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Watch Your Language: “Neutralizing” the Mother Tongue—Call Centers in India

Sonali Gulati—Filmmaker, Director, Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night; Assistant Professor, Photography and Film, Virginia Commonwealth University

When you call your bank for customer service assistance the friendly representative on the other line may well be speaking with you from India. At call centers for U.S. companies, employees are required to take American names, celebrate American holidays, and speak American English. Sonali Gulati made a documentary that explores efforts to “neutralize” the Indian accents of call-center employees.

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