
Pranav Mistry and your accent anxiety
3 min read . Updated: 05 Sep 2013, 04:09 PM ISTIt’s time you got comfortable with an Indian speaking like a native before a global audience
There has been much amusement at the way Samsung’s Pranav Mistry spoke English on Wednesday night in Berlin, Germany. The 32-year-old was picked to release the Galaxy Gear smartwatch. This is a watch that connects to and displays the screen content of your mobile phone, which can stay in your pocket or bag.
The Gear is the first product innovation Samsung has put out before Apple. Mistry’s being picked for launching it globally tells us something about how he’s regarded within the company.
At another event, whose video is available on YouTube, he talks about fantasy and innovation. Mistry says his inspiration isn’t from science fiction, as is the case with many of the other technology masters around him. It is Hindu mythology that is the root and source of his creativity.
What amused Twitter was not the content of Mistry’s talk. It was the way he delivered it.
This, of course, says more about us than about the person speaking.
Americans and Europeans don’t care about this and give no thought to it. They are accustomed to English coming at them in all shades. Of course, there are exceptions. Last week, seed fund firm Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham was criticized after he told Inc. magazine that having a “strong foreign accent" could be detrimental to a start-up founder’s success.
Mistry is smart enough to make it to the world’s technology elite.
We should get used to more Indians embarrassing us in this fashion.
Also Read | Aakar’s previous Lounge columns
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.