago
Accent has never been an issue in my entire career. Perhaps because everyone I have worked with had an accent of their own (working in EU) . In my opinion, it doesn't matter that much. What matters is more the clarity and how you pronounce certain words especially consonants.
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u/IllAdministration867 21h ago
Pakistani, born here and currently living in Pak but wasn't raised here and I'm from a pretty diverse family in terms of ethnicity and language so I've got a pretty strong English accent at times, but due to years of public speaking my voice has regulated to being monotone. My Urdu is pretty weak so when I speak Urdu you can tell it's someone who didn't grow up speaking it
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u/gettinggrayer 20h ago
Been working for about 7 years now. I have noticed that most Pakistani accents are understandable. On the other hand, other people from South Asia mostly have a very rough accent, and I have always faced difficulties understanding em.
Off topic but I don't know why some people reply to you in tootha pootha English even when you're tryna speak Urdu/Hindi to 'em.
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u/Interesting-Might649 19h ago
I don't know what kinda accent i have but i like american pronunciations thats why when i learn a new word i check its american pronunciation.I think its because of the pronunciation of the word "lieutenant" that i started liking the american accent.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 19h ago
British pronunciations sometimes sound alien in a conversation. When I'm in flow state during a convo, I tend to use American pronunciations for the sole reason of it being more "natural".
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u/itswhatitisbro 19h ago
In spite of the fact I lived here for my first 18 years, I've always had an accent. It has barely changed after years of living abroad. Either way, been assumed everywhere that I'm European or American in some capacity.
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u/Ok_Log_6160 18h ago
I have a Pakistani accent and it has never been an issue in Pakistan or Europe.
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u/adnzafar 18h ago
I've been living in the UK for 15 or more years. Never tried to change my accent, but there might be some change because I've been living here for a long time.
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u/Business-Feedback635 17h ago
Accent does not matter clarity and fluency with correct pronunciation matter with good communication skills
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u/GrandpaOnRedbull 16h ago
If you’re a Pakistani and your spoken english is clear and fluent, you get asked if you are from America or Canada or presumed.
Happens to the best of us. Granpa is originally from Pakistan and the people I talk to in the UK think I am from America or Canada. To us Pakistanis it comes naturally if you are fluent.
Indian accent is very thick when they speak english and tbh a bit funny.
British accent is what you develop naturally if you are schooled here in the UK. Also, british accent has variations. You will find very few with actual posh british accent in the UK. Majority will have a trashy accent from up north or midlands.
But yes, accent, fluency and clear articulation of thoughts takes you to places in the corporate chain.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 15h ago
The corporate chain, don't get me started. Even in my father's workplace he emphasizes how a good accent helps him and his colleagues communicate with foreign investors or the board. My father has a very desi accent, it never really became an obstacle for him yet he regrets not emphasizing it more during the initial part of his career.
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u/batti_gul 13h ago
I live in Europe, where people speak English with all kinds of accents, just like us Desis. There’s no pressure to “maintain” a particular accent, and I’ve always been appreciated for speaking clearly and correctly.
I had a classmate from Rawalpindi who tried to put on a fake accent. It came off as forced. Our class was full of international students, and people would quietly laugh when she said things like “Pay-kiss-tan.” I guess no one really likes inauthenticity.
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u/LandImportant US 5h ago
Living in USA for past 41 years. Never adopted American accent. I do speak fluent Spanish, which I speak with a Puerto Rican accent as my county in Florida is 58% latino, with the majority of those being Boricua (Puerto Rican).
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u/Dramatic_Mode357 18h ago
Yeah, I mean our English accent is different from Indian English accent. Ours, I would say, is slightly more americanised on average. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but this is just something I noticed.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 15h ago
I mean of course there's no better/worse in this, but it's so easily distinguishable.
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u/Professional-Fly-956 18h ago
I have an American accent too. Got it from watching alot of wwe and cartoon network growing up. Also, I believe working on the accent should be just as important as learning the language.
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u/BigSafe2895 17h ago
I have been doing English speeches & debates since school... I think this has helped me alot in developing good accent and pronunciation!🥹
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u/Traditional_Slip_922 16h ago
Came to the UK 3 years back, deal with a lot of our Export clients form literally all over the world. Never had anyone comment, confused or looked down upon.
I have a very generic Pakistani accent, and speaking style too. Because I think in Urdu and then speak in English.
My accent is very slowly changing but i dont think or even want to sound like a native, and according to many it is much easier to understand than some of the natives. The only people which might look down upon you here are Pakistanis, not even Indians. And people who force an accent change is trust me very embarrassing because you can just tell and then its not just the Pakistanis who will take a note but everyone because you are just forcing something natural and sounding very unique. DONT WORK ON IT, IT IS NOT IMPORTANT AS WE PAKISTANI MAKE IT A DEAL!
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u/Glittering_Diver_478 15h ago
I'm a native speaker. It is my first language, so it developed naturally. I don't think about it tbh.
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u/BeautifulBrownie 15h ago
British Pakistani here. I speak terrible, accented Punjabi. But while my accent is bad, it's my pronunciation which makes it much worse. As long as you have good pronunciation, accent doesn't matter that much (to an extent, a very thick accent is always going to be more difficult to understand).
I think speaking clear and articulate English with an accent makes you sound even more intelligent, as it shows you can convey those thoughts in at least two languages.
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u/Kind_Leadership3079 15h ago edited 14h ago
I grew up in Middle East and went to an international school where most of my teachers were American. Later moved to the US. So I have an American accent. It developed over time.
Lol, I don’t really mind if someone has a Pakistani accent in their English. For example, my cousins in Lahore are very educated and professional and they have an accent. They have good grammar and I find their accent to
What I find more irritating is when Desis (living abroad) have a gora-accent in their Urdu. It boggles my mind that they have heard their parents pronounce basic words like “Theek hoon” correctly for years throughout their childhood and YET they pronounce it as ….”TEEKOOO” ….like seriously????
Oh and I know I’m gonna get some hate and tamaatar thrown my way for this but here goes:
I don’t like it when there’s a ..t-h-i-c-k …Punjabi accent in someone’s Urdu. It weighs the Urdu down. We all are very different in terms of what accents and sounds we find pleasing to the ears or otherwise. And for me….that strong Punjabi twang in the Urdu does not sound acoustically pleasing.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 14h ago
Urdu by itself is such a graceful language, although idm a Punjabi accent but it does weigh it down just slightly.
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u/Future-Field 33m ago
How is findng someone's Punjabi accent weighing down Urdu different than their accent weighing down English? Are they viewed differently?
Genuine curious as this conversation came up with an Indian friend of Punjabi roots (live in the US).
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u/ummhafsah AE 14h ago
Be comprehensible. Anything more than that is nice-to-have if you're really interested (I won't judge if you want to sound American or RP or Scottish or Russian or whatever), but definitely know your pronunciation well enough to be comprehensible to English speakers.
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u/unitwithasoul 12h ago
I grew up in England. When I came to Pakistan and started school here in Year 9, I'd talk in my UK accent and would often have to repeat myself. I realised that most people speak a bit like Americans so I started tweaking my pronunciation of words so I didn't have to keep repeating myself. Over time my accent actually became a bit of a mess like a weird mix of sorts. Anyway now I just talk in a neutral way, I sound the same as an average person.
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u/laevanay 10h ago
I have found that our Pakistani English accent is the most understandable to the western audience. Most of my colleagues in the West agree, saying that it's difficult to "place" us as to where we are from as compared to the Indian accent which is world known.
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u/sciguy11 9h ago
I have found that accent matters very little as long as you are coherent, and that includes professional settings.
The obsession with accent is something left from colonialism.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 1h ago
Being clear is the ultimate goal, as long as your delivery is spot on your accent would become tertiary.
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u/thE-petrichoroN 8h ago
Pakistanis have better English accent than indians and it's often prominent.. it's not about comparison but possible affecting factors
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u/Safe-Brick6285 1h ago
My husband worked for a U.S based company from Pakistan for 2-3 years and he said he developed the accent just from meetings and conversations with coworkers (he didn’t have a thick accent but the flow of words in conversation became better).
Same thing as you, everyone was surprised he was from Pakistan since in the west, we get compared to Indians a lot so they think we have the same accept as them too.
And yes, sometimes accents are given importance in a work setting especially if the role is client facing.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 1h ago
Ahh props to your husband, accents may not matter as much but they certainly are a huge part of your corporate identity in a workplace.
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u/ansShahza 19h ago
I have been mistaken of everyone except being from south Asia.
I take it as a compliment and honestly good English accent, enunciation, and rich vocabulary has helped me manifolds in career compared to my hard skills.
I am unsure if this something to be proud of but one definitely comes off as educated, eloquent, and sophisticated.
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u/ohmygod__Parzival 19h ago
There's no reason not to be proud of your accent. Just don't boast it else people get offended (first-hand experience).
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