Hey baby, is that a marble in your mouth?

Wired News reports on the interesting training regimen for Indian call-center workers:

"Some call centers ask their agents, as the floor workers are called, to practice speaking English with a marble placed below the tongue to imitate the American accent better," Mittal said.

Hmm, I checked under my tongue and found no marble. I guess real Americans must use a virtual marble.

Apart from the health hazards, there is a minor social embarrassment attached to a distinct American accent slipping out of an Indian mouth. Some call center workers are so consumed by the accent they employ at work that they accidentally take it home, only to be ridiculed by their near and dear.

Oh, the shame, the humiliation! Should Americans practice speaking with an Indian accent?