What's wrong with your accent?

Hello folks,

I moved to Dubai two months ago for a new job and have met a lot of new people at my workplace and outside, most of them Indians. Interestingly, many of them have a very 'westernised accent', typically a British one.

I first thought that it could be because they would have been living here for years, studied at British/American schools and interacted with their 'western' classmates and colleagues, which changed the way their tongue functions. But I was not entirely correct. Many of them moved here less than a year ago, straight from India.

Do they talk in India with their parents this way? No. Is it really necessary to fake an accent? Who are we trying to impress? Or is it just a matter of personal choice?

I think it's a part of a larger issue. An average Indian lacks confidence tremendously does not understand the importance of individuality. When he is in crowd, he just wants to be like others. It is called herd mentality. I think all you need to do it clean up your accent rather than faking it.

And then we have celebrities like Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Millika Sherewat and Sania Mirza, who with their fake accent, might put Yanks at shame. I want to ask them if they have ever heard Penelope Cruz speaking in public. She never fakes an accent and definately sounds sexier. Would anyone disagree to that?

Is it a matter of acceptance in the western society? Do Indians feel if they don't talk in an American or British accent, the West won't accept them. If that was true, the once richest man in the UK, now the fourth richest, Lakshmi Mittal, would not have been talking in a typical Indian accent.

I also want to ask my 'western' friends do you really get impressed when you hear us talk like this and do you really expect us to impress you with our language skills?