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81 Calif. L. Rev. 1325 (1993)
Accent Discrimination and the Test of Spoken English: A Call for an Objective Assessment of the Comprehensibility of Nonnative Speakers

handle is hein.journals/calr81 and id is 1345 raw text is: Accent Discrimination and the Test of Spoken English: A Call for an Objective Assessment of the Comprehensibility of Nonnative Speakers Beatrice Bich-Dao Nguyent Immigrants to the United States have been a source of national pride, but also the object of national prejudice. At times, employers have used claims of unintelligible English to deny jobs to accented, but otherwise qualified, applicants. However, these claims may be mere pretense to dis- crimination based on national origin, a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In such cases, courts must make a judgment about an individual's comprehensibility, and thus, his or her qualifications. These determinations are subjective and highly vulnerable to the sways of preju- dice. In this Comment, the author calls for the use of an objective test to determine the comprehensibility of an individual's speech. She offers the Test of Spoken English, a standardized test administered nationwide by the Educational Testing Service, as a tool available to both parties and the courts in accent discrimination litigation. INTRODUCTION Immigrants from all parts of the world come to the United States in the hope of building a better life for themselves and their children. For them, America embodies a land of opportunity, extending to each and every immigrant the hope of attaining the American Dream.' In return, t B.S.F.S. 1991, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; J.D. candidate 1994, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. Copyright © 1993 by California Law Review, Inc. and Asian Law Journal. I would like to thank Professor Jan Vetter for his assistance and encouragement. This Comment benefited greatly from his insight, guidance, and patient listening. I am indebted to my editors, Frank Cialone, Eric Lai, and Brian Torres, and friends and colleagues on Asian Law Journal and California Law Review for their hours of work. Special thanks to Professor Bill Ong Hing, Larry Adams, Danny Cloherty, Brian Lee, and Jasmin Patel for their contributions to earlier drafts of this Comment. This Comment is dedicated to my mother and father, Simone Bui Nguyen and Phuoc Nguyen. 1. The American tradition of welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world is embodied in the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor, 1325

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