Accents are Spoken Here

So part of my job is to handle New Artist inquiries. Basically any new artists interested in working with us I get to talk to. This means that I talk to all kinds of people. Let me tell you… from mass manufacturers in China to the small real deal artist who works on textiles in a small remote village in Peru. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and denominations.

The other day I am sitting at my desk answering emails when the phone rings. I answer as I usually do saying, ‘This is Marissa how can I help you?’ On the other side of the phone is a woman’s voice. She says, ‘Uh hi, who is this?’ Again, I say ‘This is Marissa, how can I help you?’ Girl on the phone says, ‘Hi Marissa (she pronounces it MA-REE-SAW) is this you?’ Again I say, yes this is Marissa (side note… I usually pronounce my name in Spanish so I say Ma-Ree-Zah but I am also open to Ma-Rih-Suh if need be).

So GOTP (Girl on the Phone) sounds a little confused when she says ‘Marissa?’ Again I am thinking WTF? But as polite as I can be I say, ‘yes this is she how can I help you? The next part of our conversation went like this:

GOTP: Wow, um, can I ask you a question?

Usually this question is followed by a series of questions involving how we work with artists, the art that they create, where they live and whether or not we can help them. This time however the conversation took a little detour…

GOTP: I don’t understand.
ME: Yes?
GOTP: Where’s your accent?
ME: Excuse me?
GOTP: Well you said your name is Marissa (Ma-REE-Saw) and I am wondering why you don’t have an accent.
ME: (I think… WTF? but I say..) Why would I have an accent?
GOTP: Well you speak Spanish don’t you?
ME: Yes I do.
GOTP: Well how did you lose your accent?

At this point I have a decision to make… I can either go off on her about being born here and being bilingual or I can be nice and explain to her how it is that I do not have an accent. Alternately, I can tell her that it took years of extensive and expensive speech therapy to rid myself of the god forsaken Spanish Accent. So I think for a second and my hunch is that she is authentically confused. Of course, I will be more than happy to unconfusle her. So I take a deep breath and I say:

ME: Well, actually, I was born and raised here in Los Angeles. My parents emigrated here from Mexico. Spanish was my first language and I learned English when I went to school at about 5 years old. Usually if a language is learned before the age of ten you can pretty much be fluent in it and not necessarily have an accent.

GOTP: Wow, I’ve never met anyone like you.
ME: Well there are actually a lot of us (bilingual folk) here. Some of us speak more than two languages too.
GOTP: Really?
ME: Yes.
GOTP: So, you’ve never had an accent?
ME: (I think… Lord... what is this girl’s obsession with accents!) I say… as far as I can remember I did not ever have an accent. But I speak French and I know I have an accent when I speak it.
GOTP: Wow so you speak French too?
ME: (I think… why did I tell her that????) I say… yes I studied it in High School and College.
GOTP: Wow. That’s great.

By now, about fifteen minutes have passed. So I say...

ME: Thanks…. So how can I help you?
GOTP: Uh yes… I use to work with the Peace Corps and I know some artists in Peru that I think you should work with….

A smile grows on my face knowing that I made the right choice. She’s just a young person authentically confused by the fact that I have a Spanish surname but I don’t have the accent that she expects. I take her information down and find out she lives in the Midwest and would like to set us up with some artists in Peru. I thank her for calling and hope that in some small way I changed the way she thought because in those brief moments she changed my view of the world as well.

mmunoz 2/17/07