Moving countries often comes with cultural adjustments, but for one Indian mother who relocated to India with her American daughter, an unexpected challenge has emerged: pronunciation. A light-hearted video showing the mother trying to teach her daughter how to pronounce certain Indian words has amused social media users.
“The biggest challenge we're having after moving to India with my baby, who is an American and her accent is American, is... guess what it is?” the mother says at the beginning of the video before both burst into laughter.
She then tries to get her daughter to pronounce “chithra”.
“Okay, the biggest problem is: ra. Huh, tell: chithra,” she says.
“Chithra,” the mother repeats, only for the child to respond again: “Chith-the-ra.”
“No, no, chithra, chithra, tra,” the mother says, continuing her attempt to correct the pronunciation.
The conversation then moves to Bengaluru.
“Bangalore,” the mother says, with her daughter repeating the word. When asked to say “Bengaluru”, the child manages the word, but the mother tries to emphasise the final “ra” sound.
“Bengaluru... r-r,” the daughter replies, leaving her mother laughing and facepalming.
“How do I explain to her it is ra, it's not r, r?” the mother says.
The mother goes on to explain that pronunciation sometimes creates confusion while her daughter is writing.
“And that's why she's not able to write spellings correctly. When she's pronouncing it, she's pronouncing the as te. Tell chitthe,” she says.
“Ha, and so she writes it the. This is the problem I have,” the mother says.
Text overlaid on the clip reads, “The struggles of living in India with an American accent,” while the caption says, “It is funny but it is also a struggle.”
The video drew amused reactions from viewers, with many finding the child’s accent endearing. One user wrote, “Her American accent is too adorable.” Another said, “‘Bangalore’ pronunciation struggle is so cute.” A third commented, “This is such a wholesome problem to have,” while another added, “She sounds absolutely adorable!”
(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.)
Mahipal Singh Chouhan is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times Digital, with nearly five years of experience in digital journalism and content production. His work primarily focuses on offbeat and trending stories that reflect everyday experiences and evolving conversations on the internet. He has consistently worked on transforming viral content and human interest stories into structured news pieces that engage readers while maintaining editorial clarity. At Hindustan Times, Mahipal contributes to identifying and developing stories emerging from social media trends, online communities, and real-world incidents that capture public attention. His approach involves adding context and journalistic perspective to fast-moving digital narratives, helping present viral moments in a clear and reader-friendly format suited for digital audiences. Before joining Hindustan Times Digital, he was associated with DNA India, where he gained experience in newsroom workflows and digital storytelling practices. Mahipal holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi. He is particularly interested in tracking emerging trends and understanding how online conversations evolve into broader public discussions. His work reflects a focus on accuracy, readability, and relevance in the rapidly changing digital news environment. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Mahipal takes an interest in history and sports and regularly works on improving his general knowledge, which complements his curiosity as a media professional.Read More
