What is an Accent? Perhaps an identity? Or the way you were raised?

Being in Melbourne for just under a fortnight, I have heard a broad variety of accents all around the city. From the local Aussie accents, to Chinese, to Singaporean/Malaysian, Thai, Italian, French, German and many, many more.

To me, every time I hear a Singaporean/Malaysian accent, (reason for classifying Singaporean and Malaysian accent as one is, both sound similar to each other, unless you really pay attention to it.) I think of home, and hearing those accents feels just bit comforting, being in a foreign land. Having so many accents in such a small area, shows how diverse the city is and proves that there must be something attracting all these people from all corners of the world to come here to study, do business, or just for a holiday. Obviously something is working for the city of Melbourne. And more so, communication has got to be a key role in bringing all this people here.

I believe accents deliver more than just words or conversations, they reveal where we are from and also gives us a sense of belonging when we meet each other with the same accent in a foreign land, without even having to show any form of identity card or passport. Of course all these also goes with your command of language in English, but in general, it just helps us identify and learn about one another a little better.

Do you have a favourite accent?