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‘Where is the subtitle button?’: Indian woman in London shares struggle to understand British accents at work
An Indian woman in London shared a light-hearted take on struggling to follow British accents at work.
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An Indian woman living in London has shared a light-hearted take on one of the challenges she faces while working with predominantly British colleagues: understanding their accents during virtual meetings. Despite being fluent in English, she admitted that following conversations can sometimes become difficult enough to make her instinctively look for a “subtitle button”.
(Also read: Indian tourist switches smoothly from Hindi gaalis to posh British accent after arrest. Viral video)
Annapoorna Virdi shared the relatable experience in a video posted on her Instagram account, @annather.life, explaining how remote meetings can become particularly challenging when the rest of her colleagues are gathered together in an office meeting room.
‘Where is the subtitle button?’
“I live in London, I work with a British company, most of my colleagues are predominantly British. Whenever I'm working from home and there is a scenario where, um, everybody else in a meeting is in the office, taking it from a meeting room and I'm the one on the screen, it becomes so challenging for me to really be in the meeting because the moment people start saying their first few sentences, instinctively, my first reaction is, where is the subtitle button? How do I put it on? How do I switch it on?” Virdi said.
She added that the challenge was not about knowing the English language, but keeping up with different accents while also trying to understand the discussion, take notes and participate.
“It is just so difficult to, a, hear what they're saying, b, comprehend it, understand it, take notes, participate. I mean, it's not just the language, I mean, I'm quite fluent in English, but you know, the accents are so different. Yeah, I just need my subtitle button, that's it,” she said.
(Also read: ‘I’m very much a Bangalore girl with a British accent’: Akshata Murty on identity, heritage)
‘A light-hearted take’
Virdi clarified in the caption that the video was meant in good humour and praised both her colleagues and workplace.
“Can I get my subtitles button, please? Also, my colleagues are a lovely bunch, and the company is one of the most supportive workplaces that there could be. This reel is purely a light-hearted take on the situation. Thank you for all your lovely suggestions… Interesting how everyone’s navigated the cultural/language/accent barriers in their own creative ways,” she wrote.
Watch the clip here:
Social media users relate
The post has drawn reactions from viewers, with several people saying they could relate to her experience. “The subtitle button struggle is real,” wrote one user. “Yes, I agree with you,” another commented. A third said, “This is so true,” while another summed up the situation with, “Fluent in English, still fighting the accent.”
HT.com has reached out to the user for her comments, and the copy will be updated once her response is received.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
