Table of contentsAccents as verbal indicatorsDifferent levels of superiorityDiscussion and conclusionMy results show that the old 'politics of "White Australian" is still prevalent in the Melbourne community and that there are many prejudices based on an Asian individual's appearance and accents: notably the level of English language proficiency. Introduction With the constant influx of Asian immigrants and international students into Australia, there is no doubt that this has had an effect on the general population. China and India are the two most common countries of birth of these new arrivals: 2.2% for Chinese and 1.9% for Indians in 2016. This phenomenon is not recent since Asians migrate to Australia since the early 1970s. Statistics show the number of cases where both parents were born overseas has increased from 32% to 34.4% over the past five years, signifying an increase in the number of second and even third generation Asian Australians. However, although Australia has welcomed skilled migrants since the 1980s, this has not ended discrimination against Asian immigrants, although a law was passed making racial discrimination illegal in 1975 (Federal Register of Legislation). With Asian Australians no longer rare, this made me wonder if the accent an Asian individual possesses affects how the Australian community treats them; You can't rely on appearances alone to determine whether an Asian person is a local or an immigrant. In this essay, I will examine five people, including myself, about their experiences with cross-cultural discrimination or prejudice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayBefore the eradication of the Immigration Act of 1901 in 1973, also known as the “policy of White Australia', 1943 poll results showed that '40% of Australians supported 'unlimited immigration', mainly due to labor shortages. However, after the problem of labor shortages and the need for settlement disappeared, public support for the permanent immigration program quickly declined (Australian Parliament). The current situation can be illustrated by the phrase "some older people might have a problem with it, but not younger people", as one Australian train driver put it. Although Australia prides itself on providing education and employment to immigrants, this is not reflected in its political and private sectors: only 1.7% of members of federal parliament and 4.2% of administrators are from Asian origin. This discrimination is unjustified. Australian exports to China have increased by 79% since 2003 and, with the influx of international students from China over the past 10 years, China is spending on average more on education, business and employment than any other country. In other words, “migrants have contributed to both Australia's total GDP and GDP per person”. The discrimination is unjustified because one of the key points of this report is that "immigrants contribute more than they consume." Participants were chosen based on their accent and whether or not they lived in a Western environment before coming to Australia. Two study participants are students at Swinburne University of Technology and three participants are students at Monash University. Interviews took place over the phone and face-to-face.and are structured around seven questions. The length of each interview varied depending on how many experiences they could think of. All five participants experienced discrimination and/or prejudice based on accent and listeners' preconceptions based on their appearance. Discrimination and prejudice Lalitha spoke of the shock her high school classmates felt when they discovered that she spoke English well. Additionally, when asked if she had been discriminated against because of her accent, she replied: "I can imitate accents to fit in, so I haven't had any difficulty." Conversely, her mother had several experiences of shopkeepers leaning in during a conversation, "speaking more slowly and using a lot of hand gestures", assuming that "her mother's accent was mistaken for a lack of proficiency in English”. This is similar to the case of Angelica's father, where he was rejected from a job offer because it was claimed that his level of English was not sufficient, but this was more due to his accent. Jace and Khoa, on the other hand, faced discrimination because of their accent. Jace recounted how she asked an Australian for help for advice on what medications to get at the Chemist Warehouse since it was her first time there, but was ignored. However, a western couple came and also asked for help and he helped them. Jace ended up asking an Asian worker for help. One of the cases mentioned by Khoa was how the flight attendants dropped the smile and used "Sir", "Madam" and "Miss" when addressing Khoa compared to when addressing Khoa. were addressed to Westerners. Beyond accents, several participants experienced different treatment due to prejudice linked to their appearance. Lalitha explained that her mother would be treated differently because she wears the bindi and Angelica mentioned that a few Australian children thought that she and her mother did not speak or understand English well because of their appearance. One of my examples was when an Australian guy spoke to me in a slow, clear manner with wide eyes and hand gestures while I was confused on the bus. He had assumed I would respond with an Asian accent, but he was surprised when I responded with my slight British accent. Accents as Verbal IndicatorsAccents can sometimes indicate in which language the listener feels more comfortable responding. During his time at Monash College, Jace tried to talk back with an Asian accent. speak English to Chinese people but they would rather answer him in Mandarin. On the other hand, when I speak to Chinese people in English, they often have a dazed expression on their faces, which I interpret as an accent that is a bit difficult to understand. Therefore, I would switch to Chinese to make it easier for them to understand, but once understood, they would respond in English. The same thing happens when I talk to my Malaysian peers. Growing up watching American TV series, I never thought I would have a strong Malaysian accent and during my 4 years at an international school I realized my accent was starting to sound more British. This meant that my Malaysian peers spoke to me in English more often than in Mandarin, and it wasn't because my Mandarin was incomprehensible. This made them “less embarrassed” to speak to me in English. The different levels of superiority From the previous cases, it can be concluded that different accents have different levels of superiority. Khoa, for example, feels that his accent is inferior because his ideas would be ignored or undermined during group work at university. From another.